Pennsylvania assistance for family caregivers
Pennsylvania’s Caregiver Support Program provides respite services, other support, and reimbursement for certain caregiving expenses through local Area Agencies on Aging. Under Act 20 of 2021, the program’s maximum monthly reimbursement is $600, and the lifetime maximum for home modifications or assistive devices is $5,000. Reimbursement is subject to the program’s eligibility requirements and sliding-fee scale, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Aging.
The article also describes Medicaid’s Community HealthChoices program as a possible route for some family members to become paid caregivers through licensed home-care agencies. It does not establish whether that option applies to Eiser and Lehr, and it does not report that they have used either program.
Benefit rules can restrict housing options
Eiser receives Social Security assistance and contributes part of it toward room and board, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. The article says that federal rules for single disabled Supplemental Security Income recipients limit countable assets to $2,000, a threshold unchanged since 1989, citing information attributed to the Social Security Administration. That restriction helps explain why saving for rent or independent housing can be difficult for someone relying on disability benefits.
A Bensalem example
Eiser, now 71, was studying at East Stroudsburg University and planned to become a physical education teacher when a car struck her near her Bensalem home in August 1974. She spent six months in the hospital, and the injuries left her permanently disabled and unable to return to school or work, The Inquirer reported.
For years, Eiser’s grandmother provided her care. After the grandmother died in 2018, the Bensalem house was left to Eiser in trust, but Eiser could not live alone or afford rent elsewhere, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer…