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Mom moves to Assisted Living soon. She needs daily hygiene, showers and potty cleaning ony. They insist on Medicare card to move in, why? This has her SS# and is for "Medical" billing purposes. Do they have a right to see it and ask for it at the signing of the contract? Is this dangerous since she will be in charge of her own medicines, she has her own home health Doctor and her own CNAs who will visit. There are no Licensed CNAs at this Senior Living Facility that is licensed for 100 "Assisted Living" residents. The Med techs provide medications to some residents in need. Can we say she will provide it if her status changes? I am fearful for them to have her SS #.

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I would think that they need it in case of an emergency. I would be more surprised if they did not ask for it. You may check with Medicare to see if they may be issuing cards with some sort of alternate numbered identification on them. So many people fear identity theft, maybe they have come up with something different for identity purposes.
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You better seek a second opinion or find another assisted living facilities which offers better caregiving than the facility you're mentioning. I can sense they're only after $ rather than taking care of oldies.

Yes, there are facilities that are only after $.
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I honestly don't know. Will they need to bill her insurance for anything? Ask them exactly what they will use it for.
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Did you ask them why they need it? I would. My thoughts are that if your mother should become ill, needs medicine...even if you are the one taking her to the dr., they would need her insurance info. The community my mother lives in orders the medication my mom needs through their pharmacy. It costs the same as the pharmacy mom used so not a problem. I think you may be a little concerned for no real reason. Talk with your mother's dr. about this too.
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First of all, is your mom's social security number what's on her Medicare card or is it your dad's? I don't know your mom's situation but frequently, widows are working of their husband's (it would also have a "D" instead of an "A" after the number shown).

Residents at all types of long term care (LTC) facilities, including assisted living, have numerous rights. Call to talk to the administrator of the facility and ask why they need the Medicare card since there will be no billing to Medicare.

If the answer doesn't make sense to you, get in touch with the LTC Ombudsman's office for your state. Your profile doesn't indicate what state you're in and I was unable to locate a phone number for the national office but there is also a national website. The facility should have the number but to avoid presenting yourself as problematic, you may want to call another local facility to get the number.
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Unfortunately Medicare uses a persons SS# as the ID #.
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