Dr. K talks with geriatric care manager Michelle Allen, LCSW, about what families should know when trying to get in-home care to help an older person with aging in place. Michelle is a featured expert providing guidance in Dr. K's Helping Older Parents Membership Community. She explains how such care is paid for, whether to hire privately or through an agency, and much more.

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In This Episode:

Dr. K talks with Michelle Allen, LCSW, about what families should know, when they want to obtain or hire in-home care to help an older person with aging in place. Michelle is an experienced social worker and geriatric care manager based in Atlanta, and is a featured expert providing guidance in Dr. K’s Helping Older Parents Membership Community. They discuss:

How geriatric social workers (and geriatric care managers) help older adults and families address aging issues

Why families and older adults usually seek out privately paid in-home care

Why most of the home care services older adults need to age in place are not covered by Medicare

What is “home health care,” and how to get Medicare to pay for certain medically skilled home services

What to know about hiring paid in-home caregivers

The pros and cons of hiring through an agency versus hiring an individual caregiver

Why families have to pay taxes, if they hire someone without going through an agency

Common mistakes that families make, when hiring in-home help to assist an older person

Why aging in place may not work out, and how to plan for other options

The benefits of working with “life care planning” elder law firms, which provide geriatric care coordinators such as Michelle

Related episodes: 

059 – Interview: Long-Term Care Insurance & Financing Late-Life Care Needs

017 – Interview: Paying for Long-Term Care & Other Family Caregiving Challenges

Related Resources:

Family Caregiver Alliance: Hiring In-Home Help

About Aging Life Care Professionals

Medicare and Home Health Services

Medicare.gov PDF: Medicare & Home Health Care

Platforms to find paid in-home care for older adults

Carelinx.com

Information on paying taxes to paid caregivers:

Learn more about your tax responsibility as a household employer

Do you need to pay taxes for your part-time caregiver?

To find your local Area Agency on Aging: Eldercare.gov Locator

For law firms that include geriatric care coordinators: Life Care Planning Law Firm Association

For more information on the Helping Older Parents Membership Community, where people helping aging parents can regularly get guidance from Dr. K and from Michelle Allen:

Learn More About the Helping Older Parents Membership Community!

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