Can you start up a Go Fund Me for yourself?

[CountAllVotes]

I've done this for others but never myself.

Hospice is $500 a day for the foreseeable future for my husband. He is in a 24-hr. a day facility for the foreseeable future. His family has offered no help and I am living on SSDI ($1,000/mo.).

I put the first seven days on my credit card.

I don't know how long I can go on like this.

Please advise if you happen to know.

Thank you.

[Rhiannon12866]

1. I don't see why not, it's been done before here

[CountAllVotes]

4. Thanks

If things do not change within the next few days, I won't have a whole lot of options.

I/we do not qualify for MediCal so we can't get any help at all.

Out insurance is Medicare and Blue Cross/Blue Shield as the supplemental plan.

The VA won't help at all. I was told to contact the American Legion and have been unable to find an office where I live.

So, I'm sort of stuck I would say.

[Rhiannon12866]

6. I am so sorry, I'm hoping that someone here can come up with a useful suggestion

But I have seen GoFundMe posts here for the members that post the thread, and it does sound that you require real help. Here's hoping that you find a real solution...

[tblue37]

2. Pretty sure I have seen gofundme campaign's started by the beneficiaries. I don't see why you

couldn't.

[elleng]

3. Hospice is 100% covered by Medicare for all eligible patients and is covered by most Medicaid

and commercial insurance plans. Anyone can refer a patient to hospice, and the evaluation is free.

If you're not sure whether you or your loved one might be eligible to receive hospice care, this brief questionnaire might help.

https://quiz.amedisys.com/?

[CountAllVotes]

5. We do not qualify for Medicaid

Medicare will not pick up the tab on this. We qualify for hospice but not 24-hr. care. He was transferred to this facility yesterday and they drove over to my home to get my credit card info. They wanted their money and they wanted $3200.00 NOW upfront!! They wanted me to drive there yesterday but my left eye is going out as I have multiple sclerosis and cannot see properly to be driving right now. Will my eyesight return? All I know is that it the optical neuritis is one painful thing to have to deal with and it has blinded me 100% in the past and wow, no help at all for the likes of me/us. They even ran a check on the credit card I used to see if it was indeed valid (if you can believe that!). This is a horrific situation.

As for the VA ----> USELESS being he was not in combat while serving as a Vietnam era veteran and yes, he was honorably discharged after being extended beyond his tour for six months!

He fell and broke his hip and is suffering from was seems to be Lewy Body Dementia. I do not know how long he will last but the credit card won't pump out another $3200! No way!

[pnwmom]

8. Is he not old enough for Medicare? What excuse are they giving for Medicare not covering this?

https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/hospice-care

[CountAllVotes]

10. He requires 24-hr. long term care at this point

I can no longer do it.
Something has got to give.

He trashed a lot of pricey items around here that need to be replaced as well, like the range and the refrigerator.

He had insects breeding in the rooms.

It has been a living hell and yeah, I need new rugs as those damned bug are probably still in them.

Also, he has a nice batch of silverfish going.

Why am I even alive? I don't get it.

Got my cats thank god for that.

Without them, a giant fuck-it is all I can say.

[pnwmom]

14. Of course it's too much for you.

Maybe you should appeal the Medicare decision.

Being in a 24 hour facility shouldn't exclude him. From the Medicare web site:

Medicare-certified hospice care is usually given in your home or other facility where you live, like a nursing home. You can also get hospice care in an inpatient hospice facility.

You can also get hospice care in an inpatient hospice facility. Original Medicare will still pay for covered benefits for any health problems that aren't part of your terminal illness and related conditions, but this is unusual. Once you choose hospice care, your hospice benefit will usually cover everything you need.

[CountAllVotes]

21. Hospice has been called in

But this 24-hr. a day care is not covered.

Period.

I haven't called to see how he is.

It was so awful before he fell!

He was doing what they call "smearing" due to his dementia.

I had been told to place him in an assisted living facility but did not do it as it is $15K++ a month! So I had been caring for him and then he fell and broke his hip one week ago today.

Maybe being the dementia is not a fatal condition, they get off the hook?

That's all I can figure.

I had no time to contact Medicare on Friday. They arrived here abt. 4:00 p.m. to get the credit card info. and transferred him to this facility not long after that.

Again, I have not gone to see him. I don't care to seem him in the condition he is in.

He was 117 lbs. when he fell. He probably weighs about 100 lbs. now.

