nursing home – mamasmunchkin

In yesterday’s online edition of the Tampa Bay Times, there was an article about people writing contracts with family members to be their caregivers so that they can qualify for Medicaid. It said that people were paying their caregivers a salary, which then helps them qualify for Medicaid.

After thinking about this for a while, I feel like this would be okay as long as there are some stricter guidelines in the contract that help to minimize fraud, which seems to be one of the problems listed in the article.

Being the caregiver of a family member who is disabled or elderly isn’t a glamorous job. For the most part, it’s emotionally, physically, and mentally exhausting. That doesn’t mean that people are unwilling to do it for a loved one if it became necessary.

Medicaid is a state run insurance program for people who have limited resources. It too isn’t glamorous or a program people want to use if they don’t have to. In some cases, utilizing the services of Medicaid is the only way some people can get the healthcare they need. Florida Medicaid also assists in the cost of someone who has to live in a Nursing Home for various reasons.

Past generations have done all they can to take care of the aging population in the comfort of their own home when possible. If a family member wants to make that choice and help their loved one, I believe they certainly should have that opportunity. Since there are currently no guidelines in place for this occurrence, maybe a committee could be formed to oversee the contract process and help minimize occurrences of any fraudulent types of activities.

What do you think about hiring a family member as a caregiver like this article talks about?

Thanks for reading..

Here is the link to the article:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/health/family-caregivers-contracts-under-scrutiny-in-legislation/2109442

Institutionalization of the disabled has always bothered me. It seems even sillier when you talk about placing kids into nursing homes. Where is the thought of quality of life for these people? While I do understand that these people are severely disabled and their quality of life may not be like yours and mine, they are still human beings. Why diminish their quality of life even more by placing them in a nursing home if it isn’t necessary?

In my opinion, it’s always a better option to keep people with their family members and in their homes when at all possible. I also understand that there are times when this may not be an option for someone for various reasons. The problem is that, at times, they aren’t even given any other option.

The article below seems to have some good ideas for steps in the right direction. It talks about “care coordinators” being assigned to patients in the nursing homes. The best part of the whole article is that if the program really works like it says it will, maybe one day people who really can be at home can have a “care coordinator” assigned to them in the comfort of their own home.

Unfortunately, I think that the system currently in place is just the “easier” option. If it weren’t for parents like the one interviewed in the article, most of these kids would probably be forgotten about.

Here is the link to the original article:

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/9-investigates-changes-floridas-care-disabled-chil/nTzNM/

Thanks for reading..

Tag: nursing home

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