Community Geriatric Care Management

One-Stop Medicaid Home Care

Get home care paid for by Medicaid
Even if your income and assets are over the Medicaid limits
Call or email Roy Herndon Smith, PhD
917-685-2687
communitygeriactriccare@gmail.com

If You Need Medicaid, You Can Get It

by Roy Herndon Smith

If you are a U.S. citizen or long-term resident alien, are 65 or over and need Medicaid to pay for home care or other medical expenses while you are living at home or in an assisted living facility, you can get it, no matter what your income and assets are.  (If you need Medicaid to pay for nursing home care, you can also get it.  See the post, "Medicaid to Pay for Nursing Home Care.") (Medicaid is also available to people under 65.  Consult http://www.health.state.ny.us/health_care/medicaid/index.htm#qualify.)

Community Organizing and the Need for Home Care

by Roy Herndon Smith

Frail elderly people and those who care for them cry out for affordable home care.  Because of their poverty, often the only way to pay for sufficient home care is to get Medicaid.  But even those who can privately pay for home care or who get it through Medicaid often still suffer from isolation and devaluation.  Sometimes, the home care worker is a frail elderly person’s only regular social contact. 

Here is a proposal for community organizing with the frail elderly, their family members and friends, and their community.  In this proposal, I use a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) as an example of a community.  The social work staff of the NORC would carry out the initial steps of the plan.

Home Care and How to Pay for It

by Roy Herndon Smith

Home Care

Two kinds of aides are available to help people in their homes who have difficulties with the day-to-day activities of living:

Home health aides help those who have skilled nursing needs, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, wound care and instruction and assistance in taking medications.  Visiting nurses or therapists provide the skilled nursing care, while home health aides provide skilled day-to-day care.

Personal care aides help those who do not have skilled nursing needs, but do have difficulty with personal care or maintaining their homes.