How to Choose the Best Home Care Provider for Your Parents
Entrusted Legacy Law
Jan 27, 2023
Pennsylvania - Greater Pittsburgh Area
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Choosing the correct home care provider for your aging parents is a huge responsibility. This person will be looking after the needs of those who taught you to walk, talk, and care for yourself. To ensure your parents are well cared for in their golden years, consider the following as you seek out the perfect fit for a home care provider:
1: Decide What Services Your Loved One Requires
All home care is not identical. The amount of care your parents require determines the availability and cost of the services. If your parent only needs temporary care a few hours a day, you may need to employ a different provider than if they're recovering from surgery.
Observe your parents’ needs before you commit to paying for a home care plan. Home care services can range from an aide coming into your parents’ home and sitting with them to providing medical services like ensuring that they take their daily medications. You may find this needs assessment worksheet from the National Caregiver Library helpful in assessing the level of care your loved one needs.
The more intensive the services your parents need, the more money the service will cost. If Medicare doesn't cover your parents, you may end up footing the bill for the service. Make sure the services are within your budget before committing to a home care plan.
2: Do Your Research
It's important to have all the facts about a home care agency before you bring one into your parents’ home. A part of your research should include interviewing different agencies about what services they offer. You should streamline your search based on what services your parents require.
Make sure to ask the agencies you connect with about what they offer or what services they claim as specialties.
3: Get It Paid For
Medicare covers services for patients’ home care needs if the patient meets eligibility criteria. Patients eligible for home care coverage include those meeting the following criteria:
Patients currently under the care of a doctor
Patients whose doctor certifies that they're homebound
Patients in need of physical, speech, or occupational therapy who are under the care of a doctor, have a plan of care that's continually reviewed by a doctor, and require intermittent skilled nursing care
Coverage is for services that are necessary and reasonable to treat an illness or injury, including such services as:
Physical therapy
Skilled nursing care
Certain durable medical equipment
Medical supplies for in-home care
Medical social services
Injectable osteoporosis drugs specifically for women
Speech therapy
Medicaid, meanwhile, varies by state, and each state may have multiple Medicaid programs. Medicaid State Plans in most states will pay for some form of home care.
Invest in Home Care Today
Having all the facts about possible services is important before you commit. Consider the above steps to ensure you make the best decision for your family so your parents are cared for during their golden years.
Consider consulting with us if you need more information on securing home care.
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Elder Law 100 Pinewood Lane Suite #303, Warrendale, Pennsylvania, 15086Our Firm Prepares You for Life What makes our firm different is that we were built with the needs of growing families in mind. We understand you are BUSY, you are growing, you are planning for a life of prosperity and you value ease, convenience and efficiency. You are raising children, and caring for elderly parents, while also working hard to build your own nest egg for a lifetime of support. You want to know youve made the best decisions for your family and that your plan will work when your loved ones need it most. You want to make sure your minor children would be raised by the people you choose, and never by anyone you wouldnt want, and that your teens and adult children are properly prepared to care for you and what you leave behind. You want to feel confident that youve made the right choices, and handled everything so that you arent leaving behind a mess, when something happens. That is our focus as well. Weve developed unique systems to give you the same access to a Personal Family Lawyer as was previously only available to the super-wealthy, so you can have the guidance you need to build and maintain a life of prosperity and wealth. And, to keep your family out of court and out of conflict, which is the greatest risk to the people you love and all you have created, even if youve already worked with a traditional lawyer or created documents online. Our Team Is Here for You We encourage communication with our clients. In fact, weve thrown out the time clocks so you never have to be afraid to call with a quick question. Everything we do is billed on a flat-fee basis, agreed to in advance, so there are never any surprises. We have a whole team to serve you. When you call our office to ask your quick question, you wont have to wait hours or days for a phone call back. Youll get your question answered, right away. And, if you need to schedule a more in-depth legal or strategic call with your Personal Family Lawyer, a call will be scheduled when you're both available and ready for the call so we can make the very best use of your time and not waste your time by leaving voicemail after voicemail back and forth. And, we ensure the most important details of your planning are followed through on and your plan continues to work throughout your lifetime. We have a funding coordinator to ensure your assets are owned the right way throughout your lifetime and none of your assets will end up going through a long, expensive court process or being lost to the state because they were missed after your death. Weve created unique membership programs to keep your plan up to date year in and year out as well as give you access to our Trusted Team of Legal Experts for guidance on ANY legal or financial matter. One day you will need a lawyer. I dont know why and I dont know when, but when you do, you will be grateful you can call on us and well be here to advise you or get you out of a jam. We Help You Transfer Your Life and Legacy Lastly, we believe your financial wealth is only a small part of your overall Life and Legacy Planning which is made up of your far more valuable and most often lost upon incapacity or death intellectual, spiritual and human assets. These assets are what make you who you are, and sum up whats most important to you. And, a survey of inheritors has revealed that what they care about even more than inheriting your money, is inheriting these intangible assets. Most estate plans only focus on the transfer of your financial wealth to the next generation. Most people have such great intentions of passing on the intangible, but very few ever get around to it. Its just not a priority, until its too late. How much do you know about your grandparents values? Their most prized personal possessions? How they felt about you? What they had learned during their lifetime? If you are like most people, you know very little. Thats why we build the capture and passage of these most valuable assets into every estate plan we create. Not only will we help you pass on your money, but also your values, your insights, your stories and your experience the truly valuable assets your loved ones care about the most. Weve developed a tool that allows us to capture and pass on your whole family wealth, including your Intellectual, Spiritual and Human assets. I cant go into all of the details here, but well definitely talk about it when you come in for your Life and Legacy Planning Session.