Recently, a client called and asked about Medicare and long term care. His wife is struggling with her health and he was hoping that Medicare would pay for someone to come in daily to help with her care. It was a challenging conversation as I had to tell him that Medicare DOES NOT COVER LONG TERM CARE.
The bottom line is, custodial care is not covered. I’m leaving Medicaid out of the discussion for now as that could be a blog unto itself. I’ll be covering more of the things Medicare does not cover is subsequent posts.
But there was still hope for my friend because Medicare does cover Home Health Care. To learn more about what Home Health visit the official Medicare website via the button below:
One of the qualifications for home health care to be covered by Medicare, is it has to be deemed necessary by a doctor. The intention is about providing part-time or skilled restorative care. For example, a physical therapist making their rounds is considered both necessary and part-time restorative care. This person won’t be spending the entire day with the patient, preparing meals, cleaning the house, and so on. It is on a short term basis.
My wife experienced this kind of care when she had her knee replacement surgery. Every other day for about 2 weeks, someone would come to our house to check on her and provide physical therapy. I took care of the house keeping and made dinners.
So what’s the primary difference between long term care and home health care? Long term care is about custodial care. In other words, it’s unlikely you will be going home. If you have long term home health care, be prepared to pay a sizable bill. $8,000 a month or more is not unusual. On the other hand, the home health care that is covered by Medicare is primarily focused on fixing whatever is temporarily broken or injured, so you can get back to your normal life.
If you want to know a little bit more about long term care, you can find more information on our website.
If you want to know more about your options to help with the costs of long term care, I am a phone call away. I am certified in long term care and would love to provide you with the information you need as you navigate this process.