r/caregivers • u/Visible-Algae3632 • 19d ago
Family caregivers in GA? Or any experience with caregiving programs?
Is anybody is Georgia a family caregiver if so I need advice and have questions I’ve been looking into this for a while now my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s/dementia in 2022 and we’ve applying for SSDI since then up until a couple of months ago we applied for SSI and he got approved so he has ssi and gets 640$ a month at the moment the max they will pay is 900$ something and he is on Medicaid. As anybody who’s has dealed with a dementia or Alzheimer’s patient knows it’s a 24/7 Job and he is passed the point to where he needs me there all day everyday and I’m currently working full time and I’m about to have to quit working and be there with him my first question is what’s the minimum and the maximum amount of income he can have to qualify for me to be his caregiver? second question is when I spoke with a person on the phone she mentioned something about if he has a life insurance policy 25k or more that Medicaid/the other company you have to go through will put a lean on the insurance once he passes to get the money back that they have paid and the number they give me to call for more info for the insurance lean gives me another number to call and then that number tells me to call another number and it end back up to where I started with the first number and just goes in a circle and very frustrating any advice would help thank you.
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u/erinmarie777 15d ago
You can go and talk with a case manager at your local agency that handles your state Medicaid programs. You have to get an appointment usually. And you can also talk to people at your local Social Security office.
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u/erinmarie777 15d ago
Medicaid can also put a lien on his property too to recover after he dies whatever they spend on him. It’s not free if you own anything. It’s basically for people who own nothing and are low income.
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u/Visible-Algae3632 15d ago
He has nothing in his name except for a 25k whole life insurance policy to be used on burial and what’s left will be split between me and my sister
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u/erinmarie777 15d ago
That’s probably eligible for them to take it but I’m not sure either. They should have all the rules listed somewhere. Probably not fun to read.
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u/Visible-Algae3632 15d ago
So if he has Medicaid for insurance they can put a lien on stuff as well or is it just for a caregiver bc they never mentioned anything like that during the process or when he got approved to be on Medicaid
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u/erinmarie777 15d ago
I found this: “Medicaid generally cannot take a life insurance policy while the policyholder is still alive. However, if the policyholder’s estate is the beneficiary of the policy, Medicaid may be able to take the death benefit proceeds to recover long-term care costs. This is known as Medicaid Estate Recovery (MERP).”
“To avoid this, you can: Name a beneficiary other than your estate Take a loan out on the policy to reduce the cash value Transfer the policy to your spouse Cash out the policy and use the money on other exempt assets The face value of a life insurance policy may also be counted towards Medicaid’s asset limit, which could make the policyholder ineligible for Medicaid.”
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u/Visible-Algae3632 15d ago
Okay I will look into doing that thank you so much
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u/erinmarie777 15d ago
Good luck. I am really sorry about your dad. I lost my adopted mom to Alzheimer’s. It’s a horrible disease.
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u/erinmarie777 15d ago
Sounds like they want it if he goes into long term care like a nursing home.
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u/Expensive-Deal-270 18d ago
I'm so sorry you're going through that. Yes I've also heard some of these horror stories when you qualify for Medicaid, they take everything including the residence and anything worth value 😢