Too much paperwork. Its overwhelming.

I'm experiencing the same problems with my husband's financial situation. He has Alzheimer's with vascular dementia so I take care of all his business, as I have for 63 years since the day we were married. He has always handed me his pay check and I was the one to see that all the bills were paid, and that there was money enough to go around. Suddenly VA has to have his permission to even talk to me on the phone. We did fill out a form and finally got him to make a little faint mark that we witnessed giving them permission to talk to me, but still all the paperwork has to be signed by him. They don't recognize my Power of Attorney or that I am trustee of his Miller Trust.

It has been one hassle after another since Medicaid insisted we check with VA to see if he was entitled to any other assistance other than medical and prescription. I went to our county VA commission and they helped me complete an extensive form with financial information. He was award a VA Aid and Assistance Pension since he had dementia and was in a nursing home. This was just over a year ago.

Then in November the VA finally discovered that he was married although this was plainly documented on the application so they direct-deposited the back pay. Then in February after the automatic yearly increase in Social Security and his VA pension, Medicaid said his income was too great and I had to establish a Miller Trust to receive his monthly payments and then I would need to pay his co-pay for the nursing home and the amount that was my share for my monthly maintenance since my IPERS and Social Security didn't amount to what Medicaid thought I should have for monthly income. In April I finally got the approval from Medicaid and thought all was well.

Then in July I got a notice from VA that his pension had been revoked from July 2017 (when he first were approved) to the present and he owed them $25,000 of overpayment. Back to the County VA commission and the Director contacted the director of the office in Minneapolis. He got an email back that it had been a mistake and they had it corrected. I got no notice all all on any of this. When I checked his Trust account to be sure the payment had been made before I wrote the check for the co-pay, VA had deposited $9,050 plus his monthly pension payment. Back to the VA office, and we sent another financial statement (same as before. I always keep a copy and just copy the amounts over to the new copy). Then I get a letter which was dated July 27 and I received Aug 6 (must have come by Pony Express) that they had recalculated and I only owed them $13,000. Saturday I finally received a letter from them with an financial accounting of his account. Back to VA office and called his friend in Minneapolis and we sent in another large envelope of the documents he had sent previously and copies of the email he had received a month ago with a request that they send me a letter informing me of any action taken. Now we wait again. I will have to check to see if deposit is made before I write the September check to the nursing home.

I haven't even tried to contact Medicaid about any of this yet. Just another headache. I don't know where the accountants in Minneapolis got their education, but they must had played "hooky" too much. My elementary math from my BA in Education is all the advanced bookkeeping I have and I can keep better account of my money than they seem to do. Sorry I've rambled on but I have to once in a while to be able to face another day.

I'm experiencing the same problems with my husband's financial situation. He has Alzheimer's with vascular dementia so I take care of all his business, as I have for 63 years since the day we were married. He has always handed me his pay check and I was the one to see that all the bills were paid, and that there was money enough to go around. Suddenly VA has to have his permission to even talk to me on the phone. We did fill out a form and finally got him to make a little faint mark that we witnessed giving them permission to talk to me, but still all the paperwork has to be signed by him. They don't recognize my Power of Attorney or that I am trustee of his Miller Trust.

It has been one hassle after another since Medicaid insisted we check with VA to see if he was entitled to any other assistance other than medical and prescription. I went to our county VA commission and they helped me complete an extensive form with financial information. He was award a VA Aid and Assistance Pension since he had dementia and was in a nursing home. This was just over a year ago.

Then in November the VA finally discovered that he was married although this was plainly documented on the application so they direct-deposited the back pay. Then in February after the automatic yearly increase in Social Security and his VA pension, Medicaid said his income was too great and I had to establish a Miller Trust to receive his monthly payments and then I would need to pay his co-pay for the nursing home and the amount that was my share for my monthly maintenance since my IPERS and Social Security didn't amount to what Medicaid thought I should have for monthly income. In April I finally got the approval from Medicaid and thought all was well.

