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My Grandpa's Doc is in another town. He tells my Grandma that he will sign an order for a nursing home for Grandpa but it has to be in the town the Doc is in NOT the town my grandparents live in. Can't we pick which Nursing Home my grandfather goes in. They live 40 miles from Doc's choice but have a nursing home that grandpa has went to for rehab 4 blocks from their home. I know he can pick a home of his choice if they pay out of pocket but for medicare to pay we need a doctor's order. Can someone please help me with this info?

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There are four N/H in our area one of which is a VA facility. All of them have their own Dr who cares for all their medical needs. If they require hospitalization the patient will be cared for by the appropriate Dr for their specialty. Medicare/Medicaid patients get no choice if they require N/H it is first available bed unless they are private pay. The best thing a family can do is to try and set aside sufficient funds for a six month N/H stay. If they need Medicare/Medicaid once their funds are exhausted they can not be forced to move to a less desirable N/H. Many people consider long term care insurance which is fine if you can afford it but the premiums can quickly deplete your savings. If you are considering this it should be obtained when you are in your 50s with no pre-existing conditions. I have done in home assessments for long term disability companies. I did minimal physical exams just B/P pulse and weight. There were memory tests etc all of which were obvious to the applicant, but what they did not know was that I was also asked to comment on the state of the home, personal hygiene and grooming. Even repair of the home if owned and yard care, I think there were 16 pages to be completed altogether. Lots of tricky questions to assess the risk and ability to pay.
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Go to the nursing home of your choice and ask them. They have people there who know all the rules and ins and out of the system. They are there to help you.
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going to have to disagree with kathleen, sometimes nursing home is the best choice, especially if they need 24 hour care. yes they can't have much if on medicaid but as long as my mom is cared for that is all that matters to me, I don't care if there isn't anything left when she goes to be with our Lord, it angers me that children feel they are entited to anything once their parents pass on. Like God said money is the root of all evil, many prayers coming your way, hugs
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Also, beds need to be available in NH of choice, if on Medicaid, then there needs to be beds for Medicaid, not all NH have beds for Medicaid. Medicare will only pay after 3 days in Hospital and patient needs skilled nursing care, Even with 100 days (some paid by Medicare depending on your plan and the rest paid by you as copays). If he moves to Intermediate care or custodial care, Medicare will stop paying. How NH will be funded is another question to deal with. Pick the NH, figure out the funding, and then change Doctors if need be. Time for family to get involved. if they can
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Medicaid for Nursing Homes only seems like the light at the end of the tunnel on the admission part (entry). It is something seemingly much needed at a tough time in the family or with the patient. After having my parents "in the system" of nursing home medicaid for a few years, I can tell you it is not all sunshine & roses & that once approved and in a good place you are not set. The homes & agencies & medicaid lawyers will make it seem like the challenge is to get approved and in. However there are problems to consider that no one tells you about because it is all part of a broken system. Right now my husband & myself both retired are having to drive a rear-ended car that is getting rainwater in the trunk because State Farm will not pay out for damages since the car is owned by 85 year old dad on nursing home medicaid. Yes they can have a car & home when they go into the system but since they can't sell it, give it away & get qualified then what happens when daughter is driving it to visit, is sitting at a stop light and gets rear-ended. Who's car is it? How do you allow the total loss from State Farm & get the check when that very check will put the nursing home medicaid patient out on the street. This is one problem that will cost us the heirs about $10,000 of our own money because it is a broken system. Everyone is making it seem like you should get him on medicaid then it is easy street. Please take my advice about your own money & keep him out of the nursing home system. Beyond that once you put him in the state medicaid system owns his butt & the nursing home owns his butt & partially yours. Looking back I would have hired in home help. At least we could have gotten their car repaired & been paid what we should from State Farm.
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I don't know the laws where you live, but I do know that if you have a doctor's order you can place grandpa where you want, and this also have to do with what that facility is willing to accept (insurance). So check out the facility their requirements and then ask question so that they will give you the answers that you need.
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Sounds to me like the doctor is saying he won't travel too far to care for your Grandpa in a NH. That is certainly his choice to make, just as the choice of NH is Grandpa's. I've had this come up in caring for my Mom and Dad. Their PCP was not willing to go all over the county to make what amounts to a housecall. Most NH's have a doctor on-call that visits their residents, so all Grandpa's doctor has to do is write the order for NH and then he's out of the picture. Good luck and God bless.
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That seems very manipulative on the doc's part.
Have him sign the order, and choose your preferred nursing home. If doc won't do it get a new one in the area. When my mother went into a nursing home the order was signed and SHE picked the place out of three that we visited. She was happy to have some choice in the matter....which is as it should be for your grandparents.
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jinjelle Medicare will pay for a limited amount of care in a skilled nursing facility (nursing home) but you have to meet certain medical criteria and you have to have those 3 days in the acute hospital. The very most you could receive under the Medicare guidelines is 100 days and even that is confusing (of course). The 1-20th day is 100% covered by Medicare and 21st - 100th day there is a co-insurance that must be paid and that's what the supplement is for. But again there's a lot of small print to that benefit and it is not a long term solution for paying for the nursing home. I know it's so confusing... hope this helps!
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Perhaps the doctor feels that the family will not give the man the proper attention, or that the nursing home won't. Maybe he knows the places involved. Or maybe your Dad doesn't want to admit what he really wants and is using the doctor as an excuse? If he needs a NH, wouldn't he also need a family member to accompany him to the doctor? You didn't say where Grandma lives - come to think of it that's what is important.
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I am confused. I was told that Medicare DID pay for nursing homes, or maybe it is only if one has a supplement policy. Frankly, I am fed up with all these bureauCRAPIC machinations and shenanigans and such, which I think SHOULD be the real focus of citizen outrage and complaint. We all bought into FDR's and his followers plans and gave up our money for them to squander on living well for themselves; time for these "pipers" to pay.
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oops I thought your grandma was involved and that's why I mentioned the spousal impoverishment laws. If it's just your grandpa, I would still look in to the possibility of him being able to qualify for Medicaid. Contact an attorney, the local Medicaid office or ask the facility. Sorry for the confusion.
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Not only can your grandpa choose his own nursing home but he should choose his own nursing. I can't help but wonder if maybe the doctor told him that in order for him to continue to be his doctor your grandpa would have to be in the nursing home in the doctor's town. Sometimes the translation on these things can be a bit sketchy. But no the doctor doesn't call the shots on this; no pun intended!

