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I took my 83 yr old mother to her hair dresser a few days ago, and a woman who works there commented "that I should look into social security paying me, for taking care of my parents." She claims she has a neighbor who was paid by the feds, in order to take care of her elderly parents. The hair dresser lady said, "that the Federal Government would rather pay you; to take care of your parents, then to run up medicare charges for nursing home fees."
This doesn't seem possible to me, so I thought I would ask the experts here? I live in north east IL, if that plays into the equation with social security? As as side note, I have been taking care of my parents full time since 2006. My mom is 83, and my dad is 84. I had to quite my job in 2006 into order to care for them full time.
Any input on the matter is appreciated!
Thanks,
Bill

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"the Federal Government would rather pay you; to take care of your parents, then to run up medicare charges for nursing home fees."

Oh if only that were true!!! It should be - and perhaps one day it will be.

But in truth most caregivers take on their parents care for no compensation, and in fact spend a good deal of their own funds making sure our parents have what they need. Some of us quit our jobs, lose our insurance, and end up impoverished taking care of our elders.

Make the calls to your counties DFCS or Aging Agency - find out what is available. Perhaps Meals on Wheels would save some money if Mom qualifies, or food stamps - every little bit helps, and you won't know if you don't ask.
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Social Security is for retired seniors who have paid into the system. The majority of retirees get back more in their pension than they did paying into the system. Using Social Security for elderly care would deplete further the already low funds. What needs to be done is for the government to initiate laws to keep elder care affordable for everyone.
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Benefits for Caregivers
Although the Social Security Act provides benefits for many circumstances, it does not provide funding of benefits for caregivers of elderly recipients, not even when the caregiver is the adult child of the beneficiary. Representatives of the Social Security Administration suggest that you contact social services agencies in your community if you need assistance in finding resources that make it possible for you to care for your elderly parent.




Supplemental Security Income
Supplemental Security Income, although administered through the SSA, is not paid with Social Security taxes. Funding for SSI comes from U.S. Treasury general funds. SSI makes payments to low-income people with few resources, who are 65 or older, blind or disabled. If your parent qualifies for SSI benefits, which are paid in addition to Social Security benefits in specific circumstances, this may provide an income source that would allow you to properly care for your elderly parent.
SSI Income and Resource Limits
SSI income limits are based partially on your state of residence. In each state, the income level fluctuates from year to year, and the SSA sets the limit. Your elderly parent may qualify for SSI if his income and resources fall below prescribed levels. For purposes of qualifying for SSI, the agency counts real estate, bank accounts, cash, stocks and bonds as resources. Resources are limited to $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple. Your parent's home, life insurance valued at $1,500 or less in most cases, your parent's vehicle; burial plots for your parent and immediate family; and $1,500 in burial funds for your parent are not counted against your parent's resource total
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Hi BillS72,

Thank you for submitting this question on our website. We appreciate your involvement in our caregiving community.

There are two great article written by AgingCare.com Editor’s that were already posted in our community. We thought this might answer your caregiving question.

LINK:
“10 Government Programs You Can Access for Your Elderly Parents.”
https://www.agingcare.com/articles/10-Government-Programs-Caregivers-Can-Access-for-Their-Elderly-Parents-120513.htm

and

“How Can I Get Paid for taking Care of My Elderly Parents?”
https://www.agingcare.com/articles/how-to-get-paid-for-being-a-caregiver-135476.htm


We hope this helps. Please let us know if you need anything else and we look forward to seeing more questions and discussions from you.


Thank you,
Karie H.
The AgingCare.com Team
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I believe that a Representative payee in Social Security is only a way that you could receive the social security check for your parent....with the expectation that you would manage the paying of their bills and their care needs with their money. I do not think it is an ADDITIONAL payment to you on top of them getting their social security checks. I do know, that in Arizona, at least, IF your parents were on Medicaid, they can be paid money via Medicaid to cover the cost of caregivers in the home...which amounts to about 4 hours/day in AZ....and that, YES, with some application process and approval, you could be the one who receives that payment, but I do think the requirements include you being educated as a certified nurses aid, and completing certain skills such as becoming CPR certified. In other words....they won't pay the money to just anyone living in the home....the person doing the 'caregiving', but be fully trained in how to be a caregiver.
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Please note that Medicaid is different in each State.... each State has their own rules, regulations, and programs. What is offered in one State may not be offered in others. Plus if programs are available, there could be a long waiting list. Only a handful of States will pay a caregiver.... some will only pay if the caregiver lives elsewhere and not with the elder they are caring. Some States might send in a Caregiver from an Agency for a few hours each day.
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Madge, if you could find press information on that it would be helpful, as I cannot find anything about Mayor de Blasio's wife Chirlane McCray, and here I am a researcher. I would really appreciate that :)

The Federal government already offers free telephone service to those who cannot afford a telephone, this was placed into service by President Ronald Reagan back in the 1980's.
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In Arizona, if a parent or spouse is on Medicaid, there is money from Medicaid for in home care, but it amounts to about 20 hours/week. My Dad could be placed in a Memory Care facility and they would cover that fee fully, but to keep him home, we would only get 20 hours/week. Also, IF mom was married to a veteran who had served just one day in an authorized war, there is a benefit called AID and ATTENDANCE that can be applied for. We are doing that now for my Mom. It comes to $1149/mo...paid directly to the person for the rest of their lives, and can be used for either help with agency payment or for caregivers coming into the home. There are some qualifications in terms of the person needing help with self care daily OR having a diagnosis of dementia or Alzheimer's or other condition that affects their mental abilities. So, it doesn't work for someone basically healthy and able to be responsible for their own daily physical care, unless they are homebound ....meaning, basically, unable to drive or other wise ambulate outside their home, in order to go shopping for food etc. And on top of those ideas, as others have said, if you call your local council on aging, they will be able to tell you about other community services for the elderly that might be available and would either be free or have a very small cost attached....things like Meals on Wheels for food, Day Care, which comes and picks up and delivers elderly to a day program for about 6 hrs per day for free or a small daily cost. or volunteers to come and visit for an hour or so, or to do some chores around the house. Hope this helps.
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In California, if your loved one has medi - cal, food stamps, you can get evaluated by the case worker from IHHS = in home health services. The pay is $10.30 per hour but YOU MUST PROVE THAT THE ELDERLY PERSON NEEDS WHAT YOU CLAIM.The rep inspects the home, living quarters, opens the fridge, and makes a bunch of notes.
I care for mom 24/7, and I get a whopping 7.18 hrs per WEEK to cover what I do . Yes, it is better than zero, but is tantamount to humiliation. Less than ONE hr. Per day.
Sigh!
M88 in sunny California. Broken♥, empty pockets.
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For one, nobody got a $250.00 death benefit check with a spouse of family member who was on Social Security. I hear it is only for minor children when their parents die, but I never called to confirm it. As for the comment on Meals on Wheels, my Mother was getting meals on wheels and became malnourished because the food was bland and unappetizing. I was told by Senior Disabled Services that when a senior goes into a nursing home to live, that the home gets all but $60.00 of their monies. That won't even cover a hair cut, a couple of clothing items per month and toiletries that don't dry your skin out like the cheap products that nursing homes provide. Then Medicaid pays them another $6,000 per month. So I do 24/7 care for my parent that includes separate meals because we don't eat the same food, double laundry because my parent is incontinent, medication aide, bath aide, wound care; WC at the hospital gets $800 to $1200 per visits once a week, I do it 6 days a week for my parent where is my $7200 for doing just the wound care? Not to mention money to pay for all my other duties.
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