I am trying to find additional money to help pay for my brother's assisted living bills. He has vascular dementia and Alzheimer's Disease. He also has Major Depressive Disorder. He is medically eligible for Medicaid, but I would have to move him to the skilled nursing portion of his care facility to apply for Medicaid. He would have to move out of his comfortable room into the hospital ward-like beds of skilled care. His clinical depression is eased somewhat by the pleasant surroundings of his assisted living room. If he moves to the clinic-like skilled nursing section, I'm concerned that his depression would increase and his decline from his dementia would only get worse. I am his financial POA, and I need an additional $1,600 a month added to his social security and pension to keep him in his assisted living room. I have been dipping into his savings to pay the current bills, but his money will soon run out. I am 70 years old and retired with health problems of my own and have no assets I can use to pay my brother's bills. I am considering using GoFundMe to do fundraising for my brother. Has anyone gone this route? Any suggestions or opinions? Thanks very much.
If he's eligible for Medicaid and you are his POA, start looking at different care facilities for him so he won't have to go to the "nursing home" part of the facility he's in now.
If he has Alzheimer's and vascular dementia he should be in a memory care facility. Most of them accept Medicaid.
You say you are 70. Assuming most of your friends and family in same age group, how many of them are going to be willing to donate each month to cover 1600 in a housing expense...that brother could get for nothing. Many of your friends (and friends of friends) are in the same predicament at this point in their life. They are running out of money to continue living in AL and have to go to the Medicaid NH bed. AL is for people who have amassed some wealth that will last throughout their life to accommodate the AL facility. Even those with wealth can have health that goes down hill and they need more care than AL will do. Those people end up hiring outside help to do what AL won't do.
I donate to many gofundme accounts based on what I think is reasonable. An example is a family trying to raise $20-25K for a funeral when the story says they left behind small children. The survivng spouse is going to need some financial help ongoing after the funeral to figure out how to survive on one income. The living want the big 'going out' funeral, perhaps as a show of how much they loved their person, however that much money is just going down in the hole with the person they are burying and they will still need help for the living family. It's not necessary to rent the funeral chapel, the family car or other things from the funeral home. Hold the entire service at a church or the cemetery. Only do the basics at the funeral home. The extravaganza funerals, when a family has to learn to live with out the contributions from the deceased, are those I decline. I'm not trying to sound hard hearted at all.
I just don't see you would ever be able to raise 1600 from your friends and family on a monthly basis. Not when many of them are probably running out of money for AL care and having to make the same NH bed move for their own loved ones.
Perhaps you could go talk with the facility to explain your fears. While he may have to move to another area to get the Medicaid bed, perhaps they can keep him engaged with the same activities in the old area. The money for the gofundme will be designated (by your own words when you post it) for your brother's care --- this would be income for your brother. It could raise issues for Medicaid (maybe, maybe not) and a question to ask an atty before you step into that mess.
I think you may know that.
If you are considering using charity, it may be ethical to spend down his assets before asking for help.
People who would donate might not feel like supporting him in the better room.
Sorry it has come to this, but I think applying for medicaid will keep him with a roof over his head.
I feel like a GoFundMe page would not be reliable or consistent to rely upon for his care. I wish I had a better answer for you and for me. He needs to apply to Medicaid.
People think that things get easier as you get older, but they really don't!
Fundly.
Bonfire.
Double the Donation.
DonateKindly.
Kickstarter.
IndieGogo.
Classy.
Kickstarter.
I would be very surprised if friends would continue to donate $1600 a month to keep your brother living where he's at indefinitely. Most people have it in them to donate once or twice, and that's it. To think you can keep him there month after month seems like a pipe dream, in my opinion, but it may be worth a try. Don't be surprised if people don't donate to the 'cause', however. Times are very hard right now & most of us can't even afford our OWN lives, never mind to fund someone else's when Medicaid IS an option.
Good luck
Where I live, there are a lot of panhandlers standing at the center dividers where people wait to make a left turn. If they get one person to give them $1 every traffic light cycle, they probably get $20/hr. So, potentially they can make $100 or more per day, or $3000/month. No wonder they don't want to work.
I also have seen a few women pushing their little kids in strollers, walking up to people in parking lots and asking for money.
And there are a few normal/not homeless people carrying big poster boards with pictures of a sick child and a message saying the kid has cancer and they need money, etc. These people will walk right into the street where cars are waiting at red lights and shove their signs in front of the drivers to ask for money. Whether they actually have a sick kid with cancer, who knows. But these people get a lot of money, $5 or $10 from each donor vs $1 that panhandlers get.
At 70 y.o., svking, I don't recommend you try any of the above.
YOU SAID "He is medically eligible for Medicaid, but I would have to move him to the skilled nursing portion of his care facility to apply for Medicaid."
NOW: Ask the facility to place him or get a conservator.
I'm not sure where you are from, but many states have funding available to help the disabled and elderly. The best program we have in this area is called IRIS.
They allow the person or trusted family member to direct their own care. They can stay in charge. In fact they can stay in their own home if they want and IRIS will help pay for the care he wants to bring in. But whatever his needs are and where ever he chooses to go they can help financially. They will help pay for caregivers and also things he needs that are not already covered by his insurance.
I pray for you and your brother to find the best and for God to heal you both of whatever problems you may now have. God Bless You!
Isn’t it crazy how our society works?! If only you could find an additional $1600 per month, your brother could continue to live in a nice memory care unit. The alternative is to move him to a sterile (hopefully) nursing home and apply for Medicaid to the tune of well over $100,000 per year. This is such a huge struggle that many caregivers face. The availability of supplemental funds to individuals who pay out of pocket for memory care would save taxpayers a lot of money and free up nursing home beds to those who truly require that level of care.
I am wondering if you have contacted your county dept. on aging. In many states, there are some memory care facilities that accept Medicaid. However, there aren’t many. You may want to reach out to find out about other options or even see if there are memory care facilities that are a bit cheaper than your brother’s current placement. Good luck to you!
many familes
are in the same boat, start looking now and ask the financial questions.
That is really going to go over well when they try to spin their story to gain sympathy. Might have a shot if say their LO was 40 or something.
If he has enough for one or months in a nice LTC, get him placed. Then apply for Medicaid. If the facility helps you with the process, keep on top of it. In my State you only have 90 days to spend down and get info needed to the caseworker. With my Mom I started the application process in April. She paid 2 months privately for May and June. I confirmed in June with the caseworker, that Mom was spent down and he had all info needed. Medicaid started July 1st.
Me personally, I do not do GoFundMe. And as said, they are not set up for continued income.
Think of Medicaid as akin to a big urban public school system. Some schools are stellar but most are on a gradient. Find out, perhaps by even asking his al, what facilities they prefer to work with for transfers, that’ll probably be the better ones.