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nursing home

Mar 21
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What Are The Top Rated Nursing Homes In Rhode Island?

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Nursing Homes Ratings in Rhode Island

US News and World Report has rated the top of the Rhode Island nursing homes and listed them on their website. Listed are those facilities with a rating of five stars from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for their overall performance in health inspections, nurse staffing and quality of medical care.

Do Rhode Island Nursing Homes Make the Grade?

About 31 percent of all nursing homes in Rhode Island earned an overall five-star rating. Visitors to the site can narrow their search for a Best Nursing Home by clicking on a metro area or region or by entering a ZIP code.

Know what services nursing homes offer.

Like any business or facility, each has its particular strengths and areas of improvement. Research must be done to determine if the nursing home you select offers the best care and expertise in the are your loved one is most in need of. Cognitive Issues, mobility issues, behavioral issues; know which nursing home can best address your loved ones needs.

Want to discuss what is the best nursing home is for you or a loved one and how you can pay for that nursing home? Contact us to schedule a consultation.

Click HERE for the full rankings.

US News Report

Mar 16
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What Scares the Government Most About The Cost of Long Term Care

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Long Term Care – the growing expense

For years, federal and state governments have shied away from the problem of providing long-term care for ailing seniors – and for good reason. While mounting costs of Social Security, prescription drugs, and federal health care programs get a lot of attention, the staggering costs of providing community-based social services and nursing home facilities and in-home care to seniors are draining the savings of average Americans and posing frightening long-term fiscal challenges for government officials. “Responsibility for long-term servicfamilye support is shared among seniors and people with disabilities themselves, family, friends, and volunteer caregivers; communities, state, and federal government,” Alice Rivlin, the former Congressional Budget Office Director and an expert on long-term elder care, testified recently before a House committee. “This shared-responsibility system is severely stressed, and will become increasingly unable to cope as the numbers needing care increase.” Moreover, the rapid growth in this spending is forcing policy makers to make tough budget choices between Medicaid and other spending for the elderly and education and other investments in young people, Rivlin added.

Long Term Care Spending Reality

Spending on long-term care for seniors by the federal government, states, families and individuals for those 65 and older will increase from 1.3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product in 2010 to 3 percent of GDP in 2050, according to the Congressional Budget Office. While some private health insurers provide long-term care policies to meet those future costs, the premiums are often astronomical and out of the grasp of middle income and even wealthier families.
Click Here to read The Fiscal Times full article

Feb 10
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Nursing Home: Promise You’ll Never Put Me In One

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Nursing Home – A promise that cannot always be kept

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The perception of life in a nursing home.

Promise you won’t put me away. It is hard to say no to that request. But it often is even harder to honor it.

For many, the idea of being sent to a nursing home facility implies abandonment. Older Americans remember the poorhouse , where the old and infirm were hidden away to die. But many younger people also are repelled by the idea.

There’s now a wider spectrum of facilities catering to different levels of need, but even the best ones can feel institutional. Daily life is often rigidly regulated, robbing residents of autonomy, and the familiar faces and spaces of a person’s life are gone.

This unfortunately is the perception. With this perception loved ones pressure their family to promise not to let them live there. Seeking to comfort, a promise is made, a promise that cannot always be kept. Nurses are hired, changes to rooms, stairs, ramps and rails are added. All helping for a while, but never fulfilling the promise. What is a family member to do?

Resources exist in Rhode Island to help caregivers aid loved ones during the period of increased need. However, there are limitations as to what unskilled people can provide in their home. Many improvements have been made, but there are still limitation.  When all options are exhausted and the medical professionals recommend your loved one be moved to a skilled facility, the echo of the promise is loud.

Below is a link to a compelling article about making promises that sometimes you cannot keep.

Promise You’ll Never Put Me In A Nursing Home

alzheimers081454604851A photograph album shows Sarah Harris and her husband, Ernie, on their wedding day. Three years later, Ernie, who was 53, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

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Dec 22
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Who Receives Skilled Nursing Care and Where in Rhode Island?

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Skilled Nursing Care Demographics in Rhode Island

Nearly 8,000 people reside in Rhode Island’s 84 nursing homes and skilled nursing care facilities at any single point in time.

They are mostly independent facilities (60.7%), although a large minority belong to a multi-facility organization (39.3%). Nearly eight in 10 (78.6%) RI nursing homes are for-profit.

