Medicare HMO
If you don’t want Medi-gap insurance you can enroll your elderly parent in a Medicare HMO. He/she has to keep Medicare A & B but they use the doctors and hospitals in the HMO. One nice thing about an HMO is that it covers preventative care that is not covered by Medicare. An HMO also covers hearing aides (if you can your LO to wear one), dental care, and eye glasses. You pay monthly premiums to the HMO.
One time when we were taking care of my father-in-law I was explaining the costs involved in elder care, a befuddled person asked me, “Well, doesn’t Medicare cover everything?” The short answer is that Medicare does cover a lot but it doesn’t cover everything.
In the August 3rd issue of Time Magazine Nancy Gibbs wrote an essay about the assisted suicide of an elderly British couple. Ms Gibbs raises some very interesting issues. (more…)
A recent report on the local news station said that out of pocket expenses for caring for an elderly parent averages $550 a year. These are non-reimbursable expenses and they are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what elder care costs. (more…)
I wrote many times about the need to plan as much as possible for what you have to do to provide excellent elder care. I also advocated that you get your relatives on board to give you the support you need.
A recent article in a local newspaper describes a service has taken both ideas to a new level. (more…)
I found a great resource especially for those who are providing elder care at a distance. It is a book titled Paradise Costs by Irene Masiello. Irene describes what she went through when she tried to take care of her father who, years before, moved from New York City to a small town in South Carolina. (more…)
If you have to start providing home care for an elderly parent(s) and you haven’t done the financial planning, there are three easy ways to get a handle on the process. (more…)
I mentioned many times that the value of being prepared is that you have better options because you don’t have to react to a crisis. But what if you are plunged into caring for an elderly parent in your home and you haven’t prepared. What do you do first? (more…)
If you don’t want to hire someone from an agency but would prefer to do it yourself to save some money you have to make sure you cover yourself. Actually, I can not see any reason to hire someone directly. Can you do a background check? Do you want to go on a gut feeling that you can trust someone to take care of your loved one? (more…)
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