Then in July I got a notice from VA that his pension had been revoked from July 2017 (when he first were approved) to the present and he owed them $25,000 of overpayment. Back to the County VA commission and the Director contacted the director of the office in Minneapolis. He got an email back that it had been a mistake and they had it corrected. I got no notice all all on any of this. When I checked his Trust account to be sure the payment had been made before I wrote the check for the co-pay, VA had deposited $9,050 plus his monthly pension payment. Back to the VA office, and we sent another financial statement (same as before. I always keep a copy and just copy the amounts over to the new copy). Then I get a letter which was dated July 27 and I received Aug 6 (must have come by Pony Express) that they had recalculated and I only owed them $13,000. Saturday I finally received a letter from them with an financial accounting of his account. Back to VA office and called his friend in Minneapolis and we sent in another large envelope of the documents he had sent previously and copies of the email he had received a month ago with a request that they send me a letter informing me of any action taken. Now we wait again. I will have to check to see if deposit is made before I write the September check to the nursing home.

I haven't even tried to contact Medicaid about any of this yet. Just another headache. I don't know where the accountants in Minneapolis got their education, but they must had played "hooky" too much. My elementary math from my BA in Education is all the advanced bookkeeping I have and I can keep better account of my money than they seem to do. Sorry I've rambled on but I have to once in a while to be able to face another day.

Hello @ihatediabetes I can relate to what you are saying! Big time! The paperwork demands on caregivers can be huge and as you point out, frequently overwhelming! One of the frustrating aspects for me what how often I seemed to be having to put the same information into each organization's specific forms or formats! Ohhhh that one really used to tan my hide! I'd take them a copy of what I did for the last organization and they would smile and say 'we're sorry but it has to be on OUR form!' OMG! The same information! GRRRR!

To help a bit I took to writing pretty generic paragraphs on each major area: care, medical history, prescriptions, finances, etc. and then did a lot of cut and paste into their forms. If they weren't electronic I'd even just literally cut a copy and scotch tape it to their form! Got me some dirty looks, but I have thick skin!

I also set up an electronic calendar on my email account (gmail in my case) and one night put in all the deadlines I needed to meet and set automatic reminders for a week before, two days before, and one day before. It wasn't foolproof, but it did help in many cases.

What hacks have you found to help you manage your avalanche of paperwork? I am sure there are tricks that can help everyone!

Strength, courage, and peace!

Hello @ihatediabetes I can relate to what you are saying! Big time! The paperwork demands on caregivers can be huge and as you point out, frequently overwhelming! One of the frustrating aspects for me what how often I seemed to be having to put the same information into each organization's specific forms or formats! Ohhhh that one really used to tan my hide! I'd take them a copy of what I did for the last organization and they would smile and say 'we're sorry but it has to be on OUR form!' OMG! The same information! GRRRR!

To help a bit I took to writing pretty generic paragraphs on each major area: care, medical history, prescriptions, finances, etc. and then did a lot of cut and paste into their forms. If they weren't electronic I'd even just literally cut a copy and scotch tape it to their form! Got me some dirty looks, but I have thick skin!

I also set up an electronic calendar on my email account (gmail in my case) and one night put in all the deadlines I needed to meet and set automatic reminders for a week before, two days before, and one day before. It wasn't foolproof, but it did help in many cases.

What hacks have you found to help you manage your avalanche of paperwork? I am sure there are tricks that can help everyone!

Strength, courage, and peace!

I found out metro mobility does an update every five years. So I just have to sign a paper. This one is easy.

I'm experiencing the same problems with my husband's financial situation. He has Alzheimer's with vascular dementia so I take care of all his business, as I have for 63 years since the day we were married. He has always handed me his pay check and I was the one to see that all the bills were paid, and that there was money enough to go around. Suddenly VA has to have his permission to even talk to me on the phone. We did fill out a form and finally got him to make a little faint mark that we witnessed giving them permission to talk to me, but still all the paperwork has to be signed by him. They don't recognize my Power of Attorney or that I am trustee of his Miller Trust.

It has been one hassle after another since Medicaid insisted we check with VA to see if he was entitled to any other assistance other than medical and prescription. I went to our county VA commission and they helped me complete an extensive form with financial information. He was award a VA Aid and Assistance Pension since he had dementia and was in a nursing home. This was just over a year ago.

