The national median cost of assisted living is $3,495 a month. Medicaid won't pay for assisted living, only for an aide in the home, which has recently become much more difficult now that 3 ADLs are required to be eligible and there is a longer wait time for processing (as in months) than before because of the new 2.5 year lookback. The other option for coverage by Medicaid is a nursing home. I have a parent who is 95 and there is no other money beyond social security at this point, which leaves a $1495 gap for assisted living. I can't assist with that financially. He has diabetes and is losing his ability to walk, uses a walker, can't feel his legs (but still drives!). He has nerve pain in his hands now too. He lives alone in the middle of nowhere. Those medic alert buttons don't work out there, no cell service. Anyway, at this point he would not be eligible for a Medicaid aide since he can do everything on the ADL list - just barely. I really don't want to move in with him, but I don't see another option. My husband and I live about 2 hours from him now. Where he lives there is very little support for seniors, it's the middle of nowhere. You cannot find a housekeeper, for example. I go up there once a week to clean. And I cannot imagine helping him with the bathroom, if it comes to that. The house is in horrible shape, very neglected, ugly inside. Needs a huge amount of expensive work. And I hate it there, so I am very worried about eventually (probably within the next 6 months) having to move in there. We live in a one bedroom in the city - moving to a two bedroom is not an option and he would not come here anyway. I have two siblings living within one mile of him who cannot help in any way, financially or otherwise. I only mention them because I am sure to get questions about siblings - so just consider me an only child. We own his home, having bailed him out of the loan he had on it, so he cannot sell that and we hope to get our money back eventually after putting a lot of work into the house. Any advice? I'm stuck with having to move in, I believe.
Although there are ADLs, there are also IADLs (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living). Your state Medicaid program should take both into account. Has your father been diagnosed with any cognitive or mental health issues? Those also should be taken into account.
https://betterhealthwhileaging.net/what-are-adls-and-iadls/
www.altcs.com
You poked my curiosity as I'd not heard of this. Searching for ALTEC brought up anything but, so I added Assisted Living and came up with this.
Other than finding it, I didn't check it out. This particular "program" is for AZ. There may be similar other programs in other states. Varied searching online or query with doc or hospital might reveal more.
My only concern is this:
"The house is in horrible shape, very neglected, ugly inside. Needs a huge amount of expensive work."
Ugly, no problem, just avert your eyes for now.
Neglected, if it's only cosmetic, continue averting your eyes.
Horrible shape and expensive work needed? If there are structural, safety or hazardous issues, these shouldn't wait until he moves. Not only might it impact him or you, but as time goes on, it will only get worse and cost more, in time, effort and materials.
Not knowing what "horrible shape" means, one might suspect the worst, like crumbling stairs, bad chimney, bad heating system, bad roof, etc... IF it isn't all that bad, then no worries. Any reason why some work couldn't be tackled now, while he's still living in the place? If you go there to help and clean, why not tackle some of the cosmetic work, such as painting? Patching needed? Do that on one trip, then paint on the next. If there are serious underlying issues that need fixing first, then never mind those suggestions.
While going thru similar situations with my parents I found that while few AL facilities (in Ohio at least) accept Medicaid waivers they will do so if the person has been a resident for at least 2 years. So if you can figure out how to finance that initial 2 years AL might still be an option. Note that AL's will have their own staff do an assessment to determine if your dad is a good fit both mentally and physically.
Mom did well in AL, terrible in SNF, but bloomed when we had her moved to another AL facility into Memory Care.
Good luck! This country is chock full of people who want to help so reach out and find a way to find these marvelous do-gooders. Put the word out on your Facebook page, Twitter, or whatever social media you use. God Bless!