Applying for Medicaid? Order the PAS early
“You have to get a PAS.” This is a cryptic statement frequently made to the families of patients who will be discharged from hospitals to sub-acute facilities for skilled nursing or rehabilitation care. If someone is entering a sub-acute facility and may become financially eligible for Medicaid within 180 days, the receiving facility is obligated by state regulations to order a...
Patients’ Home Caregiver Training Bill Pending in NJ
People who are responsible for the care of frail elderly relatives may be interested in a bill that has just passed the NJ Assembly and is headed to the state Senate for consideration. The bill is A2955. http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2014/Bills/A3000/2955_R1.HTMA2955
The bill is designed to improve discharge planning for patients returning to their homes, and to decrease the frequency of...
Schedule a Family Meeting before Leaving Rehab
If you have assisted a family member through a course of subacute rehabilitation (up to 100 days under Medicare Part A following a hospitalization), you are no doubt familiar with the process of the “family meeting.” This is a meeting at the facility attended by the members of the patient’s treatment team — the head of nursing, dietary, recreation, physical therapy,...