In the latest post, we talked about how families with disabled children aging outside of the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) program in a state not expanded by Medicare could deal with the likely failure of the system to provide health care. of your loved one. We are doing the same here, but looking at some smaller programs.

Military benefits

If you are a veteran and the parent of a disabled adult child, you can ask the military to designate your child as a disabled Dependent, which will qualify them for limited TRICARE benefits. Like most of these benefits, those offered by SSI and Medicare are more comprehensive, but if they don’t qualify, TRICARE can at least contribute something.

Start a charity

There are a surprising number of ways to request charitable donations in today’s connected world, from old-school options like putting coin banks on local store counters to social media-friendly options like GoFundMe. These can be very successful short-term options, but they tend not to last long. Also, in most states, the only smart way to manage the income of such a charity is to establish a Special Needs Trust; Any other out-of-pocket could end up counting as income for the person with special needs and thus accidentally get them started from Medicaid or SSI. Ask an attorney before going this route.

Apply for a grant

There are not many grants in the United States for families, most of them are from organizations, for organizations, but some are. The list available at JoyfulJourneyMom.com is a good place to start looking for national resources; for more local opportunities, ask your Area Agency on Aging. Finally, consider looking for resources specific to your loved one’s disability, like this list for people on the autism spectrum.

Look for a tax exemption

For certain extremely poor families who spend an extraordinary amount caring for a disabled loved one, the medical tax exemption may be worth it. Basically, anything you pay for your family’s medical expenses that exceeds 10% of your adjusted gross income will be deducted from that taxable income. It’s really not much, but for families in such dire straits that 11% or more of their gross income goes to medical bills, it could literally save their lives.

Taking advantage of existing resources

Many families, although poor in income due to financial circumstances and burdened by huge amounts of debt, nevertheless have some amazing resources at their disposal. If you know for sure that your disabled loved one will be able to get coverage in a certain amount of time, you might consider getting a reverse mortgage and taking some money out of your home equity to help you get this far.

Bridging loans

Similarly, several lending institutions (notably credit unions and other local banks) offer ‘bridging loans’ to families who can demonstrate that they have a defined waiting period they must cover to successfully ‘transition’ to Medicaid or a similar comprehensive program. These loans will need to be repaid, but they are a tool that should not be immediately discarded.