We had a client come to our office in tears. She was the “responsible daughter” and it seemed like whenever there was a family problem, it fell to her. She got her father into the nursing home, and signed the contract for him She visited her father at the nursing home nearly every day to make sure he was getting the care he needed. She talked with the nursing home business office. When it came time to file the Medicaid application, the facility assured her that there would not be a problem and that they would handle the paperwork for…
Emergency plans required by the government often lack specific steps such as coordinating with local authorities, notifying relatives or even pinning name tags and medication lists to residents in an evacuation, according to the findings. That means the plans may not be worth the paper they're written on states the USA Today Nearly seven years after Hurricane Katrina's devastation of New Orleans exposed the vulnerability of nursing homes, serious shortcomings persist. "We identified many of the same gaps in nursing home preparedness and response," investigators from the inspector general's office of the Health and Human Services Department wrote in the…
A U.S. bankruptcy court finds that a woman who was contractually bound through a nursing home admissions agreement to apply for Medicaid benefits on her husband's behalf and failed to do so cannot discharge the debt owed to the nursing home through bankruptcy. In re Plybon (U.S. Bankr. E.D. Ky., No. 11–10146, March 9, 2012). When Glenna Plybon admitted her husband to a nursing home, she signed an admissions agreement as the responsible party. The agreement stated that Mrs. Plybon was required to pay a co-insurance amount and apply for Medicaid benefits on Mr. Plybon's behalf. Mrs. Plybon applied for…
At the Elder Law Office of David Wingate, LLC we assist clients who are faced with the possible placement of a spouse or parent in a nursing home. We counsel clients in navigating the complex and confusing Medicaid rules and regulations which pertain to nursing home care. Consequently, we assist in long term care planning to best situate your loved one for possible placement in a nursing home. Furthermore, we aid and counsel them in securing maximum financial protection and in preserving assets for the spouse who will remain at home and in applying for Medicaid eligibility. We also help…
If you are on Medicare and spend 3 days (midnights) admitted to a hospital, you will qualify for rehabilitation in a nursing home. Consequently, Medicare will pay the first twenty days, and you will be in a co-pay with Medicare up to 100 days. However, the trend is, hospitals are under significant pressure from Medicare to fully treat a person once they are “admitted” to the hospital. There are guidelines that the hospital has to meet basically to ensure that person stays healthy once they are dismissed from the hospital. Therefore, hospitals are bringing a person in for “observation” for…
As reported in Financial Advisor, a growing number of residents are aware of the need to conduct long-term care planning, but a majority admit that they still fail to plan as properly as they should. Specifically, the study found that eight out of ten Americans believe that it is vital to prepare ahead of time for the assistance they might need as they age. Yet, nearly half those respondents claimed that in their own case they remain unsure how they will provide for their long-term care when they reach their golden years. Long-term care costs are high and rising. Most…
A disaster may vary by size and intensity, tornado, hurricane, or earthquake. However, the direct effect to a senior (due to evacuations, loss of care and home) is detrimental on their quality of life. Evacuations effect and disrupt their daily activities. Assisted living, long-term care facilities and caregivers have clients who may be immobile, require medical equipment, medications and nursing care. There is jtress does not magnify the issues already being dealt with by both patient and caregiver. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations identified evacuations and multiple transfers as a major problem for seniors i.e. wildfires in…
“Up to 100 days” of coverage for rehabilitation does not guarantee 100 days. Up to 100 days of coverage rarely means 100 days. Often insurers discontinue therapy benefits after 2 to 8 weeks. They might say the patient has “plateaued” in treatment, not showing measurable improvement on a weekly basis. However the correct legal standard is aslong as the patient shows improvement or the therapy prevents deterioration. Many times therapy ends before it should. When Medicare therapy ends, if the resident stays in rehab or in a nursing home, then she must pay privately or, if assets are low enough,…
We are to help you find nursing homes. However, if you want to do it by yourself, here are some steps so you can find a good nursing home and avoid a bad one. Make a List: Start by contacting the Department of Aging for a list of local nursing home facilities. Ideally, the facilities should be close to family members and friends who can visit often. Residents with frequent visitors usually get better care. Do Some Research: Every year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services collect data on more than 15,000 nursing homes throughout the country. Health inspection…
Dementia and Alzheimer’s can prove to be huge challenges for the healthcare institutions we trust to care for our affected loved ones. Unfortunately, these are challenges many institutions meet with the over-use, abuse or improper use of drugs. The good news is that this problematic trend is being identified and resolved for many families. As recently reported by the Associated Press, the turn to drugs for nursing home patients with dementia is nothing new. Dementia has a nasty tendency to disorient patients who may grow paranoid or lash out as a result. The safest way to protect them and others…
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