Mom is in a NH, last night after looking over her Humana summary. They are not giving her medication she's supposed to be on for memory. Says she's had low Blood pressure. Well she's on a cholesterol pill and blood pressure pill. She's she's been in pain. She's not on her stomach medication. I'm not happy. They won't speak to me. But they send me bills 3x a month for 7,000$ (Mom has medicaid) I'm her durable poa. Can I just walk in and tell her to come on? I can't go to jail right? Lol.
Is her medication, her MD, and her care provider still humana?
Do know that there are no medications for memory that are currently PROVEN to work, and as they are very expensive they are often not given in Medicaid provided nursing home care.
You should request a review of medications with your mom's current doctor and then with copies of his orders, discuss with administration at the Nursing Home. It isn't clear to me if your mother currently has her own MD or if the nursing home has an MD assigned. If she is on Medicaid she may not be a Humana patient.
Do request an administration meeting for discussion of her medications, the medications her MD wants her on, and a review of the care plan that would dictate "holding medication" below certain blood pressure reading (this is ordered by her Medical Doctor or Nurse Practioner).
If you are Mom's current POA and responsible for her care, you certainly can remove her with adequate proof of 24/7 care, though you must do this through administration, and if they have any reason to suspect this is an unsafe discharge they may notify APS and discuss with them and with you together.
We can't know anything about your case here, so this is really in your hands, and in the hands of the facility where YOU (I assume) placed your mother.
As to whether you can simply waltz in and say "let's go"? No. You can't.
If you mother was at any point removed from your care and placed in facility case by another entity, and if her placement involves conservatorship or APS, state guardianship, or other complications, then this is a legal case in which you could NOT remove her from care, and you would need to consult an attorney.
The nursing home is doing what nursing homes do. They're already getting paid by Medicaid if the mother is on it. They're trying to double-dip and collect twice by screwing the family for the cost and also collecting it from Medicaid.
What did this do?
They made (make) two unannounced visits to the nursing home. If they do not find anything 'wrong' on that particular day, they do nothing. Although they come back one more time. Same thing. If nothing seems 'wrong,' there is nothing they do - or apparently can do.
I also photographed everything throughout several visits OVER SEVERAL MONTHS ... and sent these to the Umbudsman, as well as the licensing board representative.
License board response: I am a third party and they cannot use or consider my photos 'evidence.' I wasted my time. Nothing changed ... although that was due to how things 'appeared' on their two unannounced visits. I tried.
THESE NURSING HOMES NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.
If I were to do it again, I would cc my supervisors, congress-man-woman, and even the Oval office (now, before the next election). Also I would post the issues on Facebook and/or on line media. Contact local news media. Put as much focus on the issues as possible.
Gena / Touch Matters
If you're the one with her POA then you're the one in charge. If she's supposed to be on certain medications, you DEMAND that they start giving them to her.
The denying of some medications is pretty common with nursing homes if they want more money or they want a resident out. I have seen this happen. The wya to handle it is to not only tell your mother's doctors they are refusing her these medications, but tell their administrator that you will go to the police if they refuse her the doctor- prescribed meds that she's supposed to be on.
Don't take their crap. I've been in caregiving for a long time and have seen this situation happen many times in nursing homes. They even tried to pull it on me with my father when he was placed. Nursing home administration staff do not respond to politeness and civility from the concerned family of a resident.
The only respond to nastiness, viciousness, and being sneakier and more underhanded than they are. You have to police their actions 24/7.
Communicate with your mother's state Medicaid caseworker. You're the POA, so they will talk to you. Ask them if Medicaid has been paying the nursing home and if they have to please send you a written proof of this. They will.
I'd be willing to bet that Medicaid has been paying all along. So pay them nothing until you have found out either way. If they are then you will owe Medicaid, not the nursing home and Medicaid doesn't come collecting until a person dies and their estate gets probated.
Also, start looking for a better facility for your mother. For the most part they all operate like the one she's currently in, but some offer better physical care of their residents.
If you have her medical POA, you can also withdraw her from the nursing home any time you want. You may have to prove that you can provide adequate care for her outside the facility in a private home. You may not have to. This does not mean that you should take her out of the facility. Find a different one.
Don't allow them to do the classic nursing home shakedown on you for $7,000 a month. Talk to Medicaid. See if they've been paying before you pay one dime. The nursing home takes a person's monthly income when Medicaid is paying. That doesn't mean you write a $7,000 check every month also.
Blessings. Diana