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Richard777 Asked August 2017

What is the minimum cost to get assistance for medical visits?

My mother can't drive and I'm looking for a new job. If I get work and can't take off I will need assistance to get my mother to the doctor and back. She has a walker and can't walk well without her walker or a wheel chair for support. Her doctors all have wheel chairs and she can hang on my arm and walk from her door to the car and get inside with assistance and I borrow a wheel chair at the doctors and help her there. It might take one to 2 hours for a trip maybe once a week or once a month depending plus or minus. Some months she doesn't even need to see the doctor. She can't drive though so I'm wondering how much do services cost? I'm new to this forum.

Richard777 Aug 2017
Thanks for the responses. I will have to check.

freqflyer Aug 2017
Some professional caregiver Agencies do have a minimum amount of hours. You would need to check around.

The Agencies prefer to have enough notice so that they can have a caregiver available who doesn't mind driving and going in with your Mom to the doctor. It would be best to have the same person each time, but scheduling might not allow it.

Unless, let's say, you schedule for a caregiver every Wednesday afternoon from 1 to 4 pm. Then if Mom needs to schedule a doctor's appointment, it would need to be scheduled at 2pm on a Wednesday. Yes, it could be tricky to schedule. That way, hopefully the Agency can have the same caregiver come out every Wednesday, if Mom is able to budget that sort of payment.

My Dad had the same caregiver every weekday so it make it easier for him, and she would take Dad to the doctor and go into the exam room with him. Introduce herself to the doctor as Dad's caregiver. That way after the appointment she would call me with the results. She would schedule any future appointments, too.

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Richard777 Aug 2017
I was wondering if home assistance services charge a minimum per week or month if she has months where she doesn't need to see a doctor. Local ride services seem almost non existent in my area.

Richard777 Aug 2017
Thanks. She's not on Medicaid and has plenty of funds to pay. I have power of attorney so I could discuss this with her and doctors. I did not think of asking her doctors about transportation assistance.

pamstegma Aug 2017
The best person to ask might be her doctor. Some clinics can arrange transportation, possibly on a sliding scale fee. If she is already on Medicaid, talk to her caseworker. I'm sure other patients arrived via handicap transport, so the receptionist should have a good idea who you can call.

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