Free In-Home Care for seniors in Florida

Attorney Robert Hidock: They're already in a rehab facility or they're at home struggling and their children who usually have that power of attorney come to me and we end up helping them. If they need home health care, we are getting them home health care on Medicaid so they can stay at home. If they've passed that stage and their level of care has increased and they're, let's say, in a rehab facility and they're not rehabbing and they've got to go to skilled nursing, that's how we can help them protect their assets.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Before they ever get to the nursing home, we want to remind people that if you are at home and you just need some help getting by or if you've got parents that you're over there helping them a good bit and they just need some help, we have a program that can give you free in-home care up to 30 hours a week.

Robert: Yes, it's a great program. It's Medicaid's long-term care waiver and, Tom, when I tell the people about it, you can just see the relief on their face, particularly the caregiver. It's like, oh my gosh, I can see it's like almost a miracle, that relief there. They can see that there's going to be help and they don't have to go at it alone. I'll tell you how it differs. With Medicaid, everybody automatically thinks nursing home, which is traditional and that trajectory is hospital, rehab, you don't rehab, you go to a skilled nursing facility.

There's always a bed somewhere, so no matter when you need it, it's there for you, and there's 24 hours of daycare. The waiver is a little bit different. It's not an immediate opening, it's more needs tested. You have to be interviewed first, score one to five. You needed to score a five. Then in about 30 days after you score a five, you'll get called off of that waitlist. Then you'll start receiving 30 hours of home health care. It really is for that person who's starting to struggle at home to keep them home longer, keep them with their family, not having to pay a facility, just getting free care.

Olsen: That's what people want, both the kids and the parents, and we have a free booklet on that, how to receive free in-home care for seniors. You can get that by calling the Olson Law Group anytime, 407-423-5561 or going through our website, olsonlawgroup.com. We can do that for anybody here in the state of Florida. Robert, that free 30 hours of in-home care, what would that caretaker be doing for the mom or dad?

Robert: It could be a number of things, Tom. It can start as little as doing some cooking, light cleaning, bathing, running errands if need be, doing medicine, helping them get dressed. It really, they try and put the plan together to assess what needs that person really does need. Then at that point, that's how they determine the 30 hours. You might be getting a nurse, you might be getting a nurse's aid, you might be getting someone that's a housekeeper, and they just work that system out for you.

Tom: In that situation, do mom and dad, do they get to choose who might be doing that in-home care for them?

Robert: There's usually a variety of networks that they can pick from.

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