From Gordon Associates – we are pleased to post this guest blog from Lisa Lipton with Amada Senior Care.
This blog covers an important topic we’re hearing more and more about. We hope you find it valuable.
There are a number of options when it comes to receiving care in your home, and these options can sometimes be confusing. There are many misconceptions that Medicare will pay for care in the home and most of the time is simply is not true.
Home Health Care
Home Health Care is defined as medical services administered in the home. These services are covered by Medicare if your health condition warrants support in the home. It must be prescribed by your doctor or prescribed at your discharge from the Hospital or Skilled Nursing Facility. Medicare dictates the number of visits and what type of visits you can receive in the home that will be covered by your Medicare and supplemental insurances. Most often what we see for our seniors is a 15-day cycle that includes a visit from an RN, Physical Therapy and/or Occupational Therapy visits. Once a patient cannot improve any further or does not improve enough, the services come to an end. This can change if there are different health complications like a wound or severe illness. Home Health Care sometimes can include a shower by a CAN (1 hour visit) twice a week, again this depends on the prescription given for the prognosis of the patient.
Palliative Care and Hospice Care
Palliative and Hospice Care are services provided to people in their homes and covered by Medicare. Palliative is covered partially and Hospice is covered 100%. Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life for patients with serious, life-limiting illnesses. and Hospice Care is end of life care. Hospice is a wonderful service when a person decides to stop curative treatments and focses on supportive and comfort care for their end of life. Palliative and Hospice care is not hour to hour care. A person needs extra support from family or professional home care services for bathing, dressing, toileting, meals, medication reminders, etc.
Home Care Services
Home Care Services is defined as NON-medical care in the home. These services are not covered by Medicare or health insurance. Health insurance is for medical care only. Home Care provides assistance with a person’s ADL’s (Activities of Daily Living). Bathing, dressing, transferring, walking, toileting, eating, medication reminders. Home Care can include assistance with IAdl’s such as making meals, laundry, light housekeeping, running errands, helping people get to dr. and other appointments. Home Care Services can provide as little as one hour of care to 24/7 hours of care in the home. Home Care is the hour to hour needs when someone cannot get themselves to the bathroom, needs help putting on clothing, needs companionship and socialization. People often wait for an emergency before getting support in the home, but when some support is in place, the emergency can be avoided.
There are some great resources to help pay for home care such as Long Term Care Insurance, Critical Care Insurance, AGE OPTIONS, VA Benefits, Life Insurance, Grants, Medicare for Dementia Clients (NEW Guide program in Illinois), Medicaid, CCP programs to help people age in place wherever they call home. This is just a brief overview to help your clients understand that their health insurance will not cover the hour to hour needs in the home.
Jenny Novy, Owner, and CEO of Amada Senior Care NorthShore. Jenny has a master’s degree in Gerontology and a master’s degree in Therapeutic Recreation. She has been working in the long-term care realm for 30 years: creating programs, training staff, and educating many different disciplines in health care. Jenny opened Amada Northshore in 2017 to help adults and seniors age in place, wherever her clients call home. Amada’s mission is to provide home care and nursing services including personal care needs, dementia care, disease specific care, companionship, hospice personal care and incidental care needs. We individualize every schedule and care plan to create a quality experience for the client and their families. We serve north side of Chicago, the North Shore, and the Western Suburbs of Illinois. Amada helps Veterans with the Aide and Attendance Benefit and Jenny is an expert in helping clients with their Long-Term Care Insurance. Jenny has recently become a trainer for NCCDP to help staff and caregivers become Certified Dementia Practitioners. She continues to strive providing education to professionals and families who need help navigating the senior maze of health and wellness in Illinois.
To help determine if long-term care (LTC) insurance is right for you, we are offering a FREE informational guide. This is a comprehensive booklet that will answer many of your questions about LTC and assist you with your health care planning.
To help determine if long-term care (LTC) insurance is right for you, we are offering a FREE informational guide. This is a comprehensive booklet that will answer many of your questions about tax breaks and incentives for LTCI for federal and state taxes.