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My mom has Medicare and we have to get a new supplemental policy. I don't know which to choose. I want one that would be best for someone who has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. We will have to put her in a memory unit in the next year or two. Any help would be appreciated.

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Even the best Medicare supplement plan will only cover a limited number of days per year in a nursing home. You need to sit down with a representative of Independent Health or Blue Cross and go over what her needs are, and what she is willing to pay. A good plan may cost her an extra $100 a month, but if there are a lot of prescriptions and frequent trips to the hospital it will be worth it in the long run.
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My mom had aa RP supplemental, plan F, the highest level which meant no deductible, no co pays and in home physical an occupational therapy is needed provided at no additional charge. Zero, zip, nada. Including her Part D prescription coverage,, her monthly payment was about $250. We Joes to get her out of the HMO she was and when she was 85 (she lived to be 94-1/2) because, with the HMO, just about EVERYTHING we were trying to do for her took months and we reached a point where we didn't want to make her wait that long.

Unless your mom already has long term care insurance, when she goes into in memory care facility, Medicare doesn't pay that. It's private pay unless a person has no funds, in which case you apply for Medicaid. Some facilities are private pay only, you have to find ones that take Medicaid. If you expect your mom to need these living arrangements with in 2 years and she doesn't have enough money to cover that herself, you will have to apply for Medicaid and they do have a 5 year lookback. Be very careful that from now until then you only spend money on her, no giving away a chance of money or other gifts.

Tell us a little bit more about the specifics of her situation and you will get more detailed answers. I'm sure we're all hoping right now that you already have the DPOA and FPOAs in place, plus wills and trusts and nomination of conservator. If your mom has assets, and those documents aren't already in place, possibly even if they are, you may need to be visiting an elder law attorney since it seems that you believe she will have to be in residence within a couple of years.
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Before you get a supplemental policy, check into long term care insurance. It may be cost prohibitive with a person already diagnosed, but no amount of medical intervention is going to change this diagnosis.
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Medicare will only cover health care, but not long term care. With Medicare, you can get prolonged care that comes with medical supervision and sufficient treatment - also known as skilled care. This is limited though, unless your mom purchased long term care (LTC) insurance. You may check how make the best out of medicare and medicaid:
http://goo.gl/NwZxhB
http://goo.gl/M2L06b
Hope this helps :)
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Mom is 87 and diagnosed with dementia,Nebuchadnezzar seems to be progressing rapidly. I have court ordered guardianship/conservator and she lives with me, after falling at home and a 3 months stay in a nursing home. She currently has Medicare Part A&B only. Will a supplemental pick up the balance of a Medicare approved stay of 100 days, if she should have to return to the nursing home for any approved reason?
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Sorry, I noticed that I posted my question in the wrong forum
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