Incontinence products & Medicare/Medicaid ? $$$$

[pr5094]

My mother has Alzheimer's and I am keeping her at home with me and one other caregiver. I am trying so hard to keep her in her home, keep my job and foot all the additional expenses of keeping her at home. She is terribly Incontinence and I am purchasing the depends. It is quite expensive. I have called a couple of places which state they take Medicare? Medicaid but they say bc she is on Medicaid QMB they will not pay for them ? This is all new to me and I feel like I am drowning in a sea of information that ends up no where. Suggestions or ideas for assistance with the purchasing of the products. She has on Soc Sec for in come, no assets, just me.  Thank you 

[agoyer]

@pr5094 You've received a lot of great information here. I would echo the question about Veterans - if your father or she are Veterans (even if she is a widow) she may be able to get some help through VA healthcare. She'd need to enroll in VA healthcare. You can contact the VA Caregiver Support Program for more information - toll free number is 1-855-260-3274.

If she's on Medicaid be sure to talk with her caseworker. 

And I think the area agency on aging is the best place to start! Find yours in the Eldercare Locator at eldercare.acl.gov.

Take care,

Amy Goyer, AARP Family & Caregiving Expert

Author, Juggling Life, Work and Caregiving and

Color Your Way Content When Caring for Loved Ones

[JaneCares]

GailL just gave you gobs of info, can you tell us if any of that helped you?

[TanaB113373]

Hi I'm sorry to hear about your mother but I have cases of adult diapers brand new never opened still in the box if interested send me a PM  [Private email address removed to protect your privacy]

[Jlincoln008]

Sorry to hear you're drowning in information and i so understand that. I'm going to make a couple of suggestions and i hope that doesn't send you on yet another wild goose chase.

I work for a hospice in maryland, and when a patient dies, we often go to the home a few days later to pick up adult diapers, etc, that the surviving family members don't want to keep around. i have dozens of donated diapers under my desk at work. You could call your local hospices and see if there are any free diapers. you have to know the size.

another idea is to check out freecycle dot org. if your area has one, you can post a "Wanted: adult diapers" email and see if anyone responds.

A third is to shop at the cheapest places, buy in bulk. There are medical supplies companies that will deliver and ship you a box full on a regular basis. much cheaper because you buy in bulk. just google 'home medical supplies' and your county or town and see what comes up. it will take some research but you'll be able to find it.

another thought is to call your area agency on aging, located by putting in your zip code into www.eldercare dot gov. They might be able to hook you up with benefits that will save money anyway, like discounts on utilities, or meals on wheels, which will help you save money generally.

are you keeping receipts? medical supplies are tax deductible if you spend a lot of money on them. copays, ensure. i'd check with an accountant or a tax preparer, but you might as well have a shoe box full of receipts for her expenses if you can deduct them.

find a caregiver support group and find out where they get their diapers.

hope that wasn't overwhelming!  being a caregiver is a huge job! she is lucky to have you.

write some more....

jane

[Jlincoln008]

Sorry to hear you're drowning in information and i so understand that. I'm going to make a couple of suggestions and i hope that doesn't send you on yet another wild goose chase.

I work for a hospice in maryland, and when a patient dies, we often go to the home a few days later to pick up adult diapers, etc, that the surviving family members don't want to keep around. i have dozens of donated diapers under my desk at work. You could call your local hospices and see if there are any free diapers. you have to know the size.

another idea is to check out freecycle.org. if your area has one, you can post a "Wanted: adult diapers" email and see if anyone responds.

A third is to shop at the cheapest places, buy in bulk. There are medical supplies companies that will deliver and ship you a box full on a regular basis. much cheaper because you buy in bulk. just google 'home medical supplies' and your county or town and see what comes up. it will take some research but you'll be able to find it.

another thought is to call your area agency on aging, located by putting in your zip code into www.eldercare.gov. They might be able to hook you up with benefits that will save money anyway, like discounts on utilities, or meals on wheels, which will help you save money generally.

are you keeping receipts? medical supplies are tax deductible if you spend a lot of money on them. copays, ensure. i'd check with an accountant or a tax preparer, but you might as well have a shoe box full of receipts for her expenses if you can deduct them.

hope that wasn't overwhelming!  being a caregiver is a huge job! she is lucky to have you.

write some more....

jane

[GailL1]

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@pr5094 wrote:

My mother has Alzheimer's and I am keeping her at home with me and one other caregiver. I am trying so hard to keep her in her home, keep my job and foot all the additional expenses of keeping her at home. She is terribly Incontinence and I am purchasing the depends. It is quite expensive. I have called a couple of places which state they take Medicare? Medicaid but they say bc she is on Medicaid QMB they will not pay for them ? This is all new to me and I feel like I am drowning in a sea of information that ends up no where. Suggestions or ideas for assistance with the purchasing of the products. She has on Soc Sec for in come, no assets, just me.  Thank you 

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Time to start learning just how complicated all this is -

Medicare does NOT cover incontinence supplies. They use to - back in the 90's - early 2000's but not now - too much waste, fraud and abuse - (history)  http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-03-94-00773.pdf

Medicare Incontinence Supplies

There are (4) types of Medicare Savings Programs - most only help play for some of the premiums cost and sometimes medication or Part D premiums.  That is what the Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) Program does -

Help Paying Cost: Medicare Savings Programs

What you might want to do is check into your states MEDICAID program for the elderly to see if she might qualify for some help.

Medicare: MEDICAID - Help with Cost

Your state may or may not have a Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) program which also could help with some cost.

Medicare - PACE Program

There might also be something else through your state specifically for victims of Alzheimer's.

Why not even call the company who makes the supplies to see if they have a program which helps with the cost.

Your state's Medicaid program, if your Mom is eligible, is going to be one of the answers - they might set her up to have a home health agency come visit and evaluate her needs.

Was she or your dad a Veteran by chance?

What stage is your Mom at?  Does she still feed herself?  Can she still get around?

Does she have 24/7 care now?

It keeps getting more and more expensive - best to start learning about all your options now.

Your state's Medicaid office would be the 1st step because then you could find out if she is eligible now - if not when.

The information will not come to you automatically - you will have to search it out.