Financial Demands of Caregiving and How to Cope with Them
For most caregivers, time isn’t the only thing demanded of them. The person who steps in to offer care to an ill family member usually also takes on the financial burden of looking after the person. The cost of giving care is tremendous physically and emotionally for the caregiver, but it can also be overwhelming financially. Medical care is extremely expensive, and most insurance plans do not cover the many of the expenses associated with long term care of a patient.
What are some of the costs that a caregiver frequently has to cope with? Obviously, the first, and usually the largest cost are the medical bills themselves. Doctor’s visits, prescriptions, hospital stays – the person who requires the care typically only has Medicare coverage that is often inadequate to meet their needs, and the caregiver often has to step in to make up the difference. There are many other costs that may enter the picture as well, however. There is the expensive of hiring home help, adult day care, or any other supplemental care that the patient might require. There is the cost of buying any medical equipment or making changes to the home that the patient may need or that may make caring for them easier. Also important to calculate in here is the lost earnings of the caregiver. Frequently, the caregiver either has to give up their job completely, take a new job that is less demanding or move to part time work, causing a marked loss in income, all while they are having to spend more.
What can you do if this sounds like the situation you are facing? First and foremost is that you must speak up and ask for help. Although it is easy for caregivers to feel resentful of family members who are not helping with the care of a sick relative, in many cases, they are uninvolved in the care because they don’t know what to do or believe you have it all covered. Sometimes, asking for help may be all that is required – you may find that other relatives are willing and able to chip in and help take the financial burden off of you.
Of course, not all families are in the position to provide this kind of help. If yours is not, there are still some resources out there for you. First, check and see what you employer has to offer. You may be surprised to find out that many employers have programs in place to help their employees meet the costs associated with providing care, like adult day care programs and home help workers. The insurance program you receive through your job might also have some benefits that you can tap into to see you through this time.
If there aren’t any benefits at work, you may be eligible to receive aid from the state. Some states “pay” people who provide care fulltime, and some states offer grants that let you hire in extra help without any cost to you.
To receive this kind of help, however, obviously you have to know where to find it. One good place to start is to seek out the local caregivers support group in your area. There is one of these groups in almost every town, and they can give you all of the info you need about the resources available to you. If you can’t find one of these groups, ask the doctor of the person you care for if they can recommend any help, or turn to the net. There is plenty of help out there, and putting in the time do some research can relieve your emotional and financial burden.