Residents are predominantly female (72.1%) and non-Hispanic white (93.4%).

More than half (55.5%) are aged 75 or older.

In 2012, RI nursing home costs averaged $8,517 per month for a shared room and $9,277 per month for a private room. Source: Rhode Island Journal of Medicine: The Nuts and Bolts of Long-Term Care in Rhode Island: Demographics, Services and Costs (March 2015)

WHAT ABOUT BEING ABLE TO RECEIVE CARE AT HOME UNDER THE MEDICAID WAIVER PROGRAM?

Rhode Island has a program called SSI Enhanced Assisted Living Program that provides up to approximately $1,200 / month to be put toward the cost of assisted living. However, this is not a Medicaid program. RI does have a Medicaid program called RIte @ Home which offers 24/7 personal care in a residential environment but not in assisted living communities. Finally, the state’s Home and Community Care Medicaid Waiver also covers assisted living.

NursingHome

Nursing Home Demographics

Elderly Rhode Island residents can receive a variety of care services and support through the Home and Community Care Program. This program is intended as an alternative to nursing homes.  The services are provided to individuals living at home or “in the community”. By the rules of the program, “in the community” includes assisted living residences. The benefits of the program are designed to support individuals at home. This program provides adult day care, in-home care, meal delivery services and medical alert services.

This program is under the jurisdiction of the Rhode Island Division of Elderly Affairs and is funded through a combination of state and federal monies.

Want to learn more about how nursing home skilled nursing and the Waiver Program may impact you and your family? Contact our office for a free consultation.

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Dec 15
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How Do People Pay For Nursing Home Care In Rhode Island?

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What do you mean my health insurance does not pay for nursing home care?

There are 3 major ways on how people pay for nursing home care in Rhode Island:

First is by accessing and using an earlier purchased long-term-care insurance policy. Unfortunately, very few people have them as they are for many people cost prohibitive.

The second way is by private pay, which means you write a check directly to the nursing home from your life savings to pay for the room and board to live there. Per the Rhode Island Department of Human Services, the average cost per month for skilled nursing home care in Rhode Island is $9,113.

The third way to pay for nursing care is to qualify for Medicaid coverage under the Medicaid program. By qualifying for Medicaid, an individual will not be required to spend their life savings on skilled nursing care.

Unfortunately, medical insurance does not pay for long term care. Most plans will only pay a portion of the first 100 days of skilled care. After the 100 days is used, individuals will need be responsible for paying for their own room and board – their medical insurance will continue to pay for doctor visits and prescriptions, but individuals will need to pay for the bed, meals and roof over their head in nursing home.

How do I qualify for Medicaid?

Qualifying for Medicaid is like filing a very complicated tax return over a series of years. For a person to take advantage of the tax rules the taxpayer needs to make decisions as to their assets and income, perhaps transferring assets or claiming some while using others. So too is it with qualifying for Medicaid. As a CPA helps with a Tax Return, and Elder Law Attorney helps with understanding and advising as to what needs to be done to qualify for Medicaid. It is a lengthy process that for it to be optimized requires 5 years!

Want to learn how to qualify for Medicaid? Contact our office and schedule a no-cost meeting!Nursing Home Image

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Dec 05
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Leaving Nursing Home During Medicare-Covered Stay

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LEAVING NURSING HOME WHILE STILL BEING TREATED – IS IT POSSIBLE?

Nursing home residents often want to participate in holiday gatherings but may worry they will lose Medicare coverage if they leave the facility to do so. Residents and their families and friends can put their minds at ease. According to Medicare law, nnursing home residents may leave their facility for family events without losing their Medicare coverage.leaving hospital

However, depending on the length of their absence, beneficiaries may be charged a “bed hold” fee by their skilled nursing facility (SNF). The Medicare Benefit Policy Manual recognizes that although most beneficiaries are unable to leave their facility, “an outside pass or short leave of absence for the purpose of attending a special religious service, holiday meal, family occasion, going on a car ride, or for a trial visit home, is not, by itself evidence that the individual no longer needs to be in a SNF for the receipt of required skilled care…Decisions in these cases should be based on information reflecting the care needed and received by the patient while in the SNF and on the arrangements needed for the provision, if any, of this care during any absences.”

Source: Center for Medicare Advocacy

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