Home Health Senior Care Q and A

What are your senior living options? Are you planning to purchase senior care services at home? Whether you are planning to receive home health care services from an agency or hire a home health aide, you need to know your rights as a patient. Here's what you would find in a standard bill of rights.

As a senior home care patient, you should be:

• Allowed to choose the kind of senior health care service and assisted living you prefer
• Informed by the home health agency what your rights and responsibilities are
• Allowed to choose your home health care provider
• Provided a timely response from the home health agency when you request for service
• Admitted for in-home health care service only if the agency can assure that they can provide you with safe, professional, and up-to-the-mark care
• Provided with all information needed to give informed consent before any treatment or procedure is started
• Provided with appropriate and professional care according to physician orders
• Informed beforehand about any change expected in the plan of care
• Allowed to refuse treatment as long as it is within the confines of the law
• Informed about the consequences if you refuse treatment
• Informed within reasonable time, if the in-home nursing service is about to get terminated
• Provided full information of the agency policies, their charges for different services, and also whether you are eligible for third-party reimbursements
• Allowed to voice any concerns, grievances or suggestions without fear of restraint and discrimination
• Informed of what to do when there is an emergency

Make sure you have read your home health agency's 'Patient Bill of Rights' before you hire them.

So you have a senior living all alone? You understand he needs assisted living. A nursing home doesn't seem like the right move. You wish to let him live independently for as long as possible. Senior care at home seems like a good option. You have a list various agencies in your locality that provide in-home health care. You have decided to purchase home health care service for your loved one. What next?

Weigh the pros and cons of hiring senior home care service from an agency against that from an individual. Hiring individuals is often cheaper and there is a personal touch. Sometimes, a senior may prefer hiring an individual just because he/she is of the same race and may make him feel more comfortable. Hiring from a home health agency may prove to be expensive for some. But they provide trained workers who value professionalism.

Once you have decided from where you want to purchase senior health care services, before the job formally begins, spend some time with the person who will actually be providing the in-home nursing. Discuss what will be involved in the daily routine. Tell the home health care aide (both verbally and in writing) the following things he/she needs to know about the senior:

• Illnesses or injuries
• Signs of a emergency medical situation
• Likes and dislikes
• Medications - how and when they have to be taken
• Need for eyeglasses, dentures, walkers etc.
• Possible behavioral problems
• Special diets or nutritional needs
• Therapeutic exercises
• Problems in getting around

In addition, tell the person

• How you can be contacted
• Who else to contact in case of an emergency
• How to lock the apartment and where to find the keys
• How to find utensils and serving items
• Where to look for cleansing supplies
• Where the fuse box is located, in case of a power cut

You know your elderly father needs assisted living and can no longer be left alone at home. Home health care seems to be the best option. You know there are many agencies that provide home health care services. How should you decide which Home Health agency to choose for your loved ones?

Talk to friends, neighbors and your local area aging agency about senior care. The following questions can help guide your search:

1.    How long has the home health agency been serving this community?

2.    Does the agency have any printed brochures describing the senior home care facilities it offers and how much they cost? If yes, get a brochure.

3.    Is the agency approved by Medicare?

4.    Is the quality of senior health care it provides certified by a national accrediting body such as the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations?

5.    Does the agency hold a current license to practice?

6.    Does the agency offer seniors a written "Patients' Rights" document that clearly describes the rights and responsibilities of both the agency and senior for whom the home health facilities are needed?

7.    Does the agency write an in-home nursing plan for care of the patient (with the help of the patient, his/her doctor and family) and update the plan as needed?

8.    How well does the supervisor oversee care to ensure quality?

9.    Are the agency staff members available round the clock, seven days a week, if necessary?

10. Does the agency have an in-home nursing supervisor on call 24 hours a day?

11. What is the procedure for resolving problems that may arise and whom can I call with questions or complaints?

12. How does the home care agency hire and train its employees?

13. What arrangements does the agency make if the home health care worker cannot come when scheduled?

14. How does the agency handle billing?

15. Is financial assistance available to pay for the services?

Are you an elderly or disabled person who needs to be cared for at home instead of a healthcare facility? Has somebody suggested hiring a home health aide to assist you? How is a home health aide going to be of any help to you?

As more and more people start living well into their eighties, senior care is becoming a concern. This is an age group that usually has health problems. Many seniors are now looking for assisted living options.  One of the most favored options for senior living has been to receive home health care service.

Many people prefer to stay at their own homes where they are more independent and comfortable. The cost of senior home care is also less than health care at a nursing home.

A key person in the home health care scenario is the home health aide.

Home health aides, also called home attendants, usually work for licensed home health agencies. They provide you with basic nursing care and housekeeping services. Their work is supervised by a Registered Nurse. 

As part of the senior home care, a home health aide may spend a certain amount of hours each day or week with you. A home health aide may perform the following tasks:

• Provide senior health care assistance
• Check and record vital signs such as pulse, blood pressure and breathing rates
• Coordinate with other members of the health care team to provide you with in-home health care
• Maintain records of in-home nursing care provided to you
• Report any changes in your health to the nurse supervisor
• Help you to move about the house, bathe and use the toilet
• Help and teach you to get along independently
• Change your bed linens and manage your laundry
• Fix and serve your meal
• Be a companion to talk, read, and play with

Have you ever hired a home health aide to assist you? Would you suggest a home health aide for another senior?

Is it time you looked for assisted living options? Have you been considering in-home health care services as a senior living option? Are you wondering whether your expenses for senior home care will be covered by Medicare?

Medicare does not cover custodial care or long term care at home. The senior care needed must be medically necessary.

According to Medicare, 'Home Health Care' is the skilled in-home nursing care and certain other health care services that you get in your home for the treatment of an illness or injury.

To get Medicare home health care,

• You must be under the care of a doctor
• Your doctor must make a plan of senior health care for you at home
• You must be homebound
• You must have a documented need for intermittent (and not full time) skilled in-home nursing care, or physical, occupational or speech therapy
• The home health agency caring for you must be approved by Medicare

There is no specific time limit involved. Medicare will pay as long as you need skilled nursing care. But it does not pay for homemaker services such as cleaning, laundry, shopping and the like.  

Medicare does not pay for any prescription drugs that you may need. It may pay for some of the medical supplies such as wound dressing.

The cost of using durable medical equipment such as oxygen concentrators, hand-held nebulizers, ventilators, suction machines etc is also covered by Medicare, but only partly. You will have to bear 20% of the cost. Medicare pays for 80%.

Documentation is extremely important. Medicare will not pay for anything unless forms are completed and signed by the doctor on time. So, remember to keep everything documented.