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I've be living in my mom's house for about a year. I can't hardly get out of the house since October of last year. I have my mom on Medicaid Waiver and I've been being paid some but not much. The job is 24/7/365 never any days off or uninterrupted sleep but I only get paid 15 to 24 hours per week. As it was explained to me, my mom was approved for 31 hours respite care, so those hours are really for a home care agency to come in to give me a break, but since the agency doesn't have somebody available for all 31 hours, I can get paid for the hours they don't work. Currently the lady who stops by here only has 3 hours per week.


To explain it further, the agency charges $30/hr self-pay, so those people get priority. Medicaid only pays the agency $20/hr, so they take the self-pay clients first, then my mom gets whoever happens to be available if they have extra time. Should they have the availability to work more hours, then I can only get paid for whatever hours are left if any. To make it more screwy, they approved me for up to $17/hr. but I'm only authorized to bill for $14/hr. They said that was so they would have room to give me a raise. I don't think it's right the agency gets $20 and I only get $14, but that's another story.


My big concern is right now, if my mom goes to a nursing home, my income stops. Also, if she would pass away, my income would stop as well. I would need a job like fast. I've been a family caregiver for the past year now and likely it will continue on a little longer. There is NO other family to help. According to a lawyer I talked to, if my mom is on Medicaid and goes into a nursing home, I would be expected to pay her fair market value for my rent which would go towards her care. Since I don't have a job, I wouldn't be able to pay rent and would have to move out with no place to go. The lawyer told me having another source of income from outside the house would be my best option. I tried for several part-time openings but each time they decided to go with another applicant.


I don't even know about getting my old job back, all of the managers over me have quit and they have all new people working there so I don't know anyone. It's 50 miles from my mom's place and we have to deal with a number of customers every day, so the chances of getting COVID-19 are really high and if I get exposed I can't go back to my mom's place.


Even if my mom passes away, there is still the problem with the life estate she did back in 2008. Her idea was to leave me her house, but a new law passed in 2017 prevents that. A second lawyer showed me a table, https://public-dhhs.ne.gov/nfocus/Manuals/APX469/apx469/life_estate_and_remainder_interest_table.htm My mom is 96 so you take the value of the house (all I know is the current tax value) which is showing as 25,000 x .22181 which gives you her share or $5,545.25. This would depend on the amount the house is appraised for which could be lower or higher, but with no job and unable to borrow the money, I would be forced to sell the house leaving me homeless.


Saving the house would only help me out a little bit because I would still need an income to support it.

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This is not uncommon. The people we see move into parents' homes to care for them often end up homeless, jobless and without any job history. It is very common and if you continue to be on Forum you will see it often. We often cannot recommend anything whatsoever but a move into a homeless shelter, a job (often minimum pay) and saving until they can afford a room in someone else's home. This is the sad fact of any life. Without skills there is no pay.
I hope you will consider continuing a job hunt, working at first for low pay as apprentice. There are so many skills that today are more rare and require learning as you go whether tile setting, building, plumbing or any other skill. You will be starting from scratching from scratch.
This is how it is done. You need a job and you decide what you want to do and you work your way up. I can't even tell you the number of years it took me to work from CNA to RN. Two kids, job, college course a year, and just devilish hard work. I sure wish you luck.
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BurntCaregiver Feb 2021
With all due respect to you AlvaDeer, there's a lot of people on this forum. We are all aware of how hard you had to work, but your situation is not SGeorge24's situation. I'm pretty sure that between the lot of us here there is one who can recommend possible working options other than moving into a homeless shelter. Or best case scenario a minimum wage job and a rented room in someone else's place. There's more than a few social workers here too who could share some valuable information on resources to a person in such need.
Maybe all of us here can look into what social programs are available in SGeorge24's state and federal ones.
They are out there if you know how to look. Sometimes a person has to be willing to work the system a bit too and shouldn't feel at all bad or embarrassed by it if they are in need.
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Did you 'enjoy' caregiving?

Good caregivers who show up, put in the time they are being paid for and are honest to boot are HARD to find.

And, nope, you will not get the full amt that the pts family pays as income. The agency has to run!

I made a roaring $9 an hour when I first started CG. But that was actually slightly higher than minimum wage at that time--after 6 months I inquired about a raise and was told 'we don't give raises, ever'. I replied "then that's why you have a 100% turnover every year!!" My client's family drew up legal contracts and tipped me out every month so I made more like $15 an hour. It was all done aboveboard and with 2 lawyers (the sons) drawing it up so it didn't look sketchy.

My agency would not allow more than 32 hrs, b/c at that point they had to pay health insurance and they did NOT want to do that. And, actually, 32 hours was about all I could handle.

