MN. Senior Legal Issues And Sad State Of Our Health Care

[glinda]

Friday the 13th, oddly, my 86 yr. old mother suffered a major stroke. Since then, it has been an eye opener on just how broken, disjointed and suspect the Health Care System is here in our lovely State. The list includes and is not limited to:

Never being able to see or speak to a Doctor or get an accurate description of her actual "condition"

Her getting a bladder infection in "said" Hospital

Witnessing my father being surprised when she was put into a private room at the Rehab/Nursing Facility
(has to pay daily room costs instead of Medicare coverage) $450 for10 days so far.

Witnessing my father having Admission Forms shoved in his face that he does not understand and finding that he had signed them because they threatened to "find her another place". They had him agree to the Facility "not being liable" should something happen to her. (not legal I think although they claim it is)

Having many phone calls not returned from both Facilities. In fact....they all have answering machines.

Communication sucks.

Having to ask for a "Blessing of the Sick" now since the Stroke date and still to this day, my super Catholic mom has not received one.

Finding out that Social Workers seem to be working for the interest of their Facility, Insurance Company or other for the most part. Seems like the patient is just a "side" of the conversations.

Watching my mother's eye get infected since they did not seem to pay attention to the fact that she had had glaucoma surgery the week before and needed her eye drops every two hours or so.

Finding out that the Rehab-Facility doesn't seem to know her past health record very well if at all.

Finding out that I learn more outside these facilities from non-profits than inside "the system". Like that fact that because my dad is a Vet and may be eligible for help.

Finding out that "being an active and major contributor to many projects, the livelihood and deep rich history of NE Minneapolis" doesn't mean you will ever be able to afford to be in (or die in) assisted living in your neighborhood. Nope! Because you are poorer, you may be moved out (exiled) to die in some strange suburb that you know no one and no one knows you.

There is much much more that I am learning each day through this process. The biggest thing is that our Health Care System is so messed up and the thing that seems to be the focus is the money & payments rather than the person.

MN. is supposed to be better than some other States but what I am personally witnessing is a rapidly moving catastrophe regarding the care, or lack thereof, of the elderly.

[SharonAnn]

1. Sounds like your questions/problems are with federal Medicare rules.

At least the issues about placement and cost.

I think all facilities are short on staff because they're minimizing cost (and maximizing profit). Is the Rehab/Nursing facility a "for profit" enterprise?

Medicare pays for procedures, so doctors and staff are reluctant to spend time anything but "procedures". For example, the surgeon will operate and you do follow-up office visits at his/her office, but you won't get a lot of time "discussing" things. Maybe one time, but not much after that. That's because they can't afford to spend time doing that, they get paid for performing surgery.

There's a lot that needs to be done, but most of it involves money: who gets it, who pays it, what is required to get it. There's not much done about how to provide "better" health care. There is a lot done about how to reduce costs or increase profits.

[glinda]

2. Non-Profit

Yes. Medicare is part of it but there is no chain of communication. That is not Medicare's job. That is the overall "System's" job to acknowledge. I see your point on physicians and other's time money constraints but where do you then find out anything? The people in the whole chain are disconnected. Parsed out. It is convenient then to the Insurance Companies or large entities since the less you know and "the less they know to do" serves their purposes for profit. Their time is so limited that all it is about is "payment". I get the impression that it is not "how good you are at Social Work" but rather how good you are are moving money fast.

[kickysnana]

9. How disconnected? My Mom's 20 year doctor discharged her to the nursing home.

With the prognosis was greater than 6 months to 5 years lifespan and that she would continue to recover and was in no danger of suddenly dying. 3 days later she did. I had called a family meeting to meeting with 2 hours notice including the clinic physician colleague on call and argued that Mom was not strong enough to be moved that day, (with very, very good reasons, I had been with her all morning) and I was told I was being unreasonable.

The family clinic found out that Mom had died when I wrote my "I told you so letter, please do better for other families" letter. A week later I received directions from the hospital what I would have needed to do that day to keep my Mom an extra couple days to regain strength. The transpiration company had come early and the attendants was pacing outside the door waiting to take Mom to the nursing home while we were discussing Mom's move and my family not having been personally involved in end of life decisions thought it was awfully rude and presumptuous of me to argue with a doctor (who had seen Mom for the first time that day.)

My family apologized. The hospital and clinic did not.

I am glad that my Mom did not suffer but she still had plans and the rest of the family felt they had been denied the chance to spend time with Mom at the end because of a disconnected system of treat them and street them.

