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I was shocked that Medicare did not cover the cost of the room. $400 a day. How can people afford that?

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Thank you Shane1124, yes our insurance premiums are 400.00 a month more than our mortgage was. And I have to pay 7500.00 in deductible before anything covered. So if being against the people that work hard and live under there means to be able to be self supporting being forced through taxes to pay for the people that find government freebies to beneficial to get out and work hard, then I guess my opinion is bias. I think that presidents like obama did there best to destroy the American dream, work hard, advance and have a nice life, now you just need to know how to fill out beggaforms from uncle Sam and you to can have a nice life without any effort at all. It's not sustainable, so then what, government confiscates or devalues the dollar so we to can be a thriving 3rd world country with all our kids going to bed hungry, unless mommy and daddy work for the government? Why do you think all the other nations get here anyway they can, because of the very thing i said. 
Maryfh, am I not entitled to my opinion, you are, you even felt entitled enough to judge my opinion. Glass houses you know!
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A not-for-profit is definitely the way to go; that's how it all started till somebody decided they could make one, but, yes, then they're going to just take Medicare, but if we're talking about an inpatient one, then those buildings still have to be paid for; yes, there are grants for maybe getting one started but they probably won't finish one, at least not one you'd want to stay in, but then if you want to not pay anything, maybe you shouldn't expect anything; now, not sure what the difference is in "putting people first" as you go and continuing to have a mortgage and paying off the building early by only taking people who can help you pay for it and of course don't know the situation but do know they do depend on private donations in order to do what they do, so...
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Biased in what way? I have friends that pay exorbitant premiums for insurance every month and have huge deductibles to meet before any care is even covered. Not eligible for a subsidy because she makes too much (less than $50k). So...per her, her premium is as much as her monthly mortgage. Is that fair? And yes, business taxes too are exorbitant; small business owners too are squeezed.
This system is broken. 
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Isthisrealyreal wow is that a biased response or what.
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If the government is going to give free healthcare to professional welfare recipients some that are 3rd and 4th generation then they need to have facilities just for them, IMHO, but like Obama care they don't try to look at the entire picture when they put regulations into affect, if you say I'll only pay 8.00 to Dr for office visit and not say medical supply for profit you can't charge 4.00 for a tongue depresser (splg?) 3.00 for disposable thermometer and so on. They need to regulate the entire industry or leave it all alone. My husband and I pay more monthly for insurance then most people get in SS benefits. Broken beyond repair, they can not expect 20% of the population to pay for everyone. It is not sustainable and creates civil unrest, when I hear he only paid 34 million in taxes I boil. As a business owner you pay many more taxes than personal taxes. We should stop paying 30 something's disabity because they won't work or have fried their brains with drugs. I am concerned that at the rate our country is imploding that my grandbabies will have no choices but to live in extreme poverty with "big brother" dictating everything.

Sorry, I hope I have not offended anyone, it is all my opinion and as another poster said, opinions and butts, we all have one🤡
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TekkieChikk--I feel much the same way. I also wonder if there isn't some way to bring down costs. In addition, I believe the health insurance system creates a lot of the problem because it collects a lot of money but provides no actual healthcare services, so costs are driven up, but once that is in place then the population is essentially "addicted" to it because there are generally no discounts for private pay. I believe another commenter said something to this effect on one of these threads during the past few days. A few years ago there was a very interesting article in The Atlantic magazine about this.
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My mother went into Hospice Nov. 2017. As it was explained to me at the time, the hospice we chose was a *not-for-profit* so they took whatever Medicare would pay. Other than that, it exists solely on private donations. As they told us, 'No one is ever denied services from us, regardless of whether you can pay or not.' She was admitted into hospice status the entire time, which also made a difference. Sadly, mom went in knowing she wouldn't ever come home, but we didn't pay a dime for any of the 9 days that she was in and received absolutely tremendous, compassionate care from the staff 24/7. We neither received nor saw any bills... and having dealt with hospitals and bills for months previous, what a relief it was for somebody to take charge and literally say to us "Don't worry about a thing, just be with your mom." Also the day she was admitted, they delivered to the house everything she would need if she ever came home, including a lift chair and hospital bed.

Perhaps you should check around and look for a not-for-profit. I'm in Pennsylvania so I don't know if the laws are different for where you live, but it might be worth a few phone calls.

And more taxation is NOT the answer... how can it be in this great country, that people who can't or won't work oftentimes end up receiving better health care than veterans and people who have worked their entire lives? This is a fact... we all know people who have lived on welfare "forever" and lack for nothing when it comes to health care. I'm not begrudging them that, but don't we owe it to those that have shouldered the cost of keeping them to do likewise when they need it the most, instead of worrying about whether or not they might forced to sell everything they own to pay hospital bills? I'm no socialist, but sometimes I have to wonder if universal healthcare is the solution.
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freqflyer: Your post shed a lot of good light on the subject of the cost. Well done!
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Gee, I am so glad I read these posts. I always thought that Medicare covered hospice stays in or out hospital. I thought people stayed at home to make it better for the patient and their family.
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When my brother went to our local Hospice House, it was based on ability to pay. They had a reasonable daily room rate (I think it was about $150-175).
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$12 is the typical cost per month in the northeast.
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I've got mom on hospice care now, she is not swallowing, if she chews anything she spits it out and sometimes even hoards it in her mouth until i'm not looking then out it comes on her chest or down her chin. sometimes she even spits liquids out. she's skinny and not there most of the time, sleeping all day the past couple of days and not a bite at all lately. my sister thinks she should have a feeding tube, i don't see the point. anyway, about the hospice, we have home hospice, and i don't know if the shortage of people available for services is low here or it's standard, we get the nurse only once a week, a bed bath once a week, a chaplain (I feel like damien driving up to the church when she comes, haha), a 2 hour companion twice a week but that's actually inconvenient because of her hours, and a massage lady. she sleeps through most of it. but at least she is at home where my partner and i keep her clean, her bed, sit her up in the living room for the afternoon and evening or just evening depending on the day. and yes, her insurance and medicare pay for that. which leaves us able to have a visiting angel twice a week, at least to wash her if she's not awake. it's hard, hard watching her die, but i feel better and i think she does too, that we her family are here for her and not surrounded by strangers doing a job, even if some of them are very caring, i just can't see that it would be the same.
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DowntownLA, we are already taxed at higher rates than England or Canada and still do not have good medical care. The government needs to trim the fat and make employees accountable and productive then our taxes could go for helping the truly needy, not the truly lazy. When there are more government employees than private sector workers who pay for the government employees it is NOT sustainable, period. You can not tax people more until you are responsible for the taxes you already collect. Our city had the balls to justify bad streets saying what can they do, they have 500,000.00 for road work and 14 million to administrate that 500k. Are you kidding me, that is why are elderly eat f****ng cat food to get protein, they cant afford to live and eat, but government just keeps getting bigger, longer vacations, better benefits oh and by the way, they get to fund pensions not social security. Sorry more tax IS NOT THE ANSWER, RESPONSIBILTY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY IS.
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I recall one person (who was 80 y/o with a mother approaching 106 y/o) commenting on another thread that nursing home care in Canada is much more affordable than in the US. I wonder how much it costs and what causes it to be more affordable there. I have a prescription I get from Canada but obviously nursing care and various other medical expenses can't be ordered online from there.
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Yes, it is about 12,000 per month here in LA. If hospitalized, one has from 30 days to 90 days care in a nursing home paid under Medicare. If not hospitalized, one has to pay the room cost themselves.
How do people afford it? If anyone out there thinks out medical system is broken, consider that more cutbacks are being considered. After living in Europe, we are delusional about out medical care here in the US. Even the little we have has been fought tooth and nail. We cannot have better medical care for all without taxation. Period.
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As someone said, in a hospital setting (and that's for a short stay and the person needs hospital attention, such as IV needs) Medicare covers 100%. My mother was admitted to the hospital on Sunday 2/4/18 from a nursing home, and was moved to palliative care 2/7, and I signed her into hospice (same room) the next day, 2/8. She died early Thursday 2/15. (her calling hours are tomorrow 2/19, and funeral the next day). I began 24/7 caregiving when dad had a stroke in 1994, and after his death in 2007 mom became very ill and I was her caregiver until she died. She went into a nursing home in October 2017. We were beginning to apply for Medicaid when she died because her assets were nearly gone; the nursing home was $270/day. So, mom managed to live long enough to spend all of her money and then she died. Isn't that what we say?! Point - check with an elder lawyer about your financial options - can you protect some assets? At some point Medicaid will take over. My mom was NOT wealthy.
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To answer why is a nursing home/long term care so expensive we need to realize how many costs are involved in running such a facility. I know it won't make your bill seen sweeter, but it will give you some idea why the cost...

First thing is the cost of the land, zoning changes, building designers, land development such as the footprint for the building, parking, water and sewer, road construction, etc. all need before the building is even built. Back and forth to the County/City for approvals. The cost of the new building itself, which can easily run into the multi-multi-millions. Imagine paying the mortgage and insurance on that !!

The building needs to be Staffed, not only with 3 shifts of caregivers, nurses, Aides, but also with kitchen help, inside cleaning help daily, Administration, maintenance personal. Payroll is extremely expensive. Then add in payroll taxes, workman's comp, etc. Office computers, and telephone service. Alarm systems for fire and carbon monoxide. Don't forget the landscapers and winter plowing. Plus business licenses. And contracts with medical transporters, which are similar to ambulances, to take a patient to and from a medical appointment.

Now, lets look at the cost of the electric/gas bill, imagine what that would look like. Then the water bill must be over the top. Then there is furniture, hospital beds, special mattresses, cabinets for the rooms, hoya lifts, oxygen equipment, dining room furniture, nursing stations, WiFi. Then the cost of food for 3 meals per day with a lot of special diets. Let's not forget cost of bedding and towels. Oh, having meds and medical supplies on hand.

Here's a biggee, real estate tax on the building and land, and liability insurance in case someone gets hurt in the building.

Some places have on-staff physical therapy with a small gym and all the equipment for the gym. Or a place has a contract with a sub-contractor for physical therapy which is done in a patient's room.

It's becomes MORE expensive to become older. Note to the younger people here, start those "rainy day" savings accounts as someday it will be storming out there.
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inhospital hospice has to be contracted with Medicare for them to pay; make sure, dad's docs thought his had it till we got to that floor, only to be informed it wasn't, he would have to either be transferred to one that did or sent home
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It is my understanding that if one is hospitalized for 5 days, then medicare should cover the first 90 days in a care facility. Anyone want to comment on this? This is what I have been reading. AND this is provided the facility takes medicare/medicaid patients. Again, there are places that are totally private pay.
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Our Hospice is generally in our own homes and usually free to us.
This is one reason we keep our LO's home.
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In the case of my MIL it was covered. It was a hospital facility and she was there about 3 weeks. And the previous month at home and that was covered. Interesting to read the different accounts.
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If there is a hospital admit for over 3 days then rehab is covered by Medicare I was told here in Tx. 20 days free then secondary picks up till , not sure, 100days?. My Dad is on hospice at home. Heart dx. Now he does not see his speciality dr's . Poking all time. Labs all time. He is non-compliant big time anyway. Rude to me, daughter 49 an caregiver an DPOA &MEDPOA, an my Mom. So its not worth all the anger an resentment so he said he just wants to die at home. Iv been caregiver 5 yrs with my own 2 sons an husband. So Hospice pays all meds except Insulin since it has nothing to do with heart. All equipment. Bath aid 3x awk. Nurse 3x awk. An a Dr on call all time. Now if we choose to go by Ambulance to hospital an any testing done, even Cat scan he is dischargedfr hospice until back home then readmit onto hospice. He was in hospital r days back beginning of Dec 2017 then to rehab. Medicare pd 20 days then secondary plan F, picked up. But I had axked facility Dr to discharge day 25 due to negligence an I had to call Ambulance cause they were not giving scheduled meds an thought he was either fixing to have or had had heart attack! I was pissed! Im in med field an could tell people there not taken care of. So went home an on hospice.
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With my husband, he is in a Memory Care Unit and we pay $2500. a month...He is also on Hospice and that is billed to Medicare...I believe there are some prescriptions that might be self pay.....
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Wow.
Hospice is covered by my parent's insurance...about $4K/month (total rip-off though).
Already living in an AL facility. He didn't have to be moved anywhere...
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I feel you pain and I agree that the healthcare system is beyond broken. I kept mom home, even through Hospice. Mom was on Medicaid, however, Medicare covered the cost of Hospice. They also said if I wanted to move her to like the House of John, I could and that would be covered as well.
It is beyond words how this system can't even pay for the cost of dying with dignity in some states. I will keep you and yours in my prayers.
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Just went through this back in Sept.- Oct. Medicare doesn't pay for housing with two exceptions. The most common is the up to 5 day respite. The other is medical need. An example would be if pain management couldn't be done in the home. I was lucky, and kept hubby home for all but the 5 day break, and the last 36 hours of life. Also we are lucky enough to have a facility that is hospice only. Great care but only $200 a day, unlike nursing homes who charge a lot more. Of course even $200 a day would have been out of our budget, but at least it was there if I would have needed it for extra down time.
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I want to reassure everyone that not every skilled nursing facility (nursing home) or Assisted Living Facility lets their patients lie in their own waste and get bedsores. Before moving your loved one to a "home", be sure to check out their ratings on Medicare.gov. If they don't get at least a 4-star rating, don't send your family member there! They get "surveyed" every year, that means a several days long inspection by a team of nurses who nitpick every aspect of the facility, and you can find out the details of what is good and/or bad about a facility by checking them out on the Medicare site.

