My heart goes out to you. What a difficult spot to be in! It is horrible enough to know you will soon lose your father, but to have to deal with financial woes on top of that is extremely stressful.
Do check on Cobra. You should have received information about that in your discharge papers. Also look into what your state offers as part of the Affordable Care Act. Especially given your family's health history you really shouldn't be without health insurance!
If Dad buys the groceries and you live with him at least you will not be homeless and starving when unemployment runs out. That should be a small comfort.
I agree that calling hospice would be worthwhile. Even if he is not eligible yet, establishing that contact will be useful.
Who told you that your father isn't qualified for Medicaid? Unless it was an Elder Law lawyer or a Medicaid employee, I'd look into that again.
Working part time might sound like a good idea. But it probably won't offer insurance benefits, and you might be better off financially drawing unemployment, at least while that lasts. Is your profession one that might possibly be done from home? I worked from home through my husband's dementia, to support us. He was also on Medicaid, to cover his extremely high medical costs.
Best wishes to you, and to your father. Please keep us informed of how the unfolds. We care!
You might want to call in hospice, with his diagnosis he should qualify. They can't offer full time care but every little bit helps. If he isn't bedridden and is mentally OK perhaps you may be able to leave him if you could find part time work?
rrfarr, so sorry to read about your Dad's illnesses. He sounds like a really super guy so I know you want the best of care.
Regarding being laid off from work, you might want to check to see if your company has COBRA, which is a government law that allows those who have lost their job to continue to receive group rated health insurance for 18 months. Even if your location had shut down, if the company has other active locations, COBRA should be available. It's worth a call.
He has stage 3 pancreatic cancer. His mind is good. I moved to his home in 2013 to take care of him when he was very sick from another illness. He healed great and was able to live again. In Oct 2016 he was told that he has cancer. He had an operation the re-arrange his insides so that he can eat which turned out to be unsuccessful. He is on a feeding tube. The cancer could not be removed due to the size. He has approx a year to live. This past Dec, my work location shut down so I was laid off. I received one month severance pay. I am filing for unemployment however if I do get a job then he would need someone to look after him or go into a home. Putting him in a home is cruel in my eyes especially in his condition. I lost my mom to pancreatic cancer in 2005. I took care of her during the last 6 weeks of her life. At that time, my job held my position and I went back to work shortly after her death. My only sibling died in 2007 due to complications of the liver. I love my dad so much and this is extremely painful emotionally. He does not have much money to give. He gives me cash every now and again. When I take him to the grocery store, he always pays. He has all the utilities drafted from his retirement pay which does not leave much left. I was told that he makes too much to qualify for Medicaid. I don't need much money however I do need some to pay my own bills and to get health insurance again since our government will punish me at tax time if I don't. I do not know who to turn to and when I seen this site, I thought perhaps there was a solution. My dad is a beautiful man and I am very blessed to have had such a great set of parents. I just do not know how to handle the "now".
This isn't enough information to give helpful advice. Is your Dad coherent enough to make decisions? If so, I would have an honest conversation with him where you stand concerning your finances. Are you living with your Dad? Do you do a lot of work regarding his care? If so, he may need to compensate you for your care if he has the funds available to him.
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Do check on Cobra. You should have received information about that in your discharge papers. Also look into what your state offers as part of the Affordable Care Act. Especially given your family's health history you really shouldn't be without health insurance!
If Dad buys the groceries and you live with him at least you will not be homeless and starving when unemployment runs out. That should be a small comfort.
I agree that calling hospice would be worthwhile. Even if he is not eligible yet, establishing that contact will be useful.
Who told you that your father isn't qualified for Medicaid? Unless it was an Elder Law lawyer or a Medicaid employee, I'd look into that again.
Working part time might sound like a good idea. But it probably won't offer insurance benefits, and you might be better off financially drawing unemployment, at least while that lasts. Is your profession one that might possibly be done from home? I worked from home through my husband's dementia, to support us. He was also on Medicaid, to cover his extremely high medical costs.
Best wishes to you, and to your father. Please keep us informed of how the unfolds. We care!
If he isn't bedridden and is mentally OK perhaps you may be able to leave him if you could find part time work?
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Regarding being laid off from work, you might want to check to see if your company has COBRA, which is a government law that allows those who have lost their job to continue to receive group rated health insurance for 18 months. Even if your location had shut down, if the company has other active locations, COBRA should be available. It's worth a call.