I apologize if my info was incorrect. I have always been advised that neither Medicaid or Medicare would pay me to care for my parents - that they would have to be classified as completely and totally disabled and on a disability program before that could happen - and that at a certain age, disability was no longer an option - they were just "old" and therefore, I couldn't be paid to care for them. It's possible that the Medicaid Waiver program may play into this, and that may be where the payment comes in - but my father died before we could get him approved for the waiver program and Mom never qualified before she had to go into a nursing home. And perhaps it's different from state to state.
I agree with jeannegibbs. I live in Maine and I'm a paid caregiver for my mom. The assessment she's talking about is a "Goold Assessment." I called one of the caregiving agencies and asked for contact info. I told the Goold worker about my mom's difficulties with personal care, housekeeping, the whole nine yards. We set up an appointment for her to come to our house and talk with me and mom. My mom has dementia, though, so a lot of the answers had to come from me. There are four levels of care that your parents can fall into: #1 is just a slight bit of assistance, and #4 is nursing home level. Mom's a 4, meaning that I have to do almost everything for her. For that level, I get paid 40 hours a week. You will be working less hours with them at lower levels, OR they might say you can't be her paid caregiver until they reach level 4. It's different by state. She sent the paperwork in, and a short time later, we received a letter verifying that I qualified to get a job as her caregiver. There was the issue of Medicaid, which was tough. Mom had over ten thousand dollars in her savings. She was told that to qualify, she had to spend down until she was under ten thousand. She'd always have to spend to keep it that way. She bought herself a funeral package and an expensive pair of hearing aids, and we sent her bank statement to Human Services, as well as info about her assets and how much she makes a month. LOTS of paperwork is involved, but I stuck with it and was hired. The money's not great, but we have enough to get by. And yes -- if your parents are like mine, they might say they can do much more than they can, in reality. As their caregiver, you have better info about their needs and problems than your parents might want people to know. There's a feeling of shame in admitting that you can't take care of things anymore. There's more that I could say, but I'm sure no one wants to read so much.... Good luck, and I hope things work out for you.
Medicaid is the only program I know of that provides in-home care, and in many states will pay a family member the same rate they'd pay a person from an agency. Is your parent on Medicaid, or eligible to be on Medicaid? If so, look up the contact information for Medicaid in your state and explore what is available.
Another approach (and the route we took for our mother) is to call your county Human Services department and ask for a Needs Assessment appointment for your parent. The worker who comes out is trained to assess the need and also is aware of all the programs available. They suggested applying for Medicaid for my mom, and helped us through the application process. When all was in place, my handicapped brother got paid for cleaning and laundry. Later my sister got paid for caregiving.
If you go this route, be there for the assessment. Elders tend to exaggerate their abilities. Mom might say, "Of course I can still clean the house!" Then you can say, "Yes, Mom, you keep it neat and tidy. But you haven't mopped or vacuumed in months. Someone has to help with that." If an elder claims to be able to do everything themselves, the assessment worker's hands are tied.
Medicaid and Medicare will not pay you to care for your parents, sorry. One option is if your parents can afford to pay you out of their income or assets.
If they can do that, you need to be sure you get a caregiver contract in writing, specifying your duties and how much they will be paying you. Your parents need to be of sound mind to execute this contract or it could be challenged by siblings or other family members. (I'm only putting that in there because we've seen this situation happen with other people on the site.)
And perhaps it's different from state to state.
Another approach (and the route we took for our mother) is to call your county Human Services department and ask for a Needs Assessment appointment for your parent. The worker who comes out is trained to assess the need and also is aware of all the programs available. They suggested applying for Medicaid for my mom, and helped us through the application process. When all was in place, my handicapped brother got paid for cleaning and laundry. Later my sister got paid for caregiving.
If you go this route, be there for the assessment. Elders tend to exaggerate their abilities. Mom might say, "Of course I can still clean the house!" Then you can say, "Yes, Mom, you keep it neat and tidy. But you haven't mopped or vacuumed in months. Someone has to help with that." If an elder claims to be able to do everything themselves, the assessment worker's hands are tied.
One option is if your parents can afford to pay you out of their income or assets.
If they can do that, you need to be sure you get a caregiver contract in writing, specifying your duties and how much they will be paying you. Your parents need to be of sound mind to execute this contract or it could be challenged by siblings or other family members. (I'm only putting that in there because we've seen this situation happen with other people on the site.)