Using Home Senior Care alongside Medicare and Hospice In Miami, Broward, Dade, and Palm Beach County
With a large share of our society aging (%15 over 62) and the adult children of these parents busy with their own lives, at home senior care is needed now more than ever; especially for the sake of helping seniors maintain their independent lives despite their health no longer being the best. The biggest concern regarding home senior care, however, is how to pay for it, and how Medicare and Hospice services can complement or cover home care in Florida.
To get the answer on this, let us first look at each of these services and understand what they offer.
At Home Senior Care
At home senior care is a home health care service that provides an elderly patient who lives alone or with another senior assistance with their daily non-medical and medical needs. Either normally provides a visiting or live-in private duty nurse these non-medical needs, which consist of light housework and companionship.
Medicare:
Medicare’s coverage is limited to only certain an amount of home health care services. To better explain it, Medicare covers health care services for an elderly patient whose poor health keeps them homebound and unable to do personal care needs such as bathing, toileting, dressing, and other personal needs. On the other side of this, if an elderly patient only needs assistance with shopping, cleaning, and doing laundry, Medicare will not provide coverage for this.
Hospice:
Hospice is typically for the terminally ill with less than six months to live. While hospice care is often provided at a center or a nursing home, it can also be provided at the patient’s home.
With hospice care at home, health care services are administered at the patient’s home by a hospice team. This same team helps the patient’s family members, who are likely the ones providing full-time care to the elderly patient.
So with all of this being explained, can at home senior care be used alongside Medicare and Hospice in Florida?
The Answer Is Yes.
Often times there arises a duplication of services between Medicare & Hospice, resulting in a gap of care and service for that elder. Finding a way to fill that gap is where private home nurses or companions can be of assistance.
Utilizing private at home senior care is a perfect complement to the range of services that are offered through Hospice or Medicare. Depending on what stage when a patient is under Hospice care, 24-hour service is not always provided. In such instances unless you or a family member is available around the Miami, Broward, Dade, or Palm Beach areas, private home care would be needed. Who in your family will be available to keep an eye on your elder when hospice is not there and Medicare cannot provide coverage?
With Medicare falling short in instances of hourly services for seniors, what options are you considering for your senior who shouldn’t be left alone, is at risk for falls, or is in need of medication reminders?
Be it Medicare or Hospice, Florida residents often experience a gap in coverage that results in them needing private home health care service. Of course, this must be paid for out of their own pockets, but this does not have to be a problem. We are here to help you. Contact us if you like and we are more than happy to offer free advice to guide you in the right direction.
