estate planning, Long Term Care, Uncategorized
Meeting the Medicare Criteria
By Estate Planning attorney Rick Law of Law Elder Law, Illinois’ leading Elder Law attorneys. As you may have read in our previous blog entries, Medicare only cares about you if you can get better. Many seniors expect that Medicare will take care of them if they need to have long term care later in life, and that’s simply not true. If you have an ongoing chronic diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and other degenerative memory and mobility issues, you will have to pay for the bulk of your costs – especially if you need long term care. Fortunately, there are tools that a qualified Elder Law attorney can use to help you save some of your assets and even your home. Be sure you have the right tools in place as soon as possible – because if you’re already out of money, you may be out of options. Medicare will also pay some of the costs of home healthcare. If you need help only with basic daily activities, then Medicare won’t cover these costs. However, Medicare will cover the expenses of medical care in the home, including help with daily living activities, if it is part of a doctor’s orders. In order to receive home care coverage from Medicare, the home care agency that is used must be Medicare-approved, and the patient must also meet certain qualifications of their Medicare, Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplement plan. To meet the criteria set by Medicare in order to qualify for home care coverage, the patient must need at least one or more of the following:
- Part-time nursing care
- Physical therapy
- Speech language therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Attend regular church services
- Obtain medical treatment, including therapeutic or psychosocial care