Caregivers Face Dilemma: Care or Divorce?

Posted on February 19th, 2008 by Emme Levine

Imagine this scenario: You get married and vow ‘til death do us part, then bam, tragedy strikes. Your spouse is incapacitated and needs care 24/7. Let’s see, you could 1. Choose to honor your vows and become impoverished with mounting medical and caregiving debts or 2. Be forced to divorce the disabled spouse to get Medicaid. Could this happen to you? For two women in Illinois, it did.

Fortunately, legislation is being proposed that might come to their rescue. Illinois Sen. David Koehler, D-Peoria, will introduce the Family Member Caregiver Initiative. The Illinois state Senate Bill 2112 would allow payments to a qualified spouse or parent who cares for a family member diagnosed with a terminal illness, such as ALS, multiple sclerosis or terminal cancer.

Presently, Medicaid will not extend payment coverage if the caregiver is married to the patient. This leads to the real-life scenario of long-married couples divorcing in order to receive what little payment they can get (about $1,800 per month). Oddly, in Illinois, the State will pay for siblings, partners or hired help, but not a married spouse.

State Sen. Dale Risinger, R-Peoria, co-sponsor of the bill, said the legislation resolves an injustice, does not open up an area for abuse and does not cost the state money.

Kathi Kupferschmid cares for her husband Dennis, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. He is paralyzed except for his eyelids. She relates: “I save the government money. This would be much more expensive if I went back to work and Dennis went into a nursing home. This new legislation is not going to cost the government a lot of money. This is money already allocated for home caregivers.”

The couple has burned through their life savings, yet she feels committed to home care for her husband.

“We don’t have anything…but I married till death do us part, and I intend to keep my vows. Sadly, I know people who have divorced so the spouse could receive payment.”

There are many reasons for states to encourage home care:

It costs less money to care for someone in-home than in a facility.

Studies show people respond better to treatment in their own homes.

As the population ages, there will be a critical shortage in health-care workers. There will be a tremendous strain on the system if something isn’t done.

If passed, the soonest the bill could become law would be 2009.