My great Aunt has been living in a wheelchair for a while now but has been able to live on her own with assisted help on the weekdays. But she suffered a bad fall on a saturday night about a month ago and wasn't found until her caregiver arrived Monday. Because of this she can now barely move, the most being lifting up her arms a bit. She can't even move her neck. Her closest family, my mom and aunt, live 3 hours away with no extra room to take her in. We were hoping Medicare would help pay for a nursing home in our city so we could be closer to her but because of a new law put into place, they can only pay for people who are both physically and mentally unable to care for themselves. Since, my great aunt passed the mental test with shining colors they won't pay for it. Hospice care said they can come in the mornings Mon - Fri but that is all they will do. My mom can try to be with her every other weekend but can't be there during nights on weekdays because she has work and young kids who basically need to be homeschooled now because of the schools currently being closed. My other aunt applied for loan to try and hire someone who can be their weekends and weeknights but since the US is already low on healthcare workers because of COVID-19 it seems it'll be a while before we find anyone who can help. My great aunt needs 24/7 care but we are quickly running out of options. My family doesn't know what else to do. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Did great aunt get admitted to a hospital after her fall? If she was in the hospital for 3 midnights, she becomes eligible for REHAB paid for by Medicare if her doctor orders it. There is an initial benefit of 20 days, paid in full (if she progresses and cooperates) and an additional 80 days with a co-pay of about $170 per day, usually picked up by supplemental insurance.
Has aunt applied for Medicaid? Have you contacted the local Area Agency on Aging? You can contact Adult Protective Services. Have hospice services been started?
For Medicaid LTC, she needs to be both financially and medically eligible. Who is looking at her eligibility?
There are too many unanswered questions in your post for us to help.
If she has the wherewithal to take out a loan, what she has in the bank should be used to pay a facility (much less expensive than full time home care).
Social worker should have explained this better to the patient and to the family.
Getting an eldercare attorney is one way to deal with this right now.
Medicaid is not dependent on whether the person meet the criteria you state (OP). That’s not how it works.
Medicaid helps poor people with no financial assets.
OP maybe you are applying for something else but are getting wrong information from someone?
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