[CountAllVotes]

17. Yes he is 85 years old

n/t

[CountAllVotes]

29. I cannot take care of him, here is what it says

>>Room and board. Medicare doesn't cover room and board if you get hospice care in your home or if you live in a nursing home or a hospice inpatient facility. If the hospice team determines that you need short-term inpatient or respite care services that they arrange, Medicare will cover your stay in the facility. You may have to pay a small copayment for the respite stay.

*****

As it now stands he is trying to escape the hospital and cannot swallow. It is very agitated and upset. I do not think going to go see him would help, esp. being he might not know who I am.


He has not been able to eat for since last Sunday.

I'll give Medicare a call in the a.m. and see what they have to say.

[Emile]

9. Are you on a Medicare Advantage plan?

[CountAllVotes]

11. I have a pricey supplemental

PERSCare Platinum. I was disability retired by the State of Calif. in 1996 due to the M.S.

They do not cover long-term care.

They used to sell LTC coverage but the policies went bankrupt! Can you imagine paying hundreds of dollars a month for Long Term Care only to find out it is no good after 20+ years or some such thing?
SHAME!

No one does unless you are impoverished having less than $3,000.00 in the bank.

They gotcha. Taxes and insurance alone are over $3,000 a year and of course they know it. I do NOT qualify for MediCal, the state program for very low income and no assets.

House next?

[Emile]

12. Is that the Affordable Care Act ( Obama Care)?

[CountAllVotes]

18. No, I am a State of Calif. retiree

Last edited Sun May 8, 2022, 02:05 PM - Edit history (2)

I was disability retired with full benefits which cover him in 1996. My pension just hit $100.00 a month May 1st after 26 years! Did I get screwed or what?

Great coverage but NO LONG TERM CARE.

[Emile]

23. Oh, now it makes sense to me. Yes you got screwed

on your pension. Same thing here, I worked for a company for 10 years and was vested. Then they sold the plant to a crooked SOB with banking ties for cheap. He ran the plant into the ground for 14 more years. He declared all profit as his, not putting a dime back into the plant than what was absolutely necessary. Then he files bankrupted and throws our pension into PBGC and they pay only 80% of what we should have got. So put both pensions together for 24 years of service = $280.00 per month. Drove semi for Auto Zone for 7 years and in my 5th year they decided to do away with the pension plan. They vested us at 5 years so I get another $135.00 for that. I drove for another company for the last 10 years and they never had a pension plan. My dad retired at age 55 from General Motors in 1976 after working 25 years and made more in retirement than I did working.

Hourly baby boomers were screwed!

[CountAllVotes]

24. I did get a payout from UCSF at age 50

Last edited Sun May 8, 2022, 08:38 PM - Edit history (1)

I can hit that if I have to do it.

Kinda sad to think I worked all of these years and here I am today, sick with MS and no help at all and a dead husband enroute.

I'm glad I am not the only one that got screwed!

Not all baby boomers as we are called are millionaires, that is for sure!

Take care and thank you for you reply.

[Easterncedar]

16. Really sorry about your VA experience

My guy was a Vietnam era vet, but was stationed in Europe, and never saw combat. He was diagnosed in his 60s with a rare, fatal neurological disease, PSP, not related to his service. A good local VA administrator helped me file an appeal when an initial application for help was denied. He was eligible under a “catastrophic diagnosis” exception, and we got a great deal of help, including equipment and medical supplies and respite care stays, so I was able to keep him home until he died. I know I was very lucky to have found the person who stepped up for us, and that the local VA hospital agreed that it had the capacity to provide services, which needs to be there for the exception to be allowed. It’s awful that you are being left on your own like this. Lewy body dementia is not dissimilar from PSP. I know fighting the bureaucracy is very hard, but it might be worth trying again to get someone at the VA to pay attention.

[CountAllVotes]

19. Like yours ...

He enlisted and ended up in Germany in the early 1960s. He was extended due to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

He was a sharpshooter/gun expert and spent a lot of time in tanks and he cannot hear (no hearing protection was provided at that time).

We managed to finally file a disability claim with the VA right before he fell.

So, its in the system.

I don't know what happens if he dies before a proper decision is made.

Disgraceful!

They were telling me the we are legally separated and he of indigent spouse status as he has NO assets at all.

Never had had a thing in his life from the day I met him.

I have been managing and paying for everything for many years.

He brings in abt. $500/mo. on SSA and that is the end of his "income" so to speak.

