What are some other assistance options in PA for low income seniors?

Submitted by heartcore0210 t3_1206yos in Pennsylvania

My mother is 65 and on a limited income of $1500/month. She is on Medicare A&B and gets financial aid through the local health network to offset some medical costs. She is always $50 over the income limit for Medicaid and only gets $24 a month in food stamps. Her rent is 675 a month and she has to pay her utilities. She has to pay out of pocket for her medications and is barely getting by each month. What are some other options for assistance?

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fecrni t1_jdhargz wrote

SNAP & Medicaid caseworker here. Your mother should be entitled to a much higher monthly food stamp grant based on the information you provided. Based on the income and expenses you list (and assuming she pays a monthly Medicare Part B premium), she should be eligible for $157.00 per month in food stamps.

Have her call the PA DHS State Wide Customer Service Center at 877-395-8930. They can check to make sure her income and expenses are recorded correctly.

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heartcore0210 OP t1_jdhmza2 wrote

Thank you! We just called and it’s because her gross is $1795. The lady was so nice though and gave us some other places to try and apply.

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PinsAndBeetles t1_jdg28em wrote

PACENET is an option and easy to apply for over the phone. Call the local area agency on aging. They helped enroll my grandmother in home delivered meals, a free emergency alert button, etc. She can apply for LIHeap for her home heating costs.

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WCAIS_PA_Individual t1_jdg9oq1 wrote

Seems insignificant, but check the electric supplier rates for the electric. I hate variables rates, and contracts that roll over to variable rates.

But older individual's don't exactly remember if they signed up for the rates, and after x months it goes to variable rates and they pay through the nose on inflated electric rates.

0.074¢ per kilowatt hour is WAY cheaper if their rates are 0.10¢+

👍

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CharacterBrief9121 t1_jdgyxdy wrote

PCAP program for electric, LiHEAP for gas/propane other heating, look into rent rebates. Honestly go to pa.gov and search there

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cordy_crocs t1_jdg9x40 wrote

Call the Pa Enrollment Broker (Maximus) and they can assist her with getting additional Medicaid assistance is she qualifies. They can help with hime delivered meals, medication, transportation, home care, etc

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TSUTigers95 t1_jdgw72h wrote

For the food stamps, it depends on what county she lives in. The poorer the county she lives in, the more money she will get for food stamps.

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heartcore0210 OP t1_jdh6wog wrote

Thank you all for your replies. I will be checking out all of these services.

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blinkdmb t1_jdhhwul wrote

Has she filed her pa property tax and rent rebate?

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heartcore0210 OP t1_jdhmi65 wrote

Yes she did apply for the rent rebate which is so helpful

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C4bl3Fl4m3 t1_jdin918 wrote

Adding on to all the rest, (and this isn't explicitly PA, this is federal) she may find her healthcare costs are more covered by a Medicare Advantage Plan (Part C plan) rather than Original Medicare (A&B). (Note: this is NOT the same as a Medigap plan.) They're basically plans with private providers and, surprisingly enough, they almost always cover WAY more than A&B. Some of them have a more limited treatment network (but no more restrictive than a standard HMO or PPO), or they won't cover out of area unless it's an emergency, but if you're not traveling a lot, it's not really a problem.

Ex. I'm on Medicare (and SSDI, but my income is lower than hers) and my plan (an AARP Medicare Advantage plan - you don't have to be part of AARP to get the plan, I'm not) has a $0 premium, $0 deductible. I pay $0 copay at PCP, and like $20-30 at specialists. My plan includes a bundled drug plan (Part D, although you can get plans w/o a Part D plan and pick a separate Part D plan) and, with Extra Help/the Low Income Subsidy (LIS) I pay less than $5/Rx (and that went up recently). They even cover eye and dental! I think they also have a hearing aid allowance. Plus, I think they can even provide transportation to appts and stuff.

I used to have Original Medicare (A&B + D) and did an Employed Individuals with Disabilities thing so I could have Medicaid on top of my Medicare to use like a Medigap plan, but with this Medicare Advantage plan, I don't need the Medicaid on top and just have this.

You'd want to use Medicare's comparison thingie to compare different plans for her needs. You can even say "only give me plans that cover all my meds" so you can make sure her meds are covered or sort by premiums (at her income, she'll probably have some premiums, but they'll probably be pretty low) or deductibles or other things. There's also people you can call and talk to that can help you sort out plans; those folks don't make more if they sell more of one plan than another so they're not going to push a plan that doesn't work for you.

I hope this helps.

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ewyorksockexchange t1_jdjb7bs wrote

She may qualify for reduced utility rates. Contact everyone who bills her for water, gas, or electric and see if they have a customer assistance program in place. Most providers do, and at her income level she should qualify.

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