Insurance Question re Kaiser Permanente Insurance

Doggie Lover

I a wondering if there is any one out there that has Kaiser Permanente Insurance along with Medicare. Does Kaiser provide any help with dementia patients such as caregiving or other help for the patient and caregiver?

LJS45

My mom had Kaiser and Medicare and the answer is no. Kaiser did not offer any in-home care at all. The only help she received was when she was on hospice for over 2 years in MC. They were wonderful.

anisharp

We have Kaiser Advantage Plus in Northern California. The only care I’ve gotten as a caregiver for my husband with vascular dementia has been one hour of counseling after diagnosis through the geriatric department and referral to one-on-one counseling.

Local non-profits, including the Alzheimer’s Assoc. provide support group meetings and some respite grants. Local council on aging has free or low-cost day care for dementia patients.

IMO, my Kaiser facility is woefully unprepared and understaffed when it comes to caring for with dementia patients and their caregivers. We use our primary care physicians, rather than the one diagnosing geriatric physician. The situation may be different at other regional Kaiser facilities.

subversivevegan

My LO also has Kaiser Advantage Plus in Northern California. She also has the double-whammy of small cell lung cancer (in remission) and vascular dementia (very much not in remission). Her physical health is poor. She is unable to eat well (going long periods on mostly ice cream) and as such has physically deteriorated (but has not lost weight). Mostly bedridden. After meeting with her (wonderful) Doctor, she was referred to Palliative Care (in lieu of Hospice). If unfamiliar, the focus of Palliative Care is to "promote quality of life for patients, and their families, who are living with a chronic progressive illness".

So, while there is no Medicare-covered respite care with P.C. (rats!), there is access to a 24x7 team (doctors, nurses and social workers) who are focused on my LO's comfort and well-being — and in supporting me. I was given referrals to placement services as well as respite care facilities (private pay) and they got her POLST started. Just having an after hours/weekend number for urgent issues is comforting. I look forward to some home health care (nursing & health aides) which will be welcome.

I'm not sure at what stage a PWD ("only") would qualify for palliative care, but it is worth pursuing through a referral from your primary. Any help is welcome.

Iris L.

I tried to have my 92 year old neighbor who does not have dementia but has heart disease, evaluated for palliative care. I was not present for the telephone appointment. Apparently she was told she was not eligible for palliative care but she could apply for hospice. She refused hospice because she did not think she was within six months of mortality. That was six months ago and she is still here, in the same condition. She is getting no care from Kaiser, they just refill her prescriptions without seeing her. If I had been present, I would have been more insistent on a reason why she was not eligible for palliative care. I am not satisfied with Kaiser's care of older adults with serious chronic illnesses.

Iris