92 year old mother
 

editbyme

As far as I know, Medicare only provides medical care, such as physical and occupational therapy, and other services directly related to a medical condition. You can get meal-on-wheels, if ordered by a doctor, but that is not a Medicare program.

Medicare is for health needs not maid services.

editbyme

editbyme

Medicare does not provide those services, even if you are in a nursing home or assisted living. If she is eligible for Medicaid, it is possible that those services could be available.

editbyme

I think your sister is mistaken. Medicare is a health insurance program. If your mother doesn't have a specific medical condition, Medicare will not cover the tasks you mentioned, unless she is in a hospital or rehab facility. Good luck.

Try calling SHINE: SHINE - Home, they should be able to give you a straight answer, and have a list of resources for your mother.

Needlessly snarky and unhelpful reply imho.

State of FL

Caregiver Assistance Programs - DOEA

Possibly the said father-in-law was a service connected veteran and was able to get the home care services through the VA. Sounds like a program the VA has offered in the past.
Or if he was in Hospice Care then you would have those support services. If the lady in question is not deemed able to care for herself and unable to leave the house for medical appoints, she qualifies for nothing you're looking for....sorry

Why can't you care for her? Do you and your wife not have arms or hands to hold soap and wash cloth? Seriously? It's easy to care for others if you WANT TO. Most folks don't want to invest the time to care for our aging loved ones. Your options are do it yourself or spend her money on an Assisted Living Facility or a Nursing Home. $12 to $15k a month until their assets are gone, then they will qualify for state assistance...aka Medicaid to pay towards the Nursing Home. If you want to preserve the money you will provide the bathing and feeding. If you truly can't....then no inheritance. Sorry but that's the truth. I've lived it personally more than once and professionally for decades.

Maybe it's an issue of medical equipment such as a hospital bed, wheelchairs, shower chair, hover lift, etc. If so, and you want to keep her in your home, then talk to her doctors about orders for durable medical equipment that is covered by her insurance. Ask for home health orders to come assess your situation and get recommendations as to what her insurance will provide and training on how to use the medical equipment to make caring for her easier. Talk to her Doctors.

More to follow……..

i'm going to say no, it's not covered. we paid out of pocket for my husband's care before he passed. we used a caregiver service, then a private rn as his symptoms increased. it's not cheap, but am afraid you will have to pay

oh, YOU!! :1rotfl:

Some times people just need some snarky talk to get the complete understanding
of what's going on.

maybe it's an issue of not being able to care for her as opposed to not wanting to. lifting to a shower bench or into bed can get tough for us older folk to handle

it always pays to have a sense of humor

This is where the medical equipment comes into play and it's covered by Medicare. I've been lifting people around my whole life and yes, you need help to be safe. There are ways to care for others at home even though we are older ourselves

Call the local Counsel on Aging. They would know about all of the resources available and the costs involved.

I’m have not dealt with FL, but in OH I arranged for house cleaning, transportation, and meals on wheels through the counsel. Also, I don’t know how many resources would be available to you and your wife, but when dad was taking care of mom before she went to memory care and he needed help, he qualified for some services as the caretaker.

Try calling “ A Place for Mom”. Even though you don’t want to place her, they are a wonderful resource. Good luck and I’m sorry for the nasty comments.

In some states, this is provided. I have never met anyone in Florida who was able to obtain this service. Each of them had to pay out of pocket. It was explained to me that there are far too many elderly in Florida. The insurance companies would go broke. I have seen many neighbors leave Florida and return home because many states provide their elderly with better care. In Pennsylvania, my brother has three or four medical staff visiting him each day. He was supplied a van with a motorized lift. And, his wife gets paid $18 an hour because she is his caregiver. Plans like this exist but not in Florida. (to the best of my knowledge) Call Shine. They may be able to help you.

Try the county or state. Ask for programs they may have for seniors.

Medicaid, not medicare

The only experience I’ve had was with hospice. They supplied a home health aide that helped with bedside care, changing soiled sheets, meal preparation when needed but not general housekeeping. Good luck

Contact Elder Options. Thy can refer you to programs you may qualify for. Phone 800-262-2243.

I recently went through all this recently. Sorry but no, Medicare does not provide for those services. With a Dr.'s approval they provide a few hours each week of physical and occupational therapy, that's it. For the services you're looking for you will have to pay out of pocket and that is approx. 35.00/hr and there is a minimum of 4 hours each visit and 3 visits each week. Do the math and it's 420.00 per week. There are several service agencies like Visiting Angels that provide these types of services but I can't vouch for any of them. Another option is Hospice which is free but your MIL will need to have a specific diagnosis to meet criteria. Good luck to you, I know it's a very difficult road to be on.

