A lot of people that find themselves caring for an elderly loved one wonder if it is possible to get paid for caring for their parent. This is a really good question, and one that is perfectly reasonable to ask. After all, if you’re a family caregiver, odds are that you spend a lot of hours per week helping out. In fact, you might even need to leave a fulltime job to be a caregiver. This can be a huge drain on your financial resources, and looking for ways to help offset this might be necessary.
In reality, there are three main ways that you could get paid for being a family caregiver.
The first way is by being paid by your parents directly. If this is a realistic choice, talk to your mom or dad about it. This can be a delicate subject, so be sure that you use the appropriate amount of tact when discussing this. Money is always a sensitive issue, and it might not be a good idea to talk about this at all. Be smart about the issue so that you do not stress a family relationship.
The second way is to qualify as a caregiver under your state’s Medicare or Medicaid program. This is not always as difficult as it sounds, and if this is something that you really have a heart for, it might be worth looking into. First, know that not all state’s offer this, so be sure to look into what the requirements for your particular location are before you get too attached to this idea. Also, for this to occur, you would need to be licensed through your state as a home health care provider. This requires training, licensing, and the whole process. It’s possible, but the process for becoming a caregiver can be tough if you are doing it on your own. If you’re unsure of where to start, check out your local community college. Many of these have the classes that are required. Just be sure that you know what the process is, and that you are sure that the program you are enrolling in will meet both state and Medicaid standards for licensing.
The other method is if your parent has a long term care insurance policy that accounts for caregiver training as a rider within the policy. Others do not require you to get trained to act as a caregiver, and if that is what your mom or dad decides is best for them, then the insurance policy would pay you as the caregiver. All of this would need to be decided back before the long term care policy was put into action. If this is something that you are considering, be sure that your parent’s policy is all lined up and in proper order well before care is needed.
As a final note, know that there are professional in-home care services out there that can be of help to you. It’s not always best to act as a family caregiver–paid or unpaid. Be sure to know what your choices are when it comes to care before you ever need to start thinking about senior care for a loved one.
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