Twin Valley Living Center

If you encounter a problem at a nursing home, the first step is to talk to the staff about reporting procedures. Many facilities have social workers or other professionals on hand specifically to deal with problems that may arise. The facility should also have a procedure in place to report problems internally. If the problem isn’t solved, you can report the nursing home to a state office or advocacy group. Your state’s department of health should have information available about how to report a nursing home.

If you’re a senior who is receiving Social Security income, you can use it to help pay for your nursing home expenses. However, it’s important to note that Social Security usually isn’t enough to cover the cost of living in a nursing home. You’ll need to use another form of income, whether that’s long-term care insurance or savings you may have, to pay for Social Security in its entirety. It’s also important to note that if you are using Medicaid to pay for your nursing home costs, you may need to forfeit some or all of your Social Security income, depending on how much you receive.

• Medicare provides some coverage for nursing facilities, but you will still be left with out-of-pocket expenses. Medicare covers 100 days at a skilled nursing facility per benefit period. In some cases, Medicare can also cover 35 hours per week of home health services.
• Medicaid assistance levels differ between states. Veterans and their spouses may also be eligible for extended assistance benefits – veterans themselves may qualify for as much as $1,794 per month in assistance for nursing home costs.
• Many people choose to pay their nursing home fees with long-term care insurance. Long-term care insurance is designed to cover nursing homes, assisted living, and other ongoing healthcare needs. Some types of life insurance also provide a way to access your death benefit to pay for long-term medical coverage as needed.

Caring for someone who has dementia or Alzheimer’s can be very challenging. While every situation is different, there are some key signs that a dementia patient should be moved into a facility with care available around the clock. Some of these signs include:

• Frequent wandering
• Difficulty moving around
• No caregiver available locally
• Family caregivers are stressed and unable to maintain a balanced life

Moving a patient to a new nursing home can be difficult, particularly if you are using Medicaid to pay for your care. If you are staying in the same state, you will just need to make sure that the new nursing home has Medicaid beds available. However, if you are moving to a different state, you will need to apply for Medicaid separately in that state. Every state has different Medicaid rules, so this process can take some time.