Medicare does not pay for AL or nursing home (LTC) EXCEPT if the patient is transferred over from a hospital INPATIENT stay (check Medicare for details) and even then they only pay for a certain number of days, not for months or years. Medicare is for hospitals, treatments, doctors, etc., NOT for long term care.

I am just amazed at how many people never think about something like this and then are shocked and surprised to find out how expensive it is, and how much the quality of care in a nursing home/assisted living can vary. Do your homework folks, before you need it. Please.
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My two sisters and I were blessed to be able to honor our Daddy’s wishes and not place Mom in a rest home. With the help of a daytime caretaker, and each of us splitting up and spending the nights, she stayed in her home for 3 1/2 years after our Daddy passed. It wasn’t easy. She had dementia, which continued to worsen, barely ate (only pancakes and some chocolate candy), and rarely left the house except for Dr’s appointments. Hospice was called in for two months prior to her passing (which was covered by Medicare)...she had become bed ridden. She probably didn’t weigh 65 lbs when she passed from refusing to eat. Her kidneys failed. She continued to drink Sprite until the day she passed. Calories from wherever we could get them right?   We had previously met with an Elder Lawyer in fear of having to place her in a rest home. We were advised to purchase 1% of the home to keep anyone from taking it should she have to be placed in a facility. That can be done anytime prior to the owner being admitted to a rest home. We were then told that the rest home average was $6000 a month, and they would take all funds until Mom had a balance of $2000 or less. Then Medicare would pick up the expenses. However, Mom could never have more than $2000 to her name. I’m glad we were blessed and never had to place her in a home. We all three work and have our own families. It wasn’t easy but I’m glad we were a rare case that were able to honor Daddy’s wishes.
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Hospice is normally covered by Medicare and most private insurance..
I don't know how hospice houses work. Some hospices have a contract with a local hospital or nursing home when the patient recieves care at little or no cost. Without a hospice contract the NH costs for room and board remain the responsibility of the patient if the don't have LTC or Medicaid. It is quite complicated and varies from Sate to State and hospice to hospice so lots of questions need to be asked.
Hospice admits patients to their program with a certain disease that is likely to involve their death within six months. For the admitting disease all costs are covered but any treatments for co existing diseases remains the patient's responsibility either through their insurance or self pay. Hospice bills patients on a sliding scale depending on income.
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I'm in Cincinnati, my mom is in hospice at home, I believe it is a combination of Medicare and her other insurance. They assured me it is not Medicaid.
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