If you or a loved one has suffered a stroke, your ability to find free money can help balance your budget during an extended recovery period.
The costs of a stroke are often hidden and unpredictable. You might face lost income, unreimbursed medical expenses, and more.
Unfortunately, no single resource will satisfy every need. Therefore, you must cobble together support from multiple sources.
Begin with the deepest pockets. Federal government benefits assist with a wide array of possible needs. Take advantage of every opportunity.
Grants do not work as expected but are still worth pursuing. Meanwhile, crowdfunding provides strength in numbers.
Benefits For Stroke Victims
Government benefits are the ideal source of free money for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke victims because federal agencies often redistribute other taxpayers’ resources. Patients should apply for every conceivable assistance program.
Disability Assistance
The government often provides financial assistance for stroke survivors to replace lost wages while they cannot work due to disability. However, these programs do not represent free money because patients previously paid insurance premiums.
Temporary Disability
Stroke patients previously working in nine different states might receive monetary assistance through a government-mandated temporary disability benefits program.
Apply for temporary disability benefits if you worked in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Puerto Rico, or Washington State.
It takes at least five months to get Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) after a stroke. Therefore, these benefits can make an enormous difference for those eligible. Plus, they often pay more than SSDI!
SSDI Disability
The federal government provides monetary assistance to stroke patients through its Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program, which replaces a portion of lost wages.
Apply for SSDI benefits online if you are unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity for a continuous period of at least 12 months due to symptoms of a stroke, such as an inability to:
- Speak or write effectively
- Control the movement of your limbs
- Think clearly, interact with others, or control emotions
Caregiver Assistance
The government sometimes provides monetary assistance to stroke victims’ caregivers. Family members often need to take time off from work to help patients with activities of daily living.
Paid Family Leave
Family members caring for stroke patients at home in eleven states often qualify for monetary assistance through Paid Family Leave Programs, which replace a portion of income while they are away from work.
Apply for Paid Family Leave Benefits if you work in one of the states with a mandatory program: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland (2025), Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington.
Unemployment Benefits
Family members caring for stroke patients at home often lose their jobs through no fault of their own. The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) runs out after only twelve weeks.
Apply for unemployment compensation after the caretaking duties have ended. You must be available for work and actively seeking new employment. Many states define a good cause for job termination as caring for a family member with a severe health condition.
Medical Assistance
The government often provides medical assistance to stroke patients. The free money comes from other taxpayers’ pockets through redistribution. Patients recovering from a brain injury need ongoing access to healthcare.
Medicaid
State and federal governments combine to provide healthcare assistance to stroke patients through Medicaid, which acts as health insurance nationwide, and dental insurance in some states.
Apply for Medicaid online at healthcare.gov, understanding that your projected income, not what you earned before your brain attack, determines your eligibility. Also, the number of people in your household affects eligibility.
Medicare
The federal government offers healthcare assistance to specific stroke patients through Medicare, the health insurance program for seniors over sixty-five and younger adults with disabilities.
SSDI recipients are eligible for Medicare after a twenty-four-month waiting period and might get help paying the Part B premiums through Medicaid.
Insurance
The federal government assists in making health insurance more affordable for stroke survivors who do not qualify for Medicaid because their household income is too high. Premium tax credits lower the cost of coverage.
Estimate how much money you might save on premiums using an online tool. The three critical variables are your residence state, household size, and household income, which may be lower during recovery.
Extra Help
Extra Help (Low-Income Subsidy Rider) is a government assistance program allowing qualified stroke survivors to save money on prescription medications while recovering.
Medicare beneficiaries can get “Extra Help” paying for Part D prescription drug coverage premiums, plus applicable deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments.
Apply for Extra Help online at the SSA.gov website. However, you must enroll in a Part D prescription drug plan first, but it is worth the effort. The Social Security Administration values the benefit at $5,100 annually, a relatively easy pill to swallow.
FSA Financing
Your Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is a quasi-government benefit program sponsored by the IRS that is available through employers. Working spouses of stroke survivors should learn how to maximize the value of an FSA if available.
Interest-free financing that lowers tax obligations is possible using your FSA. Make the maximum contribution during open enrollment. Your employer must immediately reimburse qualifying expenses, giving you up to fifty-two weeks to repay the amount advanced using pre-tax dollars.
