An elder who is in his 80s has lived here for 30 years, but he is still a citizen of Denmark. He doesn't have U.S. citizenship nor Medicaid or Medicare. He has COPD and is dying. Would he be eligible for this program (specifically, South-Central Colorado Seniors, Inc. in Saguache County) to assist with his needs concerning end-of-life care? Thanks for your response.
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As igloo says, it won't help with Medicare unless he's worked the requisite number of quarters here in the U.S. but it's possible he could get social security payments and Medicaid.
There are many many who can avail themselves of this but have zero idea that totalization is an option.
I’m aware of this as I know of someone whose German national In Law came to the US ages ago, leaving behind abusive marriage. Mil wanted zero to do of anything that reminded her of the past and moved in with her son & his wife in the US. Flash forward decades later, MiL is 90 and needs all sorts of health care which they have been paying for and they themselves are retiring and really need to get MiL into a NH. They get a visit from long lost German cousin who very matter to fact tells them why aren’t you filing for her & her even tho divorced hub’s German pension as that is something that everyone knows about to do. I imagine you could have heard a feather hit the floor after that statement!
MiL did get the crediting and they did find a NH that would take her for LTC Medicaid custodial care program as she now had real SS retirement income to do the copay. Happiness all around! However, as her hubs on which their retirement income was really based on, was still in Germany, she did NOT have any US spouse to do a carryover of his FICA work history to be able to use for MediCARE. So only Medicaid programs that she could be eligible for. (Unlike what happened with JoAnn’s English MiL married to a US citizen so she could piggyback off his Medicare quarters to get the employment quarters credits, like all spouses can). And they did find a NH that understood only Medicaid for billing. By being unaware, they missed out on MiL getting retirement income for roughly 30 years…..
Lots of folks work aboard for foreign companies and pay into that countries social service’s safety net or into a pension for a company based in that country. So their credits built up which can be converted to US SSA system. Voila! they now get SSA retirement income based on ages ago work history in foreign country, plus any US FICA.
However it will NOT be able to match up for the quarters needed for MediCARE which has it system based on full 40 quarters by him or a working in the US spouse who themselves has the 40 he can attach onto for Part A 100% free. As Medicare does not recognize foreign credits for how it determines working quarters. So for health insurance, which MediCARE is, that is not an option for him.
BUT….
he can file for low income Medicaid health insurance with or without the totalization. You may need to really press onto Medicaid that Medicare will never ever be an option for him. Why?? Well you imho need to please PLEASE pls be aware that for elderly who get billable services - whether it’s in a hospital, a clinic, doctors, therapists - the default entered on paperwork is that they are on MediCARE in some way. Like on Original Medicare and a secondary / supplemental policy OR are on a Medicare Advantage Plan. For those 65+ low income, they become “duals” so on Medicare and low income Medicaid for health insurance. (Low income Medicaid and not ACA/Obamacare.) Hence the “dual”. The healthcare systems if you look 65+ default to billing Medicare in some way…. you have to keep this in mind or he will have a real clusterF on billing. He will never be Medicare so he or you have to get that point across….. that he is totally will be just whatever low income Medicaid as health insurance your State has.
Again! The totalization process dependent on details from Denmark. So he needs to get with Danish consulate asap to get paperwork started.
FWIW Germany has the treaty and there is info on how it runs, experiences on the process, etc. you can find via Google.
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We really cannot answer you. You need to contact the program to see what criteria this elder needs to meet.