Hospice for Alzheimer's
I think I have read here about people who have had their loved one receive hospice care paid by Medicaid even if they were not judged with less than 6 months to live. Did I read correctly? As Medicaid is a federal program, I don't understand that "exceptions" would be made, so how is this handled? Does the doctor lead the way? Thanks in advance.
Comments
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Hi @Lilydaisy
Medicare is federal insurance for individuals over age 65; and Medicaid is insurance for persons below a certain income. I am sharing a document that explains hospice care for individuals who are entitled to receive Medicaid.
It is my understanding that you could request an assessment of your loved one. If the hospice nurse feels your LO would qualify for Medicaid, I believe they would contact the physician. It wouldn’t heart to call for an assessment and then talk with the hospice nurse about details.
I hope this helps. Take care.
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I don’t know about Medicaid, but my DW is in an MCF and has now been on hospice for over two and a half years under Medicare. She is very, very near the bitter end, Stage 7f, of this awful disease. She was originally judged as qualified due to “ failure to thrive”. I think that part of the reason is that dementia does not have a clear duration, the last stage can run quickly or last too long, as is the case with my DW. She has been continuously losing weight, she is 5’-7” and weighs just 72 lbs, probably less by now. The hospice doctor has told me they do not know how much longer she might live but they have no problem continuing to recertify her.
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Thank you for replying. I'm sorry to hear that your wife has suffered so long. God bless you.
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Thanks for your reply. We don't qualify for Medicaid but Medicare is something to check out. But I'll also look at the link. Maybe what I read was referring to Medicaid with the assessment exceptions to get support before a 6-months or less lefe expectancy.
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Hospice for those age 65 and over is covered by Medicare, for those people on Medicare or Medicare Advantage. No income limits. Though hospice is normally limited to someone with a six month life expectancy, dementia patients are accepted under more lenient eligibility. It’s based on how much help is needed with activities of daily living, or an obvious decline in weight etc. My mom was accepted even though she was expected to live longer than six months. She needed help with showers, dressing, was incontinent. She could still feed herself.
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Same as Quilting….my dear spouse was just accepted for inability to care for herself and signficant weight loss.
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in some states a person can have both Medicare and Medicaid if they qualify. Worth checking into. I do know that FL & LA do allow that.
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hospice will evaluate anyone with dementia because it’s a progressive disease. You can contact Hospice directly or have the doctor initiate the evaluation.
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My husband was referred by his doctor for palliative care first, and later he was qualified for hospice. The six-month rule did not apply. It was completely covered by Medicare. He was at home and I was the sole caregiver. An RN would come once a week. They sent supplies, such as adult diapers, disposable pads for the bed, and gloves. Wipes weren't supplied. An aide for help with bathing was covered. It was the best decision ever to change him from palliative care to hospice.
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Thank you. That's encouraging.
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If your LO is covered by Medicare and hospice deems them qualified, it is fully paid for. There is no need to delay calling a hospice org to have them assessed. You can do that by directly contacting a hospice org that has been recommended to you or that you find locally. I repeat, there is no need to delay. If they are not qualified by hospice now, you can recall them in the future for another assessment.
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Our hospice agency and nurse explained to me that once the individual is accepted (there is an assessment done to qualify for hospice care) the duration can be flexible. When we got to the six month point I became concerned but it was explained that as long as the monthly assessments by the nurse indicated any degree of decline, hospice would continue. They provided care for my dear wife for about 10 months.
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@Vitruvius, I am sorry that your long goodbye has lingered for so long. I am thinking of you and praying for you (for all of us) on this Christmas eve. Stay strong. 💕
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Commonly Used Abbreviations
DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
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