We went through this with my mother and my in-laws. You are thinking of Medicaid BUT, and this is a big but, only after the patient's resources are expended. So, all of her money has to be paid out before government assistance will kick in. They will go back years (five years as I recall) to see if she sold or transferred her house and that money will have to be accounted for. Someone mentioned the VA. That program is called Aid And Attendance and will pay a caregiver to assist in everyday life such as bathing and dressing. My father-in-law got that since he was a Marine combat veteran. I have heard recently that spouses can also receive it. We got an elder-law attorney to help us with all the paperwork involved for all the programs. It's a lot.

Ask Medicare about Adult Family Care - It is a program that helps keep elderly or disable persons in their home but it is dependent on their personal finances and assets.

That is a Medicaid program, not Medicare.

Help with mother
 

If she has long-term care insurance, that would pay for some of that. Otherwise, check medicaid or the link that The Village Tinker provided. As others have said, medicare does not cover those services. That is the difference between medicare and medicaid.

If she has “savings” then why would you want us taxpayers to pay for her care?

The is a Supplemental Medicare for Chronically Ill Benefit through Florida Blue Medicare that has added benefits like care; heart, mental inllness, diabetes are all qualifiers. Call a Villages Insurance person and talk to them. There are a few health insurance agent offices in The Villages. One is at the Colony Medical Clinic.

She may be better off switching from plain Medicare to a Medicare plan after you research it. Her 2024 Medicare Plan Book has all the plans listed in the back of the book with different benefits in it.

I agree with the absolute harsh reality of everything you posted.

Many of us have lived it and researched every single program, agency and available free stuff.
There is barely a bus pass given.

Many, many of us have spent a lifetime in fields like social services, social work, geriatrics, gerontology, and nursing home administration. Geriatrics, for me.

There is no easy fix in America for caregiving of our elderly. It's either us or professional paid services such as skilled nursing which will absolutely break the bank of most families. Shared family assets is still a huge hardship on families everyday. If it's just you, and no siblings, you must accept your fate and remember how much your mother cared for you. It's what will get you through. No easy fixes, no free rides, no free caregiver programs, trust us!

However, there are trillions of dollars spent on illigal immigrants health care, education, cellphones, housing, which is breaking the bank of the USA.

But, a question that I would pose to the OP is:
Why haven't you enlisted your sisters skill-set if she has attained these magnificent services she spoke of, she should be able to duplicate them with a phone call, no matter what, to help you out.

However, there are no free services that come close to providing familial caregiving.

Perhaps he was a Veteran w/70-100% disability, or on Medicaid (State Aid for indigent or 20K < and/or 100% disabled, or maybe he had paid 2 years in a nursing home, and then went to live with your sister).

Just realize that no one can be as compassionate as a loving son and daughter-in- law.

This is your time to raise the bar and shine! You can do it! We all have done it in our young 60's.... (which is where I'm at!).
My mom first, then my Dad, who just died at 97.

My cousins 4 girls and 2 boys are currently taking turns as caregivers to their 90 y/o mom, as they used her assets years ago, thinking she'd be deemed indigent by Medicare. Nope.

Good Luck to you.

You and your wife can wash her clothes and clean her room, or hire a houekeeper with the funds your 90 year old mother-in-law is receiving from Social Security.

I think you need Medicaid
 

When I lived in NYC, I had friends who got that type of support thru Medicaid. A very long drawn out process to obtain and it's different in every state. Good luck

If your mother cannot provide that care for herself, and is on a decline, she may be eligible for hospice care. They provide bathing, once or twice a week, and a nurse comes in at least once a week to make sure your mother doesn’t need anything. They don’t come every day, however. They charge Medicare for their services.

They also provide lots of the equipment that your mother may need. I hadn’t realized that and had purchased a lot of the things for my mother before I found out that hospice can take care of that, too.

Your Key to Senior Living Options
 

I highly recommend consulting with Your Key to Senior Living Options. Lisa Honka and team provide a free service helping you navigate care for your mom. They can help you assess the resources needed and providers - in home care as well as assisted living - but only what you want - no pressure and free. Website: Yourkeytoseniorlivingoptions.com.

They offer seminars blog posts, newsletters , etc on helpful topics. Very dedicated folks. They helped one friend get a persistent Medicare issue resolved quickly after months of trying herself, just as one example.

Wish you the best in finding what you need!!

We are in a similar situation with both of my inlaws, they moved into our house 19 months ago. As far as we could find, it's $35/hr, minimum 4 hours, and you can have as many or as few hours as you want. The workers help....but it's still a lot of hard core nursing work for my wife (and a little for me too). They don't "do everything"....some days it doesn't seem like they "do anything". It's tough.

Joe

The services you are looking for are provided through Medicaid. Each state’s program is different. I would begin by contacting the State Department of Health.