In this Elder Law Minute, Wes Coulson explains how there are rules in place to make sure everyone receives the same quality of care, regardless of their source of payment.
Transcript:
Hi! I’m Wes Coulson from Coulson Elder Law, proudly serving clients throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area and beyond. I’d like to welcome you to our Elder Law and Estate Planning Minute. We do these to help educate people, give them some little tips, and especially to let them know the questions they need to ask, things that they’ve maybe not thought of. Our thought on that is that we can help you best if you realize the things that you need help and that we can help you with. So I hope you enjoy. Thanks!
One of the very common questions, actually concerns, that we address for people who are considering having their loved one go onto Medicaid in a nursing home is, will they receive the same quality of care as they would have if they were private paid? I’m going to answer that question from two perspectives, first, a legal perspective, and then from a practical perspective, and in both cases they’re going to lead to the conclusion, yes, they receive the same quality of care.
From the legal perspective, under the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1983 it is illegal for any nursing home, in any respect, to discriminate against a resident on the basis of their payment source. So if they were treating people differently and it was consistent and noticeable; simply put, at some point somebody would stop them, they can’t get away with it. But, my bigger answer is only practical, the only people to whom that payment source difference matters are the corporate owners of the facility. The people who are caring for your loved ones in the nursing home; the nurses, the nurses’ aids, the people in the kitchen, the therapist, everybody else, they get a paycheck, and they get the same paycheck regardless of what the payment source is.
So, I tell people, worry less about that than about establishing a good relationship with those caregivers. If somebody is the guardian angel at the facility, bring them cookies, buy them flowers, whatever is going to make them happy, and tell people thank you. Let them know that you appreciate what they’re doing for your loved one, but also have expectations that they’re going to provide your loved one with care. So those, to me, are the things that really matter and the source of payment really doesn’t. Thanks!
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Dent-Coulson Elder Law is dedicated to providing families in the St. Louis area with their Elder Law needs. Our practice areas include Asset Preservation Planning, Veterans Benefits, Medicaid Eligibility, Alzheimer’s Planning, Special Needs Planning, Estate Planning and more. We understand the financial challenges you may face as you and your loved ones grow older. At Dent-Coulson Elder Law, our clients’ well-being is our number one priority. For immediate help, call (618) 632-7000 (IL) or (314) 567-9292 (MO), or Contact Us and we will get in touch as soon as possible.
