AutoGov

Resources For Finding an Assisted Living Facility

                The search for the perfect Assisted Living facility for your loved one can be time consuming and confusing. With so many options, it’s hard to know where to start or how to begin to narrow down the search. There are many resources on the web for you to be able to check out and do research. We have gathered 3 websites that have important information to be able to make this process easier for you.

Memberofthefamily.net - http://www.memberofthefamily.net/

This website offers a rating system of 16,000+ Medicare/Medicaid- certified nursing homes across the United States. You can also look at a national watch list they have compiled. This can help you build a list of possible facilities and know which ones you should steer clear of.

AARP- http://aarp.us/wl1QsR

AARP is a valuable and respected site for senior citizens. The link above will take you to an article on “The “Do’s” of Due Diligence” concerning choosing a nursing home. Before you start the nursing home selection process, you should know what it is you are looking for and how to find it.

Medicare.gov - http://1.usa.gov/zuWwn4

Medicare.gov has compiled a detailed check list for you to be able to take it with you on your assisted living search. It offers questions to ask, reminders of what to look for, a detailed area for recording information gathered, and a rating system.

Hopefully these websites answer any questions you may have on choosing the best assisted living facility and make the process less confusing and less time consuming.

Making Sense of Medicaid

Medicaid and Medicare are a maze of rules and regulations. For ordinary citizens, Medicaid can seem like a chemistry experiment that only an expert can do.

I have noticed that the term “spend down” when talking about Medicaid long term care can cause a lot of confusion for people. The explanation is full of jargon and confusing rules.

Today though, I came across this article that explains what a “spend down” means, and provides a detailed account of how it works.

“Contrary to standard procedure when investing for retirement, where you are looking to maximize your   assets, under the spend-down, the government, before it will pay, is looking not to how you have maximized your assets but to how much is left.” Excerpt from “Column: Making sense of the Medicaid spend-down”

Getting educated and prepared for the adventure of applying for Medicaid is the hardest part. There are a plethora of stories, articles, and/or blogs that you can find to help break down the government “lingo” and can steer you on the right path with less frustration and confusion. Here’s one we recommend:

To read the article mentioned above, “Column: Making sense of the Medicaid spend-down”, visit http://bit.ly/uWz4aZ.

A Life Under Medicaid

This video is a touching story of a 94 year old former nurse aid who has come to love the "family" she has found in her nursing home.