If I were you, I would go to the nursing home of your choice (the one in your grandpa's town) and ask them to help you. They can provide your grandparents with a list of doctors that will care for him in the nursing home and help facilitate the admit process. Now the doc in the other town will need to fill our paperwork and provide an order for the admit but the local doc will pick it up from there and care for him in the nursing home.

Unless your grandpa has 3 days in an acute hospital (qualifying days under Medicare A), Medicare will not pay for his stay in the nursing home. Even if he has those 3 days and a medical need that would qualify under Medicare you're looking at a short term solution to a long term problem which is paying for the nursing home. Contact an attorney to discuss estate planning and the possibility of him qualifying for Medicaid under the spousal impoverishment laws. You can also ask the nursing home to guide you through this or call your local Medicaid office in your county. Some people are surprised that with some planning they can qualify for Long Term Care Medicaid. It's certainly worth a try...

Good luck to you and your grandparents. The nursing home admission can be an overwhelming process on top of what can be an already sad time. Nothing but the best to you...
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Perhaps he is trying to basically tell them in a very wrong and strong armed fashion, that if they want him to be his doctor, he wants him at his choice of nursing homes or else. Elderly folks often don't want to switch doctors and can be manipulated into doing something they don't want to do. Were you with her when she was told this? If not, I would go along to talk to the doctor with them.
I agree that he is able to choose his own place and all you need is the form from the doctor and his recommendation about what he can and can't do for himself. Beyond that, I'd say they need to find another doctor. This one is over stepping.
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all you need is the doctors order that he needs a nursing home, it is called a fl-2 form, the doctor does not get the choose which nursing home, you do
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