If you have, or have had, hospice caring for your spouse, did you take any respite time which was paid for by MediCARE? I'm not interested in respite time paid for by LTC insurance, but in what Medicare paid. How often did you take it? For how long at a time? and what state do you live in?? I know someone who gets it on a monthly basis, my hospice org says once, five days, that's it, forever. What's in between?
briegull i havent used any they offer here but i think its monthly 5days. 60days /yr. but you pay co=pay of 40dol/per day x 5 or 200dol to use it. i'm in texas. i know mary uses her every month. maybe call around and check other hospices in your area? divvi
Briegull, When my wife was on hospice I got 5 days respite each evaluation period, which was 90 days for the first 2 periods. Thus I got 2 respites of 5 days each. Then she was "discharged" from hospice. This was completly covered by Medicare with no co-pay. She was placed in the Blue Hill Hospital. My understanding is that, had she stayed on hospice, I would then have gotten 5 days respite every 60 days. I'm in Maine.
My DH is in the second 90-day period of hospice. I will be taking a 5-day respite during this period which Medicare pays for through the hospice. During his 1st 90-day period, I did take a 5-day respite at no cost to me. Transportation was provided to and from NH, which was also covered by Medicare. Here in Georgia, after the first 6 months on hospice, the patient is re-evaluated every 60 days. Five days respite is then available every 60 days.
oh, I'm sure so. Also my social worker yesterday, when I asked about respite care through hospice which my husband has been on since last May, said I told you about the one the DIocese of Providence has, right? I said yes but that requires basically that we be medicare eligible, which we won't be... quite. THEn she mentioned the other one. The medicare one does require that you place them in a facility, not have someone out to care for them. Possibly I didn't hear her say that last May.. possibly she didn't say it. I can't be sure.