Assisted Living At Home - Supplementing what Medicare covers

This column supports the ever-changing needs and demands of family caregiving.

Thank you for the privilege of your time. For the last month, we have been discuss­ing the needs of Katy (a long-distance caregiver in Florida with Dad in Oregon) who wanted to move her dad into an assisted living facility but COVID restrictions made that impossible.

I had recommended a level of care assess­ment and the respite reimbursement grant so that Katy could explore other options for care. Quite a few people have called asking about other care options when a loved one is not ready to move to a facility or elects to remain at home.

After a level of care assessment, here is an option for Katy’s father. This could help him stay at home or delay the need for a move into a facility. Here are the action steps:

1. Ask the doc­tor for a physical and occupational therapy safety evaluation. Medicare, Medicaid, and health insurance will pay for it. A change in the function will help an elderly person qualify for skilled care at home. In Katy’s dad’s case, he would qualify for physical and occupational therapy, a social worker, a dietitian, and a home health aide.

2. Supplement care needs. Because Medicare does not provide many hours of care, Katy’s dad could supplement his care needs with a private caregiver, an agency caregiver, or even adult daycare or a combination of all. If she combines adult daycare and private home health aide services, she can slash the cost of care by twenty-five per­cent. If she explores the assisted living at home program at Comfort Makers, she would cut her cost of care by half!

Families select Comfort Makers for 3 big reasons!

1. They DO NOT require a mini­mum number of hours
2. You select the caregiver and hourly rate that you prefer to pay
3. You get to see the drug screen, background check, and credentialing of the caregiver of your choice.

Comfort Makers and I are here to be of service to you 24/7, call or write and until then, take care, stay safe and be WELL.

– Katie Klem, Owner Comfort Makers