As a growing percentage of the population reaches their seniors years, Newfoundland and Labrador have introduced a pilot program that will pay up to 250 residents who provide care for seniors or adults with disabilities in an effort to keep more clients at home and in their communities.
The Paid Family Care Giving Option, effective October 22, 2015, allows eligible individuals, including parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren and relatives living in the same home, to be paid for their care giving. Spouses and common law partners are not eligible. According to an October 2015 press release, those who currently receive subsidized home support have now been included in the program as well.
The pilot project is part of a provincial strategy Close to Home, launched in 2012, to help support long-term and community care services through an investment of $700 million in this year’s budget alone.
To learn more about the eligibility criteria, funding and the assessment process, visit: http://www.health.gov.nl.ca/health/long_term_care/family_caregiving.html .
In the U.S., a few states have programs to help people pay caregivers but budget considerations are causing many of these to be cut. Caregivers or clients can contact Medicaid or the National Resource Center for Participant-Directed Services to learn more about individual state programs. Caregivers of veterans may be eligible for aid or attendance pension benefits through Veteran’s Affairs. For more information visit: http://www.va.gov/hac/factsheets/champva/FactSheet11-04v2.pdf.
Long-term care insurance may also cover some home care and allow family members providing care to be paid, check with your agent to learn more about this benefit and any conditions or exclusions.
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