Then in November the VA finally discovered that he was married although this was plainly documented on the application so they direct-deposited the back pay. Then in February after the automatic yearly increase in Social Security and his VA pension, Medicaid said his income was too great and I had to establish a Miller Trust to receive his monthly payments and then I would need to pay his co-pay for the nursing home and the amount that was my share for my monthly maintenance since my IPERS and Social Security didn't amount to what Medicaid thought I should have for monthly income. In April I finally got the approval from Medicaid and thought all was well.

Then in July I got a notice from VA that his pension had been revoked from July 2017 (when he first were approved) to the present and he owed them $25,000 of overpayment. Back to the County VA commission and the Director contacted the director of the office in Minneapolis. He got an email back that it had been a mistake and they had it corrected. I got no notice all all on any of this. When I checked his Trust account to be sure the payment had been made before I wrote the check for the co-pay, VA had deposited $9,050 plus his monthly pension payment. Back to the VA office, and we sent another financial statement (same as before. I always keep a copy and just copy the amounts over to the new copy). Then I get a letter which was dated July 27 and I received Aug 6 (must have come by Pony Express) that they had recalculated and I only owed them $13,000. Saturday I finally received a letter from them with an financial accounting of his account. Back to VA office and called his friend in Minneapolis and we sent in another large envelope of the documents he had sent previously and copies of the email he had received a month ago with a request that they send me a letter informing me of any action taken. Now we wait again. I will have to check to see if deposit is made before I write the September check to the nursing home.

I haven't even tried to contact Medicaid about any of this yet. Just another headache. I don't know where the accountants in Minneapolis got their education, but they must had played "hooky" too much. My elementary math from my BA in Education is all the advanced bookkeeping I have and I can keep better account of my money than they seem to do. Sorry I've rambled on but I have to once in a while to be able to face another day.

Dearest @ihatediabetes , can I ever identify with you. I wish you and I lived down the street from each other. We could crank up some music, put the kettle on, and enjoy a hot cuppa before we tackle the mountains of paperwork.

I have calendars and planners, baskets and folding files, binders and desks. All in an attempt at some semblance of order and peace. We homeschool our little Einstein, and we love it. But there is so, so much paperwork. And it all has to be done in a timely manner. I have had two foot surgeries this summer and it is rather difficult to navigate through every single VERY imporatant piece of paper.

It didn't help matters that I had to print out the forms for admission and registration. Well, somebody, we won't say who, dragged their feet and waited until the last possible moment to purchase the ink. After signing about fifty sheets of paper and declaring on my Aunt Fran's grave that everything I have declared is the Gospel Truth, I am ready to hand deliver the check for the Homeschool covering.

Thank God the Administrator is not usually in her office except on certain days. I know she is beginning to think I am some member of the Witness Protection Program. Frankly, at this point, I don't even care. Just having to fill out even MORE paperwotk, and send the Homeschool Legal Defense Association $40.00 more to expedite the process of applying, makes me want to sign myself up for a nice , long stay at Happy Valley Sanitarium.

I'm totally serious. I pay my taxes. I don't lie to my dentist when he suspects me of chewing food on the side of my temporary crown, which broke and came off, by the way. I have my correct weight on my driver's license. I tell the truth and nothing but the truth when I witness an altercation, a car wreck, or an incident of discrimination. I'm a nice person. Kids and babies love me. I teach classes at church and play the piano.

I don't deserve this and neither do you. We are the Rosie the Riveters of this generation where brilliant minds are driven senseless while completing umpteen forms that ask you the same questions repeatedly, to try and trick you to say the wrong thing. Which is the right thing. But we are honest women! We are going to say the right thing!

Enough of this, I say! It is time for us to stand up and do the right thing! Let us make our way to Starbucks, and then do some retail therapy. To support the economy, of course! Be strong, my sisters! Do not let that mountain of paperwork defeat you! Let us be free! Oh...and don't forget. "We are better together!" This is Mamacita, Mayo Clinic Volunteer Mentor, signing off!