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Hi, this is my 1st time to ask a question to this forum. I'm a "new" caregiver, of my 88 yr old dad, with dementia and he's now living with me as of 18 days ago. I learned recently that his VA benefits will unfortunately NEVER cover any form of assisted living or memory care, as his health issues were not caused from his 4 yrs of service. Their at-home healthcare would only kick in if he meets at least 3 ADL criterion, and he's not there yet. But for me, it's a part time job already (he can feed himself, but only if you put food in front of him as he has no appetite; he can put on his own clothes, but won't change them for weeks unless you put fresh clothes in front of him and you literally tell him to change his clothes, he won't brush his teeth unless you tell him to, etc). I also work full-time myself.
Long story short, given the above news regarding his VA benefits, the other option is Medicare. However, I recently learned in my research that he has a TEN YEAR penalty for not paying "Plan B". So roughly $23K penalty and double the monthly premium if he gets back on it. :'-( Also in my research, he only has "Plan A", and that won't cover assisted living, memory care or at home healthcare.
QUESTION 1: Does anyone know of, or can anyone point me to a service that helps pay for Medicare penalties for low-income elderly? He only receives one small SS check a month. PS: We're in the Denver area.
QUESTION 2: I'm completely unaware if Medicare Plan B (and beyond....like Medicare Advantage, etc), would even fully cover these services I'm seeking. So I wonder - is it even worth it??
Thank you!
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