Alzheimer's and Dementia, Assisted Living, estate planning

Winning the Diagnosis Lottery

 By Elder Law and Estate Planning Lawyer Rick Law.  Law Elder Law provides legal services for seniors in the West Suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. When it comes down to it, the health-care system isn’t a whole lot different from a lottery system. If someone gets a diagnosis that has a  Medicare reimbursement code, then Medicare cares about that person’s care and will cover it. If someone gets a diagnosis that’s not covered by Medicare, Medicare does not care about that person’s care and will not pay. There’s a story of two sisters of the same relative age, sharing the same genes and even living on the same street. One sister had heart issues and was able to rely on Medicare. The other sister was not so “lucky” and had Alzheimer’s disease. The unlucky sister was unable to use Medicare to pay for her needed long-term care. In essence, the first sister won the diagnosis lottery. Medicare cares about helping seniors to not die of heart attacks or strokes. For the sister that had a heart problem, there was a Medicare reimbursement code to take care of almost everything that she needed: medication, health services, rehab services, hospital services, doctor services. She was provided an enormous amount of care—probably half a million dollars or more because there was a Medicare reimbursement code for the diagnosis that she had. Medicare didn’t completely abandon the sister with Alzheimer’s. When she got a urinary tract infection and had to go to a hospital as an inpatient, Medicare paid for her acute care. Part B paid for doctor services.  Part D helped pay for medications, such as Aricept and Risperdal. But look at what’s not covered. Someone who has memory issues and starts to need assistance will not be able to access Medicare benefits for care. When the sister with Alzheimer’s started to have memory issues, she was living at home. One day she decided to turn on the water in the bathtub upstairs and she didn’t turn it off. She didn’t turn it off for a couple of days. At this point it became obvious that the sister was no longer safe in a normal environment and somebody needed to be overseeing her activities of daily living. She needed in-home care, which is not covered by Medicare. Too many families needlessly lose everything they have.  Don’t let that be you.  If you need help paying the overwhelming cost of long term care, give our office a call at 800-310-3100.  Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now, because when you’re out of money, you’re out of options! Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees. Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.   Call 800-310-3100 for your free consultation now!