I would be willing to quit my job and do this if I could get an income from medicare, etc. How would I go about doing this? She is not currently on home healthcare, but needs it because she is becoming unable to do all these things for herself, but I am unable to do it unless I can get an income for it as I am a single mom.
It is good to think of the long-term consequences of giving up a job. But the monetary loss does depend, of course, on how much you make at your job, what benefits (if any) you are getting, and how many years of work you are giving up. Giving up a parttime job flipping burgers is very different that giving up a fulltime job cleaning teeth or treating sick animals. It also depends on how the payments for caregiving are structured. My sister was an employee of an agency, and had SS taken out of her check, for example.
The question of getting some compensation so that one can afford to care for parents has a LOT of factors to consider.
Majority of grown children do not get paid for caring for their parent, unless the parent is financially able to pay from their own pocket. If a parent can afford to pay you, the parent might as well hire a certified trained caregiver… thus allowing you to keep a full-time job so that you can add to your own retirement
So the first step would be to help Mom get on Medicaid.
But think hard about giving up your job. You might both be better off if you kept your job and mother got her in-home care from someone else. You would maintain your income level and your mother/daughter relationship.