[glinda]

11. horribly sad

[Randomthought]

3. I feel for you

I went through all of the above with my mother. At one point I told the social worker that I was beginning to wonder if she was getting a 'kick back' from the nursing home.
I wanted to bring my mother who was obviously dying home from the hospital to die in her own bed with her cat beside her and the social worker fought me every step of the way. She wanted me to put her in a nursing home. Finally a house doctor stepped in and told the SW to leave the hospital room and then made arrangements for hospice care in our home.

[a kennedy]

4. So sorry you have to live through this.....

Sure hope you mom gets better...

[spedtr90]

5. I filed a complaint against a nursing home about 10 years ago...

....and that was a joke! The state's investigation did not include the actual witnesses to the event that nearly killed my mother. The home did dismiss the employee involved, but did not find and interview him either. (Mom did not tell us much of what happened at the time because she was afraid of the staff.) When it was decided in the nursing home's favor I filed an appeal based on their missing interviews, errors in my mother's statement, and their inaccuracies in quoting my written complaint. Same result.

Mom refused to file a suit. But no one in a nursing home should have to be afraid whenever a family member is not there. My sisters and I knew most staff members did not welcome our questions and frequent presence. We imagined they were thinking, "Here come those bitches again." But we dug in. It was a nightmare for everyone. Mom's medical needs were too much for us to care for her at home. We moved her as soon as we could find another home with an opening, but that's not easy either. She eventually was well enough for assisted living, and that was wonderful!

Residents of the nursing home seemed to be used as a source of income for the hospital. We fought painful trips for needless tests - including a nurse practicioner who lined Mom up for a CT scan because "we think her cancer is back". We? Asked what Mom's oncologist thought, the nurse said "we" hadn't talked to the doctor. I told her to call the oncologist with her concerns, and if that oncologist didn't call me to set up a CT, or any other test, my mother was not going anywhere. She never called the oncologist - but the doctor called her.

[glinda]

6. Our goal is to hope for Assisted living for both parents maybe. Yesterday my father also went

into the HOspital with an apparent heart attack that he had had awhile back and no one knew. All the shoes are dropping here. I am sooo sorry you have had to deal with the crazy stuffs regarding Senior Care. It is crappy.

[spedtr90]

7. Hope your father will be OK

Sounds like you are in the thick of it now. Hang in there! Best wishes to your family.

[glinda]

8. Thanks. Love how they popped it on me that they are kicking her out in four weeks.

As if we could sell the house, find a place for them, etc.... in that amount of time. It is all about the Insurance.

[Morning Dew]

10. Oh, Glinda, I'm sorry to hear this is happening.

[pengillian101]

12. Oh man, so sorry you are going through this.

I've gone through much the same and it sucks. But, you'll get through it. My best to ya.

[glinda]

13. Thanks. Good to know. Did you have any contacts that really helped figure

out all the financial stuffs, Medicare, Etc...
The Seniorlink contact just gives you a ton of phone numbers. I did not find that they actually do anything besides that and it is now Law to contact them to get a number for each parent. As if they were "on assembly line".

[pengillian101]

14. Hia Glinda.

Hope you are faring well. Sorry, I don't know about stuff so much these days - my parents were in WI and have been gone quite awhile.

But I did a little hunt & pecking and found some places that might be helpful.

I just remember my sis handled the financial stuff back then, but she contacted the facilities and they worked out the Medicare info and our folks were low income also. Dad went to a nursing home and Mom went to a Section 8 type apartment because she was still able bodied for quite a few years more.

Here's a few places that may be helpful.

http://www.catholiceldercare.org/about.html

http://www.ourparents.com/assisted_living

http://www.ourparents.com/forums

http://www.assistedlivingfacilities.org/blog/category/paying-for-assisted-living-2/

http://www.assistedlivingfacilities.org/blog/assisted-living-concerns/medicaid-alfs/

http://www.assistedlivingfacilities.org/blog/paying-for-assisted-living-2/medicare-supplemental-insurance-plans-medigap-plans/

http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Seniors.shtml


Best wishes.

[glinda]

15. Thanks. Folks are on the Catholic Eldercare waiting list. Do

not know if they can afford it though. They cannot be separated that is for sure. There a couple of good links there that I hadn't gone to. WIll look into it.
Each County has a V.A. rep. That is one avenue we are looking into.

[glinda]

17. They like to put people in nursing homes because they get income from it. Some

States have Programs such as Pace and another Program to keep people in their homes but not MN. Nope. You are just plain out of luck cuz Medicare won't cover it and Medicaid will if they are incarcerated, separated from their spouse of 60 yrs, subjected to germs and sometimes poor quality of care, etc......

[glinda]

16. To add insult to injury....

Had someone from the County call who is part of a subset of worker groups and she slightly laughed when she said, "your mother will need $10000 a month care. They cannot afford it!".
Thanks lady.......