Financial aid for low income adults with diabetes (blood, require, vision)

[charolastra00]

I posted on the caregiving forum at http://www.city-data.com/forum/careg...avigating.html but would appreciate a signal boost!

Long story short - my 55 year old dad is having serious health issues in relation to uncontrolled diabetes. My dad stopped going to the doctor 4 years ago and stopped taking medication/checking his blood sugar around 2 1/2 years ago. He also lost 150 pounds during this time by controlling his eating, so he decided that he was cured and didn't need help. My parents were also uninsured during this period which contributed to my dad's reluctance to go to the doctor.

I only found out last week that he had not been managing his diabetes when I sent him to the doctor to get neurontin to help with his neuropathy. After a whirlwind of an ER visit and a bunch of tests, doctors now suspect that he had a silent heart attack at some point in the past, are investigating his enlarged liver, and suspect either a silent stroke or early-onset Alzheimers. His vision is totally shot as well and he's in a lot of neuropathy pain. He spent his entire career in the tech industry - first as a programmer (trained on the job), then in management consulting. He worked for some of the best consulting firms in the nation - and now he's only 55 but he's only a shadow of the professional and intellect that he was 15 years ago. I always attributed it to depression and not staying sharp while job hunting... now the brain damage diagnosis makes sense.

My parents have had insurance for the past year, but the premium is over $400 a month and there is a $3000 deductible before it goes to an 80-20 scheme. That is more than half of my mom's take home pay, and my dad is unemployed and perhaps unemployable at this point. My mom makes just a squeak too much to qualify for Medicaid or any other assistance, and my dad has not worked the requisite 5 out of the past 10 years to qualify for disability. My mom is not qualified for any higher paying jobs - she has a college degree and some grad school, but has worked low-skill education jobs for years after raising my brother and I. She taught in a private school before we were born in the 80s, but never went back for her teaching credentials.

I'm looking for any kind of resources that could help them financially to deal with this burden. There is no family that is able to help - I live 1000 miles away, am only 24, and spent the past year fighting and recovering from stage IV cancer. It will be a long time before I get a handle on my own medical debt, much less help my parents with theirs. My brother is less than 6 months out from graduating from college and starting his first job, also lives over 1000 miles away, and neither is in a financial position nor particularly inclined to helping. We both are livid that my parents did not take responsibility years ago to avoid being in this situation.

I know I have to step back and let them deal with the problems of their own creation, but they have no one to lean on. Their family is 1000 miles away (and other that my brother and I, and my grandmother, most of the family is similarly irresponsible and selfish - I was just 23 dealing with cancer by myself and local family completely fell off the radar), they have no friends, they have no access to a faith community due to the area of the country they live in... I am terrified of what will become of them. Any resources anyone can point me to would be very appreciated.

[HollyhockGarden]

I'm sorry to hear about your Dad's situation; kudos to you for trying to help. Since there is no universal healthcare available for US citizens at this time, Dad is in a tough spot. First, go to the website of the County they live in, and find out the location(s) of the County-run health clinic. Almost every County has such a clinic, and services are based on sliding-scale fees, according to income. They may also have a Social Worker on staff who may know about local resources. Unfortunately these are clinics, not hospitals. Of course, if you think he may be having a heart attack, take him to the ER. They will have to stabilize him. Of course, your parents will get a bill.

Another option is for your Mom is to try and find a job which offers health insurance as a benefit. She could then put your father on her insurance. She may have to change into another line of work, such as a call center, but the point here is to have health insurance available. And granted, there are many applicants for every job so this is not easy.

It is a difficult situation. Do they have an extra bedroom? Maybe they could take in a renter for extra cash, perhaps a college student. Maybe they can sell some posessions?

I would check out the County Health Clinic first. And since he does not meet the work requirement for SSDI, there is always the possibility he might qualify for SSI, [i]if[i] your Mother's income is low enough, and their combined resources are low enough. They can apply for both, and see what happens. Good luck to all of you.