Time is one of the major things demanded of the home caregiver, but it may become minor once you realize the financial burden incurred in home caregiving. The person who is brave enough to volunteer (involuntary or voluntary) to take on the demands of an ill family member may end up with a huge financial burden as well as a physical and emotional burden. It can be overwhelming to your pocketbook. Of course medical care is expensive and insurance plans don’t always cover all the costs, so whatever is not covered may end up coming out of the caregiver’s pocket. As well, little daily incidentals will add up to a large sum.
Let’s look at some of the expenses. The largest percentage of costs will probably be for the medical bills. These may include prescriptions, doctor’s visits and hospital stays. If the person you are caring for at home only has Medicare coverage, then their needs may not be fully covered by that alone. You may have to step up and take over any expenses above what Medicare pays. There are other costs of taking care of an ill person at home. You may have to hire help, adult daycare or visiting nurses. In addition you may need to buy some medical equipment or supplemental items to make your ill loved one more comfortable or easier to deal with. There can be changes to the home needed such as ramps or stair lifts. You will also need to calculate your own lost wages forgone due to the time you need to spend with your loved one. My own parents had to retire early from their full time jobs making good salaries to take care of elderly parents. You may need to take a new part-time job. So, you see, the burdens can add up on your time and your wallet.
Does this describe the situation you find yourself in? What can you do? Your very first move should be to seek help from relatives and friends. It is easy to feel resentment toward brothers and sisters who you feel have left you to do all the work of taking care of an ill parent at home. But in many cases the uninvolved family members simply think you must have everything covered and are not under that much stress. Sometimes they simply aren’t sure how to jump in and get involved. Merely asking them for help may be all that is needed to get them wanting to be involved or at least feeling they should. Don’t let your financial burden get too large when there may be people willing to help.
Not all families are financially able to provide monetary assistance to the person they are taking care of. There may still be some resources available to you. If you are employed, check to see if your employer has any kind of program to assist you in providing homecare to someone. Though, not well known, some employers have programs in place to help with adult daycare or homecare workers. You may also be able to tap into some program under your own insurance for help. Check with your state Department of Aging or county Area Agency on Aging for resources. Some states pay people simply to be fulltime in-home caregivers. You may also be eligible for a grant that will help you fund extra help. At the end of this article are some sample links to real places. You should be able to find similar links for each state or county via a Web search.
Obviously to receive any kind of help outside of using family members you need to know where to go for help. A good place to start is at a local caregivers support group. They should be able to provide information on nearly anything you need to know. If you cannot locate such a group, try asking at the doctor’s office where you take your loved one. There is a lot of home health care help out there, so go forth and do your research so you can get some relief on your own time, some peace of mind and some reduction of your own financial burden.
Here are some sample links to real organizations that may help:
Dauphin County Pa Aging Services
Buy home medical equipment at drugstore.com.
SpinLife.com Wheelchairs and Scooters
