Home Care Benefits

In-home care that doesn’t drain all financial resources can happen if the people entrusted with helping to plan for the future―attorneys included―are willing to explore all options so the clients can make the best choices for themselves and their families. It’s also critical that adult children and caretakers buy into and respect these plans and work together to reduce friction and ensure great outcomes.

Here are three areas among several to consider for in-home care:

1.Know What to Ask For With Medicare

Clients can get physical, speech and occupational therapy in their homes. They just need a physician’s order for Medicare to cover it―and a qualified elder care attorney who can advise them on what benefits they’re entitled to and on a whole host of other advantages they may not know about on their own.

Medicare also will pay for a home health aide when skilled care is being provided in the home―if clients know to request this. The Jimmo Settlement applies to the entire US and it made sure this sort of coverage could happen as long as skilled care is needed and the individual is benefitting from the skilled care. The improvement standard (unfortunately still cited by many healthcare professionals) is not for real!

2. Check Out Community Medicaid and Non-Medicaid Programs

We always consider applying for Community Medicaid (called MassHealth in Massachusetts) for our clients who need in-home care as well as tapping non-Medicaid state programs. These programs can provide health insurance, prescription coverage, short-term nursing home coverage, and most importantly, home care, along with other benefits, such as Adult Day Care, transportation to and from the doctors, a personal care aide and many other services.

3. Tap Benefits for Veterans and Surviving Spouses

Another resource often in need of deeper exploration is assistance from the Veterans Administration (VA), which offers benefits for all vets, not just wartime veterans. We file paperwork with the VA for all veterans even if the veteran doesn’t need care yet, to validate their service and allow them to be recognized by the VA health care system in case they need help down the road. All veterans are eligible for some home, respite and hospice care. The VA often also provides durable medical equipment, eyeglasses, hearing aids and prescriptions at the maximum rate of $30 per prescription.

If the client is a war-time veteran (or their widow/widower) with a shortfall of care costs, the VA Pension Aid and Attendance benefit can really stretch out the care dollars! If eligible, a married veteran can receive as much as $31,714 per year, a single veteran as much as $26,752 and a surviving spouse as much as $17,192 in 2023.