Nursing Homes and the paperwork....

[Clarence Martin]

For those that had to place someone in a Nursing Home, when it came time to fill out the paperwork that the Nursing Home has the person fill out once their Medicare coverage runs out, how many pages is in the stack of papers to fill out ?

[Val Kosmider]

Large.

Not sure how Medicare Coverage 'runs out', but I am not intimately familiar.

But the stack of papers from the nursing home?

Everything about the patient....medical, personal, financial. Living will. Medical proxy.

A LOT about you. POA. Contact info. Everything you know about the patient.

And then the usual 'legal' stuff. They are not responsible for anything. You are responsible for everything (mostly bills). On top of that the usual HIPA disclosures.

Think of it along the lines of closing on a house. You'll be there for a while, your eyes will hurt, and your hand will be heavy from signing your name. The good news? Your wallet will be lighter!

[Steve Friedman]

Assume you're referring to the Medicaid application, since Medicare only pays the 1st 20 days and then part of the next 80.

Probably differs from State-to-State, but in NJ there's only around 6 pages to complete, but there could be thousands of pages of attachments. Depends on how much financial information there is. In NJ, the County Welfare Offices want copies of cancelled checks and statements going back 5 years, so that's usually 250 - 500 pages per account.

Unless the resident has absolutely no assets and made no gifts to anyone within the past 5 years, it might be a good idea consult with a local attorney before letting the nursing home submit the Medicaid application for you. I don't blame them, but the nursing homes are trying to protect their financial interests - not yours.

Steve