Financial Help for Home Modifications: What Seniors & Caregivers Should Know

Transcript

One of the biggest concerns about making a home safer for aging in place ends up being the cost. But did you know that there are actually some financial assistance programs that can be helpful? So today we're going to explore how seniors and their families can access financial assistance for home modifications. Whether you're looking to install grab bars, add a ramp, or put in a stair lift, we're going to talk about ways that you can try to find funding to help with that. Hi, I'm Dr. Brandy Archie, occupational therapist and founder at Ask Sammy, the place for answers for caregiving. Research shows us that 90% of older adults want to age in place, but only 40% of our homes are actually aging ready. Aging ready means that there are at least these three things. A step-free entry into the home, a bedroom on the first floor, and a full bathroom on the first floor. Since those are the things that we need to make a home safe to age in place, our most common home modifications revolve around that. So that be installing grab bars, putting in a ramp, um considering some adaptive equipment for a bedroom. These modifications can greatly reduce fall risk and enhance mobility, but they can also be expensive and health insurance does not cover these costs. Unfortunately, most of us don't plan for this even though we know things are going to happen as we get older and so the costs are kind of coming out of nowhere. So, you might not have the funds to deal with it at the moment of change in which you need it. But there are a web of financial resources and support that can help you with financing some of these things. I will say that all of them are individual to your community and have their own sets of application processes. So, while it's not a quick fix, there's certainly ways that you can plan to have some help with making home modifications work for you. We're going to go through those today in this video. Let's start with Medicaid's home and communitybased services. That's HCBS. And if you qualify for Medicaid or are already on Medicaid, you could also qualify for this waiver program. This does go state by state, but most states do offer this in some form or capacity. For example, in the state of Kansas, you can get a HCBS waiver if you have a brain injury, which would include traumatic brain injury, but also includes dementia. So, this is a great option because they can pay for the home modifications you need in order to make home safe. In order to apply, you have to already be a Medicaid recipient. So, if you haven't done that yet, start at medicaid.gov. There are also many people that will help you apply for Medicaid and get on that program. So, those are both good resources to get started with. If you're already on Medicaid, the next step is to contact Medicaid and ask to see if you can qualify for the home and community based services waiver. Next, let's talk about the VA. Veterans Affairs offers a really good amount of assistance for home modifications. This is contingent on your level of service. So, not all grants are available to all veterans, but here are three that are available. First, the HISA grant. So, the HISA grant helps fund home modifications for disabled veterans. So, that's one to look at. There's also the special home adaptation grant, and as of 2024, it would offer up to $22,000 for home modifications depending on the veteran's disability. In order to apply for these, first you can go to va.gov and search his grant and that'll get you started. I will say you also need to be a part of the veteran system. So if you don't already have at least one um physician at the VA that you use, get started by activating your services there and then going to va.gov to find the information needed in order to apply. You also can just ask your provider while you're there and let them know what the problems are and see if they can help you get connected. The great thing about the VA is they also cover a wide variety of adaptive equipment as well. So even if you don't need to do construction to a home or you live in an apartment, the VA can pay for adaptive equipment like metal ramps, reachers, bedayets for toilets. And so in order to get that process started, you again need to be using the VA system. So, if you're a veteran and don't have at least one doctor in the VA system, get started with that first. Then, once you're there, have your physician refer you to the prosthetics department, which is their term for rehab department, and let them know what the challenges are, and a physical therapist or an occupational therapist will work with you to decide what kinds of adaptive equipment are within their system and that you should have at home, and then they'll get it for you. Next, let's talk about USDA section 504 home repair program. They offer grants of up to $10,000 and loans for up to $40,000 for the specific purpose of modifying homes for lowincome rural homeowners. In order to be eligible, you must be 62 years or older and meet their income requirements. In order to apply, go to rd.usda.gov gov or check in with your state's USDA rural development office. Another great resource is your local area agency on aging and you have it no matter where you live in the country. Your local AAA office offers grants, resources, connections to service providers, and also lowinterest loans all in the effort of making aging easier. They can also offer access to home safety assessments and connect you with the people in your area that are doing this kind of work. You can find your local AAA office by going to elderare.ac.gov. There are also several nonprofit organizations and charities that operate across the country specifically in the space of home modifications. Rebuilding Together is an organization that offers free home repairs and modifications for low-income seniors. You also can connect with Habitat for Humanities Aging and Place program where they're specifically working with homeowners in order to make sure that their home is aging ready. There's also the National Council on Aging which offers financial assistance programs specifically for aging in place. In order to apply, hit up each of these organizations websites and they have clear instructions on how to get connected with them. Here in Kansas City, Habitat for Humanity has a couple of offices. There's one in Kansas City and also the Truman Heritage Habitat which is in the Independence area serving the eastern side of our metro area. Both of them have funds for helping people with modifying their homes for aging in place. So connect with them based on where you live in the city. Hope Builders Home Repair is a nonprofit in the area that really works hard to help make sure people have ramps and then all of the things that they need to age well at home. So, visit their website at hopebuilders-k.org in order to see if you meet the income and location requirements to be a part of their program. Metro Lutheran Ministries, the city of Kansas City, and the city of North Kansas City each have minor home repair programs. And so the initiation of these programs was really to help make sure that lowincome families are able to help have some help to keep their homes up to date um so they could be livable. But what they found is that the people that they worked with the most ended up being seniors. And so now they've built in that home repair program some a place accessibility features as well because the two go hand in hand. And so in all of these programs, they are able to help people who are not just seniors, but when a senior is involved, they're really keen on making sure they also do a place types of accessibility features. So connect with all of these minor home repair programs based on where you live in the metro. Lastly, but certainly not leastly, the whole person has a home modification program as well. Individuals with disabilities in the Kansas City area can contact the whole person and see what funds are available and what the eligibility requirements are in order to apply. Connect with them at thehole person.org. We just went through a ton of different resources and now the question is do any of those actually apply to you? So much of it is very locally based, driven by small organizations. And so in order for you to have the ability to find out what's in your area, we've built in a tool at askdamy.com where you can just drop your zip code in and be able to see what's available in your area as far as programs and services to help pay for adaptive equipment and home modifications. Just go to ask sammy.com, click the get help button, and scroll down just a little bit, and you'll see a spot to include your zip code and be able to find out what's available in your area. In addition, you should also connect with your local area agency on aging. They're going to be the best resource in your area for what's available to help with aging and home modifications. So, check in with them to see what's available to you in your area. Making a home safer doesn't have to break the bank. You can start with adaptive equipment, which is much more affordable than actual construction and home modifications. And if you make a plan and connect with the right services, you can find some financial assistance to do the changes that are necessary to help make a home safe as you age. If you or your loved one needs help, start exploring these options today. The earlier you do it, the more choices and opportunities you have. Most of the community programs end up having a wait list. So if you get started now before it's direly needed, then you'll be ready when the time comes. The same thing goes for adaptive equipment though too. If you apply that to your home now, you could prevent a fall, prevent some changes, and also do it piece by piece so that we don't have such a big financial burden all at one time. If you found this video helpful, please share it with somebody else that you know that could benefit from it. 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