Get Paid To Care For Loved Ones
There are many individuals that take the time out to care for their aging parents or elder family members. Assisting them with bathing cleaning, grocery shopping and many other daily task that our elders are just no longer able to do themselves. Of course we help them however we can and we do these things out of love. Compensation may be available to those caregiving for their aging parents. There are a few different options and programs that family members as caregivers could potentially utilize to receive payment for the help they provide in caring for their loved ones.
Medicaid Options
Texas Medicaid has a waiver called STAR+PLUS. The waiver is a program by Medicaid that allows for persons who are NOT living in a nursing home to receive care services. The STAR+PLUS waiver enables caregivers to provide non-medical home care supportive services. These services may include grooming, feeding, bathing and other daily activities. Depending upon the service needed STAR+PLUS will authorize the care recipient have the caregiver OR service provider of their choice. This is referred to as “consumer directed care”. CDC allows recipient’s to have a family member provide care services. The program will then send payments to the caregiving family member for providing services to the program beneficiary.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Care recipient must have a need for “nursing home level care”
- Assets valued at less than $2,000 if any excluding their home
- Monthly income below $2,313
- Caregiver of choice cannot be a spouse or care recipients legal guardian
For more information about the program visit STAR+PLUS | Texas Health and Human Services
➢ Community First Choice Program
Another Medicaid program offered in Texas is the Community First Choice Program. Like the STAR+PLUS waiver, this program offers “consumer directed care”. Meaning the recipient is able to choose their own caregiver including family members. This of course is with the exception of spouses. The Community First Choice Program differs from STAR+PLUS in a few ways. One being that as long as you meet eligibility requirements you will receive benefits unlike STAR+PLUS where the enrollment is limited. This means that an individual may be eligible but depending upon the programs current enrollment they could still be placed on a waiting list to begin receiving benefits. This program also covers different benefits than STAR+PLUS, but as far as assisting with personal care both programs cover this service. The eligibility requirements for this program are more strict so it may be a little more difficult to qualify for but not so bad that it seems impossible.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Monthly income less than $771
- Asset valued at no more than $2,000
- Must require “nursing home level care”
For more information about this program visit Community First Choice | Texas Health and Human Services
State Funded Programs
Community Care for Aged/Disabled
CCAD or Community Care for Aged/Disabled is a Non-Medicaid program funded by the state of Texas. This program pays relatives providing certain care types and assistance. The recipient will be approved for a specified amount and type of care and they have the option to hand select their caregiver. Payments from the state to the caregiver will be handled by a third party fiscal management service. With this program a spouse may qualify to be a paid caregiver, provided they are able to meet certain criteria.
For information on eligibility criteria please visit Section 3000, Eligibility for Services | Texas Health and Human Services
Veteran Programs
The Aid and Attendance Pension benefit is a program in Texas that may also be used to provide compensation for family caregivers.This program will not qualify a spouse to be a paid caregiver but does permet payment for adult children or other family members providing care services. Being a cash benefit, the VA annually sets a max income allotment for the beneficiary. They will then supplement the income up to the max that has been set. Consider the following as an example.If one year the Maximum Annual Pension Rate is around $20,000 and the beneficiary has $12,000 in income the VA will step in and provide the additional $8,000 to close the gap. If an individual’s income is higher than the set maximum, the VA allows families deductions for certain expenses,one being the cost of their care. This approach is more complex than others and you may require more information. Please visit Aid And Attendance Benefits And Housebound Allowance | VA.gov for more information.
***This program is ONLY available to veterans or veteran spouses who require personal care assistance***
➢Veteran Directed Care Program
Veterans requiring “nursing home level care” are able to receive care at home and have the ability to have friends and family, including spouses, become paid caregivers in this program. This VA program gives the veteran a “care budget” versus being provided care resources and restrictions. The veteran is in control of the budget and is able to hire persons of their choice to provide the hands on assistance needed on a day to day basis. All veterans participating in the VA Medical Center Care System requiring “nursing home level care” qualify for the Veteran Directed Care Program. For more information please visit Veteran-Directed Care – Geriatrics and Extended Care (va.gov)
Long Term Care Insurance
Texas residents may be able to have family members as “paid caregiver” if they have invested in Long-term care insurance. Many long-term care insurance policies are very restrictive so one may have to get creative if considering this option. The policy must pay for personal care outside of nursing homes or assisted living communities and send payouts directly to the policy holder not the care provider. Provided those conditions are met the care recipient is allowed to choose their own care provider/caregiver for services. If someone is unable to meet these requirements they may be able to talk to their person of interest in providing care services about possibly starting their own home healthcare agency. This way the care recipient can hire that specific home health care agency. This will send payments from the long-term care insurance directly to the home health care agency selected thus the family member will receive compensation.
If you or someone you know are interested in being paid as a caregiver for a loved one give us a call at 972-602-3500. Our office staff would be happy to get your loved one set for the care services they need and deliver the compensation you deserve with New Port Home Health