[Demsrule86]

33. My Dad died of PSP. He was diagnosed at 59 and had served in Korea and Vietnam.

He lived about 10 years after diagnosis which is rare. My Mom was able to care for him and in the last days, my brother sacrificed a year and stayed with them and helped care for my Dad. My brother is an amazing person. He went into the hospital in Virginia and died there. We had been visiting for a wedding. The doctors said he would need to go to a nursing home/hospice care. He was one opportunistic infection away from dying. My Dad was still cognizant and told the doctor that he wished to refuse medical treatment in this case antibiotics he wrote it down as he could not speak well...and he did die. It was difficult. But we knew it was what he wanted. My mom was from Virginia and both of them are buried there. I would definitely do a Go Fund Me...

[LisaL]

26. Seems like you should qualify for Medicaid since both of your incomes are low?

NT

[CountAllVotes]

27. If you have $3000 in the bank

You do not qualify for it!

They want you to spend all you have and then they get the house.

If you do not have long-term care coverage, YOU PAY if you are not on welfare or something.

I have done my best to not have to use these federal programs.

I spent 10 years of my life working for the Feds. Enough already believe me.

Nothing to show for it at all. Nope. Zero.

[pnwmom]

31. Medicaid can only go after the equity in the house after the 2nd spouse dies,

and then only to the amount that is needed to repay the bills.

You would not be in danger of losing the house while you are alive.

[Lunabell]

7. Yes.

I had one to help me trap, spay/neuter feral cats in my area. I got a few fixed and then got involved with a TNR group that does it for free. But, I managed to raise about $500.00 for my cause.

Good luck!

[MLAA]

13. Please set it up and I will donate ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[CountAllVotes]

22. Actually the money is for HIM

He is an "indigent spouse".

They were supposed to get him on MediCal as an indigent spouse but that did not happen as they needed to get him out of the hospital.

I cannot care for him any longer.

If they had had their way they would have sent him back here to the house and NO, I cannot care for him any longer.

I gave if my best shot and I have failed.

Well, maybe I should say, I failed to learn how to master the system and make it work for him/us. I'm not into lying nor fraud.

I told them how much money I have and he has (which is zero).

This is just one example of how very broken the system is in the USA.

We cannot care for our vets. We cannot care for the disabled (I have NEVER rec'd any help at all sans PG&E assistance and a low income LAN line for a phone).

I worked for over 20 years before I became too sick to continue on.

Yet they expect ME to care for him? I look so very good!

Damn does MS suck or what?

[MLAA]

32. It sure does suck, dear countallvotes, it sure does.

[CountAllVotes]

30. I'll see what happens

If it looks like they'll be wanting another $3200 I'll have to do it.

No choice and too many things are a mess around here that will be costly to fix.

The silverfish infestation was just the tip of the iceberg.

I want to get rid of the range. He smeared on it and it is ready to go out anyway.

What a nightmare this whole thing is.

I need to go to bed and get some serious rest.

I am exhausted! I don't care if they like it or not!

[Fla Dem]

15. My only suggestion is for to you contact your local Senior Citizen organization.

You need assistance in sorting through the maze of VA Benefits, Senior Benefits, Medicare, Medicaid.

I have a friend whose husband had a stoke which pretty much left him totally disabled, and lost some of his cognitive abilities. As he was a former Vietnam vet, she worked with local senior agencies and he ended up in a wonderful VA facility. He was there until he passed after almost 10 years. The cost to her was she had to relinquish all his income, retirement and SS payments to the VA facility. Was able to keep her home. Not sure if either Medicare or Medicaid were involved.

I just can't imagine you and your husband not being eligible for some assistance. I know it's a hassle, but please look into the programs.

[CountAllVotes]

20. I have

Last edited Sun May 8, 2022, 02:28 PM - Edit history (1)

All they have done is refer me to someone else who in turn refers me to some one else who in turn refers me to someone else. What a joke!

I briefly had a LCSW counselor that I got rid of.

She was saying I was "paranoid". !! I got rid of her ass FAST!

[LisaL]

25. Sure, why not.

Make yourself a beneficiary.

[Akoto]

28. You absolutely can. People do it all the time to fund things like this. nt

[CountAllVotes]

34. I just got off the phone from Social Security

As a disabled spouse over the age of 65 years I am not eligible to collect a cent being he was getting $500 a month; myself $1000 a month.

I'm the higher earner so I'm eligible for nothing except a check for $250.00 to help cover the funeral expenses.

That's it after 44 years of my shitty life!

I have a PayPal acct. if anyone cares to help me.

DM me and I will send it to you.

I don't care to set up a GOFUNDME acct. given the circumstances, would you?