Now that the holiday shopping is behind us, you may find the need for a different kind of shopping: shopping for home care for an elderly loved one. Spending time during the holidays with senior family members often uncovers needs that had previously gone unnoticed, and it can be an emotional and confusing time to sort through the many options available. Independence-4-Seniors is here to help with this first in a series of blogs dedicated to educating on how to make the best elder care choice for your loved one. Let’s start with the basics:
Who Is Eligible?
Home care comes in a variety of offerings from government subsidized to free market, privately paid services. Anyone is eligible for home care services for which one pays a fee, sometimes called Private Duty Home Care or private pay home care. A professional home care agency will come into the home first, before services are started, to perform an assessment and help determine the right amount of care for that person’s specific needs. A personal plan of care is standard and is also the result of that first step when assessment for care is completed. Although most people prefer to remain in their own homes, it may be determined that care in a facility is more appropriate for the particular situation. This will depend on the physical and mental capacities of the person needing care, the support system in place to provide ancillary services, and the person’s ability to pay for services.
Who Pays for Care?
There are many different sources to help pay for care, including federal veteran’s benefits, Medicaid, some long-term care insurance policies, worker’s compensation and some local disease support and advocacy organizations. Eligibility does come into play if you are looking for help paying for care from any source other than private funds. Elder law attorneys and estate planners can be very helpful when planning for the payment of long-term care.
What About Medicare?
It is a common misconception that Medicare will pay for long-term care needs, when in fact the opposite is true. Medicare is health insurance coverage provided by the United States government for people over age 65 that covers skilled medical care; it does not customarily cover assistance with daily living activities such as bathing, dressing and grooming. Some benefits may be available for short-term home health care, but only if certain conditions are met.
To learn more about home care requirements and additional payment options, call on the professional senior care team at Independence-4-Seniors. We’re here to answer all of your questions and also offer a free home care assessment to see what senior care services will best meet your loved one’s unique situation. Call us any time at 630-323-4665.