FIL is 84 years old, in poor health due to a stroke which makes it difficult for him to walk. He has not made the best financial decisions in life and seems to be making really poor health/financial decisions the last few years.
His situation is that he lives alone out in the country, in a very rundown house that I would not live in. He refuses to take care of his health because he cannot afford it. He does not have Medicare so unless he has cash to pay for health care his only option is the VA doctors but they are 120 miles away.
To make matters worse his drivers license expired on his last birthday. He did not remember to renew it. Last week he was in a traffic accident, (his fault), so now he is unable to drive, and it is questionable whether he will be able to pass a driving test to get a drivers license.
He wants to get new eyeglasses but he feels he must travel the 120 miles each way to get to the VA facility to get free eyeglasses. He fears he will not be able to pass the eye test for the drivers license without them. I have to assume he does not want to pay/can't afford to pay for a new pair from Walmart. I will probably foot the bill from Walmart other than taking a whole day of my time plus the cost to drive him to the VA facility, 240 miles roundtrip.
It is only a matter of time but if FIL is unable to get a drivers license he is basically screwed. He would be totally dependent on us to drive him anywhere. To make this worse, without Medicare he can't afford any health care locally. He refuses to discuss this, the one time I asked what we should do if he has a medical emergency. He has no money to pay for ambulance or the like, and more importantly how would it work being so far from the VA facility. His response was "just let me die". With that attitude, DW and I do not bring up this discussion anymore. He is not willing to discuss his own future as he does not want to change anything.
I wonder if it is possible for FIL to get health care locally that would be covered by the VA but I doubt it very much. I looked on the internet but could not find anything. I wonder what other VETs do that live in rural areas.
Just some further information, FIL probably has less than $10,000 in savings and his monthly SS is only about $1,400. He could not afford assisted living, and if his health deteriorates further, I am not sure he could even get into a nursing home. DW and I are not in a position to take him into our home and support him.
Sorry to the length of this post, I am looking for opinions/suggestions from anyone who has experienced a similar situation. A couple of questions I have;
1. Can a Veteran get any routine healthcare outside a VA facility when it is so far away and they can't themselves travel that far?
2. Can someone that never had Medicare get nursing home paid by Medicade? Sorry, if this is a stupid question but we are really concerned what will happen to FIL if he becomes incompacitated.
His situation is that he lives alone out in the country, in a very rundown house that I would not live in. He refuses to take care of his health because he cannot afford it. He does not have Medicare so unless he has cash to pay for health care his only option is the VA doctors but they are 120 miles away.
To make matters worse his drivers license expired on his last birthday. He did not remember to renew it. Last week he was in a traffic accident, (his fault), so now he is unable to drive, and it is questionable whether he will be able to pass a driving test to get a drivers license.
He wants to get new eyeglasses but he feels he must travel the 120 miles each way to get to the VA facility to get free eyeglasses. He fears he will not be able to pass the eye test for the drivers license without them. I have to assume he does not want to pay/can't afford to pay for a new pair from Walmart. I will probably foot the bill from Walmart other than taking a whole day of my time plus the cost to drive him to the VA facility, 240 miles roundtrip.
It is only a matter of time but if FIL is unable to get a drivers license he is basically screwed. He would be totally dependent on us to drive him anywhere. To make this worse, without Medicare he can't afford any health care locally. He refuses to discuss this, the one time I asked what we should do if he has a medical emergency. He has no money to pay for ambulance or the like, and more importantly how would it work being so far from the VA facility. His response was "just let me die". With that attitude, DW and I do not bring up this discussion anymore. He is not willing to discuss his own future as he does not want to change anything.
I wonder if it is possible for FIL to get health care locally that would be covered by the VA but I doubt it very much. I looked on the internet but could not find anything. I wonder what other VETs do that live in rural areas.
Just some further information, FIL probably has less than $10,000 in savings and his monthly SS is only about $1,400. He could not afford assisted living, and if his health deteriorates further, I am not sure he could even get into a nursing home. DW and I are not in a position to take him into our home and support him.
Sorry to the length of this post, I am looking for opinions/suggestions from anyone who has experienced a similar situation. A couple of questions I have;
1. Can a Veteran get any routine healthcare outside a VA facility when it is so far away and they can't themselves travel that far?
2. Can someone that never had Medicare get nursing home paid by Medicade? Sorry, if this is a stupid question but we are really concerned what will happen to FIL if he becomes incompacitated.