You may make more at a NH, or ALF, than in private care. If I were to go back, I would have taken the CNA licensing classes and been qualified for better pay.
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BurntCaregiver Feb 2021
That's how it always is with agencies. I was making $9 an hour and they were getting a fortune from insurance. They kept us all at 30 hours a week or less so they wouldn't have to give benefits, but they'd offer fill-in works for more hours. Some of my clients and their families paid me on the side in cash.
A nursing home CNA doesn't make much above minimum. For that money a nursing home CNA has to bust their ass. It's not worth it.
Private in-home care pays a lot more than any agency or nursing home. The downside is that the work and hours aren't guaranteed.
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I just looked at the Nebraska statutes. Your mom's life estate may be grandfathered in, as the statute states: "Conveyances of real estate made prior to August 24, 2017, that are subject to the grantor's retention of a life estate or an estate for a period of time" are not included in the estate.

https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=68-919

I'd find a better attorney to help you with this. A good social worker may also be able to help.
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What kind of work did you do before you left your job to take care of your mom? A year isn't such a long time off if you let a potential employer know why.
The lawyer told you your best option is to have another source of income outside the house. The lawyer didn't figure that you probably knew that already? I hope you didn't have to pay him much to tell you that. Talk to a different one.
Anyway, Medicaid does a five year look back on property and assets. Your mother's property could be protected. If it's not and she does have to go to a nursing home, you will not just get thrown out of the house that day. The nursing home will try to scare and intimidate you about what you will owe them, but you can't get blood from a stone and they know that.
Could it be a possibility for you to take boarders into the house? Or as they are more politely called 'paying guests'. This way you may have an option other than a homeless shelter or a park bench.
There are resources out there and I think you would benefit better from a social worker than from a lawyer. There are all kinds of programs people collect on. People who are far better off than you are getting. Programs like rent subsidy, food stamps, Medicaid, and disability (SSI or SSD). There are also federal programs called 'Basic Needs' which are for housing and other necessities. You may have to work a little bit of a hustle, but you wouldn't be the first or certainly the last to do so.
Please speak to a social worker through your state's Department of Social Services.
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Please take some time to plan for your own future. Be in touch with local agencies or a social worker to find out what your options are. Think about learning new skills. Find out what assistance might be available for retraining, finding an affordable apartment, etc. Many of these services to help you are free. You may have to downsize.
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Check out additional information here for estate recovery, https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Medicaid-Estate-Recovery.aspx. If you haven’t already, you should contact the state agency to see if you can get an idea of where you’ll stand and have any paperwork ready when the time comes. I hope this will be helpful to you.
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Not sure what your former work experience is, but check with temporary agencies. Temp work often pays more (no benefits) and could lead to permanent work. Also consider talking to homeless shelters and outreach since their social workers can help you apply for reduced price or free classes to update your skills.
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Only being out of the work force for a year shouldn't have a negative impact on you finding a job.  If you were to say 5 to 10 years, that would be a different story because technology changes so much.  It really depends on what line of work you are in.  Make sure when you are interviewing that you don't keep mentioning everything you still have to do for your mom.  They might be afraid to hire you for fear that you will be calling off all the time to handle your moms affairs.  You can highlight your multitasking abilities and organizational skills that were greatly enhanced by caring for someone 24/7, but leave it at that.  Even though you probably are exhausted and stressed, try not to look it or act like it in the interview.  I am sure you know these things... :-)

Good Luck on the job hunt!
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my2cents Mar 2021
True - with covid issues, probably lots of folks out of work for a year.
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FYI the agency gets $20.00 per hour and you get $14.00 that is probably what the caregiver from the agency gets. A lot of what is paid to the agency is "administrative" fees that pay for insurance, maintaining records and all the rest of that stuff.
There are many people that have "reinvented" themselves this past year.
You have not mentioned what you did when you were working but many places are still hiring and employees are Working From Home. (I would be very surprised if that will not become the "norm" as many businesses are finding that the work gets done and they are not paying rent for multiple brick and mortar offices) Keep applying.
From the posts that I have read and the comments I agree that you need to find another lawyer.
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Im not sure i understand the issue with your moms house if she goes into a nursing home with medicaid. I thought medicaid for nursing home ie institutional medicaid had a 5 yr lookback = ie 2 yrs is for community medicaid where your mom still lives in the home. If your mom goes into a nursing home, i believe if the spouse or a child(also adult disabled child) still lives there, i dont think they can come after home otherwise i think they might be able to (ie if your mom has no intention of returning)...very confusing subject but good to speak to an attorney...
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