Public Aid

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Public Aid is state assistance to low-income families and seniors and might go by another name. It usually has several parts – cash assistance, medical assistance to cover various services and prescriptions and a food stamp program. There is also public aid for financial assistance to cover the costs of nursing home care. Check your telephone books under state offices and also the senior resources in the area. If your older adult needs financial assistance to pay for nursing home care, most area long-term care facilities can give you information.

Caring for others and serving them is a privilege.

Each state has different requirements for eligibility in the various programs. Check your state out to see if it has a spousal impoverishment act to protect the community spouse if the other spouse has to go to a nursing home. Many have such a program and the limits will vary from state to state.

In seeking public aid for nursing home care; look into the requirements before you need them to avoid mistakes later. For instance, the state of Illinois looks back 3 years from the date of application (5 years in the case of a trust). They want to know that the senior’s money is going for their care and that includes all of the assets they may have. If your parent wants to make a monetary gift – make sure it is done long before your parent may need to apply for public aid. The state will question any transfer of assets. It is okay to cash in assets to pay for the senior’s care, but be sure you have a very clear paper trail – i.e. cash in a CD and deposit into the parent’s checking or savings account.

DON’T MIX YOUR FUNDS WITH YOUR PARENTS FUNDS. It is okay to be on their checking/savings account as a signer but don’t put your funds in their account and expect to get them back. The state will look at the account and consider all the money the senior’s.

KEEP RECEIPTS RELATING TO EXPENSES Paperwork is the curse of the modern age. FOR YOUR PARENT OR PARENTS. If you have a housekeeper or a health care worker for them, make sure you pay them out of their funds and you have receipts. If you are footing the bill, make sure you have receipts to prove you are entitled to reimbursement and you might want to check the expense out with public aid in your area to see what they say regarding reimbursement.

Burials can be prepaid and maybe funeral expenses can be considered – again, check it out with your local public aid office.

One other word of advice, public aid workers aren’t always the highest paid employees, so be patient and kind to them. Remember to treat them the way you want to be treated.

If you don’t get satisfaction, don’t be afraid to go to their supervisor or the head of the public aid office. You are a tax payer (and so was your senior) and you deserve to be treated with courtesy and respect.

Public Aid http://www.dhs.state.il.us or http://www.dpaillinois.com

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