Use your FSA to pay for predictable, ongoing, unreimbursed recovery expenses.
- Physical, occupational, and speech therapy
- Hospital copayments and deductibles
- Unreimbursed rehabilitation expenses
- Prescription medications
- Medical devices: wheelchairs, braces, etc.
Housing Assistance
The government also provides housing assistance to stroke patients unable to work through Section 8 apartment rental vouchers. This program represents free money because the funding comes from other taxpayers.
Apply for Section 8 benefits through your local Public Housing Agency. Remember to use your projected income on the application, not what you earned before suffering a severe brain attack that affected your ability to work.
Grants for Stroke Victims
Because grants represent free money you do not have to repay, ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke victims should explore every opportunity while keeping one golden rule in mind: go after the deepest pockets.
The federal government has the deepest pockets because it can print money, impose taxes, and redistribute wealth. Meanwhile, charitable organizations rely on the generosity of donors, limiting the number of people they can help.
Government Grants
Stroke victims should focus on government grants because that is where the free money is most abundant. However, you must be creative because no federal agency awards grants directly to individuals.
Instead, the funding flows to large institutions. However, applying for benefits at grant recipients can work wonders!
A list of government grants for individuals has no entries, while a list of benefit programs for low-income families is extensive. You will be amazed at the resources available to reduce everyday household expenses, allowing you to focus on rehabilitation and recovery.
- Home repair
- Replacement appliances
- HVAC system upgrades
- Utility bills
- Childcare expenses
- Grocery bills
- Internet expenses
Charitable Grants
Charitable organizations sometimes award grants to individuals recovering from a stroke, but these donor-supported non-profits have limited resources, meaning they can help fewer people.
American Stroke Association
The American Stroke Association (ASA) does not appear to award grants to individual patients. However, the ASA has published a guide to help survivors self-manage financial assistance.
The ASA Finances After Stroke Guide provides information to help victims navigate the complex world of insurance and government benefits, covering four crucial areas.
- Social Security Administration Benefits
- Patient Advocate Foundation
- Managing the Cost of Prescription Drugs
- Getting the Most Therapy Coverage
Stroke Recovery Foundation
The Stroke Recovery Foundation (SRF) appears to award grants to individual patients “upon receipt of appropriate funding.” In other words, the foundation cannot help every applicant because it relies on donor generosity.
Apply for a Stroke Victor Recovery Fund Scholarship by emailing the foundation to request a form. SRF may be able to help those who would benefit from additional speech, physical, and occupational therapy but whose insurance reimbursements have terminated and the survivors do not have the financial resources to continue.
The Stroke Foundation
The Stoke Foundation (TSF) wants to provide grants to individual survivors experiencing financial hardship to help cover the cost of physical, occupational, or speech therapy. However, donor funding is limited.
Apply for the TSF Stroke Survivor Fund, understanding that the program is temporarily paused (at the time of publication) but could reopen. Demand for free money always outstrips the supply.
Believe Stroke Recovery Foundation
The Believe Stroke Recovery Foundation provides limited, one-time grants to adults in North Carolina whose insurance has run out and will no longer cover occupational, physical, or speech therapy.
Apply for financial assistance from Believe by downloading the online application, printing it out, completing the questions, and returning the paperwork to the charitable organization.
Crowdfunding For Stroke Victims
Crowdfunding can be a helpful way for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke victims to raise funds to sustain a subsistence lifestyle during recovery. An extensive network of friends and family may respond to sincere appeals for money.
Platforms
Crowdfunding platforms allow stroke survivors to create and share a fundraising campaign with their network. You can set a fundraising goal and describe your situation and why you need the funds.
Start a campaign at one of these sites.
You can also offer rewards to donors, such as personalized thank-you notes or small gifts.
Appeals
Stroke survivors face unique challenges that their friends and family may not grasp initially. When creating a crowdfunding campaign or soliciting donations, it is essential to be transparent about the situation and how the funds will be used.
Provide detailed information about your medical and other expenses, including how your condition has impacted your ability to work. This approach can help build trust with potential donors and increase the likelihood of a successful fundraising campaign.
