She gets paid to be her paralyzed boyfriend’s caregiver, but marriage could change that

Over a year ago Jane Morgan and Conner Slevin's life changed when Conner was hit by a wave in the ocean on a trip to Mexico. It left him paralyzed. Now, his girlfriend Jane is his sole caregiver, taking care of his long list of medical needs. Living in Oregon, the state pays Jane minimum wage for forty hours of care a week. Before the accident, Conner was planning to propose. But if they marry, Jane's payments for caregiving will get reduced.

Who gets paid to be a caregiver is complicated. Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance companies have different rules and requirements for paying family members, as do individual states — and in most states, married caregivers are not counted as workers. Only eight state Medicaid programs allow married people to be paid caregivers to their partners. Eight additional states have private programs that allow spouses to be paid as caregivers.

But across much of the country, interabled couples, a relationship with one person who is disabled and one who is ablebodied, are placed in a terrible predicamentmarriage or compensation for the grueling work of managing one of the most expensive medical conditions. Read moreSubscribe to The Washington Post on YouTube