Along with the challenge, providing care for a disabled and aging loved one comes with a reward too. Caregivers are given the opportunity to make sure their loved ones are living the best quality of life by assisting with activities of daily living. More than anything, caregivers who carry the responsibility themselves have the benefit of knowing that attentive, personal care is provided with love and affection towards their family members.
Unfortunately, a lot of caregivers do not have enough time to work while caring for their loved ones. They would usually end up quitting their jobs or drastically reducing their working hours to take care of their family members. Currently, two out of five adults in America are family caregivers and 60% of them are women. Studies show that the number of caregivers who quit their jobs is increasing whether working on full-time or part-time jobs.
Financial Aid Options Available for Caregivers
If you’re a family caregiver, you must know that there are financial aid options available for you to choose from. You can receive some financial assistance, income, or tax breaks that can lessen the burden of the caregiving expense. Thanks to various programs offered by the government, tax incentives, and family payment options are made available to help out with their loved one’s financial situation.
1. Medicaid
If you have an elderly loved one with a low-income, he or she may be eligible for Medicaid provided by the state. There are currently 15 states that offer a Cash and Counseling program that involves giving away allowances to care recipients in order to pay family caregivers. If you don’t reside to any of the 15 Cash and Counseling states, others programs are still offered for low-income seniors who may not qualify for Medicaid.
2. Long Term Care Insurance
Another financial aid options caregivers can choose from is the long-term care insurance. The only thing about this option is that only a few such policies allow for family caregiver payments. Older seniors who have a long-term care insurance typically have policies that will pay family caregivers because older policies usually have a provision.
3. Veteran-Directed Home and Community-Based Services Program
The veteran directed home and community-based services program is available for veterans who do not want to end up living in a nursing facility. The programs help veterans to manage their care by providing caregiver support and authorize monthly flexible spending account to purchase goods and secure services for disabled veterans living at home. Veterans also have the option to hire a family member to act as their caregivers to provide support to family caregivers.
4. Tax Incentives
Tax incentives are another financial assistance for caregivers who are adult children aging 65 and below. They can deduct the costs of qualified medical expenses and mileage as long as it is greater than 10% of their AGI provided they itemize their deductions. It is better to discuss this option to an accountant or tax professional to find whether a standard deduction is more beneficial financial wise.
5. The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
This type of workplace benefit is another form of financial aid that ensures employees working for any company (with more than 50 employees), and employed for 12 months (working a minimum of 1,250 hours) gets 12 weeks of unpaid leave. The U.S Department of Labor specifically stated that adult children providing care for an aging parent is a qualifying situation when asking for a leave. A qualifying health condition requiring care must also be presented by the care recipient.
6. Paid Leave for Caregiving Employees
There are four states that currently implement paid family leave options, but for those who don’t live to any of them, other companies provide assistance towards caregiving employees with paid leave while bigger companies usually offer elder care programs.
7. Family Payments
This is usually the best financial aid option if the care recipient is not qualified for Medicaid or other state program, and the tax breaks aren’t enough to compensate for the caregiving time and related out-of-pocket expenses incurred. Find out if the recipient can afford to pay you himself or if other family members are willing to pay you for your caregiving services.
8. Home and Community-Based Services Program
This program is available for care receipts who are not veterans provided that they meet the eligibility criteria depending on each state although they’re usually based on income and qualifying medical condition regardless of the elder’s age.
It is apparent that caregivers face financial issues because of the large portion of the caregiving expenses as well the wages they are losing. It is best to look into the programs available in your area to make sure you benefit from the all financial aid available.
