Senior Care Blog
Senior Care, Understanding What You Need
Posted by: matthew
I recently assisted a lady who was seeking Senior Care for her mother. As we spoke I found myself explaining the difference between in home senior care, (non-medical in home care) and Home Health Care (skilled care). Patiently I weaved my way through her confusion regarding medicaid and medicare providing her guidance and direction choosing the care her mother required.
As I am both the webmaster of VIDASeniorResource.com and the author of our Senior Care Blog it was clear that my next blog post would serve the same purpose of the phone call I took earlier that day.
Its a scenario our in home senior care agencies often encounter.
“Ring Ring Ring…”
“All Valley Home Care, this is Matt how can I help you.”
“Yes my mom has a wound on her rear and I need a nurse to come help her. She is bed-bound and has bed sores that have turned into bleeding wounds.”
Although this request may sound straight forward and simple, the complexity of care that may follow is not.
Lets start with the wound and the request for a nurse. The care of this wound will require skilled care, which is provided from a Home Health Care Agency; This care is generally covered by medicare.
Medicare will pay for the nurse to come visit and provide the wound care, that is it. That could be as little as 2 hours a visit, 3 times a week.
This will merely treat the problem, but will not prevent the reoccurrence of the wound.
The source of the wound is the mother being bed bound causing the bed sources which are leading to the bleeding wound.
This is where Senior Home Care agencies come in. With a much lower cost per hour ($20-30) the caregivers provided by our agencies can do what the skilled care can not; Prevent the wound in the first place.
With both the companionship and support of the caregiver the wounds the mother is experiencing are not only prevented, she is also provided a means to staying and thriving independently in the comfort of her home.
With the many options available for the care of Seniors it is understandable how confusing helping your loved one find the care that best fits their needs can be. Our Care Managers and Care Consultants are trained to help you find this care, even if our services are not the answer.
If you require assistance or are just looking for information feel free to call us any time at 1-866-273-2995, locate an agency near you using our In Home Senior Care Directory, browse our Senior Care Advice pages, or email us.
January 17th, 2009 | Posted by: matthew
4 Responses to “Senior Care, Understanding What You Need”
Leave a Reply
-
We have caring professionals standing by to answer your questions today!
Why doesn’t Medicare cover In Home Senior Care? From my personal experience I can tell you it’s ten times cheaper to get help for my mom while living in her home than what it would cost just to put her in an assisted living or nursing home. And Medicare WILL pay for the institutional fee’s if that is where we place her.
Can you enlighten me on why Medicare doesn’t, or how we can get Medicare to pay for In Home Senior Care?
Todd, you have a great question. Medicare does cover skilled in home care, that is to say they will pay for a nurse to come in and provide wound care for example, but they will not cover non-medical in home care. This means the other 22 hours a day that your mom needs help with things like meal preparation, bathing, dressing, getting in and out of bed will not be covered by Medicare. These services are covered either privately out of pocket, by long-term care insurance, or by Medicaid (income dependent). If these options are not possible in your situation, it may be possible to qualify for Senior Grants.
Todd,
To give you a very simple equation:
Medicare will cover many MEDICAL related expenses, such as a RN visit, medical equipment, and prescriptions. Medicare will cover assisted living because they provide medical care and have RN’s and Dr.’s on staff.
Medicare will not cover NON-MEDICAL expenses, for example a caregiver who can come to the home for any amount of time you wish, and can help with bathing, dressing, meal preparation, and transportation. Kind of like a personal assistant! This is a great option if your loved one is not ready for ’round the clock medical supervision, and wants to stay in their own home.
There are some options to help pay for Non-Medical care, like Matt suggested, like Medicaid (Medi-cal in CA), grants, and Long Term Care Insurance.
I hope Matt and I’s responses were helpful!
Grade A stuff. I’m unqeusitoanlby in your debt.