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mimiof3 Asked January 2017

Does Medicare and Humana pay on any of my Mom's care?

My 83 year old father fell last week and broke the upper part of his femur and he's also my mother's caregiver. While he is in the hospital he has had some heart issues and they have found a blockage and a blood clot on his lung. He is still trying to recuperate from the surgery from the fall. My problem is my 78 year old mother is at home and she has Dementia and only weighs 67 pounds. My family is trying to take turns staying with her 24/7 and we are wearing down quickly. They have Medicare and Humana and I am wondering if anyone knows if they pay any on my Moms care. We NEED to either hire someone to come in the home to stay with her or move her into a facility until we can see how my father does. Even if he gets better we do not feel he will ever be able to fully take on the responsiblity of taking care of our mother anymore. He was already starting to show signs of being too tired and a little confused. All of my siblings and I work and are just barely able to take shifts now and we know we can not do it for an extended time. Thank you in advance for any info or advice.

freqflyer Jan 2017
When it comes to broken bones in that age group, it takes a lot of time to heal, then there is physical therapy.   Back when I broke my shoulder, I had 3 to 4 months of physical therapy 3x a week to get back to normal.   So your Dad could be out of commission for awhile.

Your Mom would probably want to stay in her house, but that would require someone being there 24 hours a day as you already know.   If it is within your parent's budget [it can be expensive], call a professional caregiving agency to have someone come for one shift couple times a week [8 hour shift or less], at least to give everyone a break.

If it becomes too overwhelming to take care of Mom, have her go into Assisted Living until your Dad is back up and about, but that could accelerate her dementia if your Dad isn't there with her.

Once Dad comes home, it would be a good time to talk about Independent Living apartment with assistant living options.   That way he can still feel he is taking care of your Mom, and he will have assistant for himself and for his wife.   Then your folks would be around people of their own age group, make friends, enjoy meals in the common dining room, go to the social hour/activities.   Best to do it while both can still learn their way around the complex.

97yroldmom Jan 2017
I am sorry for all your recent problems. Medicare does not pay for a NH or for help in the home. If your father was a war time vet your mother can get help from the VA. It's called aid and attendance. It takes awhile to get this approved but might be worth looking into. Is your mother eligible for hospice? Do you have home health coming in already? Of course both these services are to assist you for short periods of time but they can help. An aid could also come in to help bath your mother. These services are ordered  by your mothers doctor. I'm glad you have siblings to help. This is such a hard time. If your parents have the money for a NH this is the time to use it. If not, it's time to file for Medicaid. The NH can help you with this. Hopefully your dad is able to discuss the finances with you and if you don't already have a DPOA for your dad, it's time to get one. It sounds like it's too late for your mom to sign one for herself. Let us know how it goes. If you'll mention which state your parents live in , you might be able to get more specific answers on what help will be available.   Be very sure not to sign as a responsible person for your parents. 

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