Medicare Transport Coverage?

aspendecker

Does medicare cover transportation for alz and dementia disabled? My parents are at the point of not driving and its going to be a nightmare to tell them i have to take away the car. Hoping there is a transportation option for them that i can switch them to, so they dont lose their daily routines. Anyone know of the extent of medicare coverage or any coverage for this?

Jo C.

Sorry to say, no transport coverage on standard Medicare except for acute medical need for ambulance transport.

Exception would be if the parents belong to a Medicare Advantage Plan (mostly HMO); most of them have a transport benefit but only for so many in a year, and some plans restrict the transport to doctor's appts./medical transport only.

MN Chickadee

My understanding is that medicare does not cover transportation, at least how you are picturing it (there might be some exceptions for transport to certain health care that is non-emergency, but not just for routine life and errands and appointments.) There are medical transport companies that tend to be expensive. In my town they are in the neighborhood of $40-60 plus mileage and sometimes an extra fee for an extra passenger. They tend to be used by people who use wheelchairs so they have fewer options. Some cities have special public busses/vans for people with disabilities that is more affordable but can be less convenient - it is not your  personal driver, you have to schedule it and there are many stops for other people during your trip. My area has a non-profit that supports older adults, and they provide drivers but there is still a cost of about $30 per ride. Your county likely has something called a council on aging or agency on aging, if you call them they can likely provide a list of any transport resources in the area. 

Most families of PWD have to find a way to provide one on one transportation. Either the family does all the driving or they hire a paid companion, nurse's aide, nursing student or similar who comes to the home to provide help such as cleaning, giving meds, companionship, meal prep, and driving the person around. A majority of the time this is out of pocket expenses, although if your folks have no assets you will want to research long term Medicaid for the state they live in. In some states and some circumstances Medicaid covers some services in the home or a long term care facility.  An elder law attorney can look at their finances and help guide how to pay for care moving forward and if and when to apply for Medicaid for them. If driving is truly the only thing they need right now, that is likely to change pretty quickly and they will soon need other help so you may want to get that lined up now as you solve the transportation challenge. It is often a struggle, and so many PWD are angry about not driving. Often a therapeutic fib is necessary, such as the car is in the shop waiting on a part, and the pandemic supply chain issues have caused that part to take a long time. Repeat repeat repeat. Often it's a good idea to move the car - eventually out of sight out of mind may take over. 

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