Is it Medicare fraud or are they just taking advantage of the elderly? Let me tell you an interesting story and let you decide...
Recently my 87 year old dad suffered a mild stroke and after 2 days in the hospital he was sent to ManorCare rehab center in Boynton Beach, FL for 6 days (the limit that their insurance would pay). The day he got there someone came in and had him sign papers telling him about his copay responsibility. After that we asked that he not be given papers to sign without his wife being present and thought they respected our request. We realized how important it was to have a family member there because on the 5th day he was there he was asked to sign blank papers (the girl told him that she would fill all the blanks in for him when he asked for today’s date). He was even asked if he wanted to sign over all his finances into a trust fund run by the center but he refused. We asked for a copy of the completed forms and he has never received a copy of them.
On the day before his discharge, my dad was asked if he had a company in mind to come in to do some home health care and he didn’t. He didn’t even know what home health care was and what services are provided. This nurse just happened to have a friend who works for a company so she recommended her friend. The friend comes in and tells my parents that their insurance won’t pay for her services and proceeds to tell them what services my father will need and what their insurance will and won’t cover. When we asked her if the doctor is ordering these services, she said she had no idea. We asked her if she talked to my parent’s insurance company and she said no. This person, at the invitation of the rehab center, was telling my parents stuff that she had no knowledge about. Now, my parents who are in their 80s, were very confused and upset, especially when this person told them they should cancel their medical insurance and go straight Medicare! She also told them a man would call them to try to get him veteran’s benefits (she said no one knows about this law, even the VA, except this man) but they would have to sign a paper promising to sign over all checks they receive from the VA to this man! Needless to say, I told my parents this was a bad idea!
Next we are told that my dad would get a walker, a port-a-potty, and a wheelchair to be brought to his room when he would be discharged. No one could tell us if the insurance covers this equipment in full or not and they resented me asking these questions. He was not even given a quad cane, which would have been the most practical thing for him to use. We never saw a doctor’s order that said my father needed these things or when he was supposed to use them. Plus, he was never trained on how to use these things or told when he was to use them. Of course they inform my parents that he needs to buy “gliders” for the walker that costs about $30 not even knowing if he needs the walker. My parents were told the potty could be used as a seat when he takes a shower but no one even knows if it fits in their tub (it doesn’t) so they have to buy a seat for the tub. There isn’t even room to set the port-a-potty in the house other than the middle of their living room. No one came out to the house to see if the wheelchair is appropriate for the house (it isn’t because there is no room to wheel it around their tiny house). Since my stepmom can’t get it in and out of the car, the wheelchair is now in the trunk of their car (where they loaded it at the rehab center) and probably won’t even be used. The potty is out in their shed now.
At 9pm the night before his discharge, he is awakened by this strange man who is delivering this equipment. The man tells him he has to sign these papers and my father, a stroke patient who is obviously confused, half asleep, and upset, signs these papers (without any family member with him). He calls his wife and is extremely upset, which I don’t blame him so I call the nurse’s station. Nobody even knew this man had gone to my dad’s room to deliver equipment (but someone had to give him a code to let him in and a code to get out of the building). We had no idea that the wheelchair was rented for his use and we had no idea what this would cost them.
The next day I see the forms he signed that say he received training on how to use all this equipment and told about infectious diseases etc. My father says the man just delivered the stuff, had him sign this paper, and he left without giving him any training! When my father is being discharged, I ask for someone to tell him how to use the stuff, plus get the wheelchair in and out of the car (we live 700 miles away so we can’t help them with this when we go home!). I am told by the therapist that he is not entitled to physical therapy on the day he is discharged but she showed my stepmom how to take the foot rests off the chair and how to fold the chair. I asked why no one showed my dad how to use the walker but she had no answer other than to tell me he was trained when they delivered the stuff (at 9pm when my dad was half asleep?). When I asked why he needed a portapotty since he didn’t need one in the hospital or the rehab center, I was told that everyone gets one when they leave. Is this a door prize for choosing their center? If everyone gets one and many of these people don’t need one, is it any wonder that our insurance rates keep increasing?
We are also told that home health care will come to their house and a physical therapist will come to their home. My father took his own shower at home last night, fed himself, dresses himself and does everything he needs to do without any help. The left side of his face tingles and his left hand is numb and tingles. He wobbles a little when he walks (but he did that before the stroke too). We also played card games for 2 nights in a row and he is as sharp as he was before the stroke mentally. He even helped my stepmom cook dinner last night. He cut up the vegetables in small pieces with a sharp knife. Why does he need these people to come to his house? I found out that their insurance will not pay for this physical therapist to come to their house but everyone implied that they would. This of course confused my parents completely because they don’t understand why the rehab center said these people would come to their house if he didn’t need their help. Three different people told them that my father would receive services at home. Of course my parents understood this to mean that the insurance would pay for these services totally.
I found out their insurance will pay for the home health care to come out for 7 weeks for less than 35 hours per week. Someone is getting paid to provide services that my father does not need because no one has even been to his home to see what is appropriate. The rehab bought him a port-a-potty that he doesn’t need, won’t use, and isn’t even appropriate for his home. A wheelchair was rented for him (I was told by the insurance company that it is at no cost to my dad but he can keep it as long as he has this insurance) but it is so heavy, they can’t even get it in and out of the car. They can’t even use it in their house because their house is too small. My stepmom hopes that when they go out, if it is needed, they can ask complete strangers to help them get it in and out of the car. Meanwhile, this company is getting paid! No wonder our insurance rates keep increasing!
Is this normal for the elderly to be taken advantage of this way or is it just this rehab/nursing home that does business this way? I have written a letter to the director of ManorCare asking for a list of agencies that I can file a complaint with but I haven’t received this yet. If I don’t get any information from them, I will contact the Insurance Commission. My parents are not incompetent but they are easily confused and taken advantage of by all of these people and companies that want to soak them for every penny they have. This makes me furious that this goes on and hope that I can make lawmakers and regulatory agencies aware of what is going on. I know all of this complaining can’t help my parents but if this knowledge could help other elderly people, it will be worth it. I will begin my letter writing campaign to federal, state, and any licensing agencies I can complain to and hope to change this from happening.
If you have any suggestions of people I should contact, please feel free to leave your suggestions in your comment.
If I had a pet, the most important special thing I could do for it is to spend time with it. I had a dog named Caesar whose only desire was to be with us. He was more like our baby than a dog. I also had an umbrella cockatoo who adored me. We called her Cleo and she was potty trained and only used the bathroom in her cage. She used to sit on my pillow and guard me if I took a nap. If anyone came in the room, she would spread her wings out and bark like Caesar. 
Both animals just craved attention and you can tell that they loved it when they got it. When we started traveling so much, I couldn't give Cleo the attention she needed and donated her to a local zoo (after I checked them out closely). In fact the head person took Cleo into her home so they could bond for a year before she went into the zoo. I was able to go visit her whenever I wanted. Caesar eventually had to be put to sleep. I really miss them both but I know that I just don't have the time to give a pet the attention that it would deserve.
