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I have POA over my mother which includes medical, financial etc. It was drawn up in her state of Louisiana, which has entirely different laws than the rest of the states. I cannot hire an attorney to help me with her, so I'm wondering what I can insist on when for instance, she comes out of knee replacement surgery tomorrow and her doctors want to send her to rehab but she's refusing because she thinks it will "put her in a higher insurance tier and they'll stop paying and she'll have to start paying more and all her money will be gone". She lied to the doctor saying she had someone to stay with her when she's discharged. She does not! I told the doctor this, but if she persists in getting her way, I'm afraid she'll be discharged and sent home. Can I insist she go to rehab with the POA or is it only good if she's incapacitated?

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BlueRidgeGal, your question of what things you can do as your mother's POA agent cannot be answered by anyone who does not have a copy of the POA. Any POA can be worded to allow only specific actions or almost any action and the POA can either become effective immediately or only after certain events take place (e.g. one or more doctors stating that a person is incompetent). To ensure your mother's safety, I suggest you ask her doctor if the POA you have is sufficient for you to prevent the doctor from releasing her to be sent home without anyone staying with her.
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BlueRidgeGal, if your Mom is of sound mind, then she can make her own decision even if the decisions aren't in her best interest. All we can do is give our parents simple advice. The shorter the advice, the better.

As for Rehab for knee surgery, you can use "therapeutic fibs" for her best interest. You can tell her "Medicare won't pay for her knee surgery if she doesn't go to rehab". You know it's not true, but Mom might believe it and go to rehab. If she doesn't believe, then you can say "Mom, do you have $30,000 to pay for knee surgery?" [yes, that is the average cost].

Sounds like Mom is confusing health insurance with homeowner's insurance where one's insurance could go up if used a lot. So if Mom starts with the higher insurance tier simply explain that is for "homeowner's insurance".

Your Mom could have physical therapy at home, but would she be able to get to the front door to let in the therapist? I realize your Mom could be afraid of living in the nursing home/rehab center, as she may think she will be there forever.
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Thank you for your responses. I will bring my copy to show the doctor when I visit.
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