Housing
• Alabama Department of Public Health - Health Care Division: 1-800-356-9596 Contact if you believe a resident is being abused or neglected at a facility by a member of the facility staff.
• Department of Human Resources (DHR): Contact in the county that the resident lives (see page 32). Report concerns to DHR if the person responsible for the abuse or neglect is a family member or a person not employed by the facility.
The Continuum of Care
For some, there may come a time when adaptation to their living environment or hands-on care is needed to make living independently easier or even possible. Later, they may need more care and at some point may no longer be able to safely live independently. This progression is called the “Continuum of Care,” which usually follows the least restrictive environment to the most restrictive. Following is information on the common progression along life’s continuum of care:
Alabama Quality Assurance Foundation (AQAF)
AQAF is a non-profi t company that contracts with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to serve as Alabama’s Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO). As Alabama’s QIO, AQAF works in partnership with health care professionals and organizations, government, business and consumers to improve the quality of health care for Alabama’s more than 968,000 Medicare benefi ciaries. AQAF collaborates with those health care providers to examine their practices and improve their systems of providing care. AQAF provides free education based on the proven best practices to help ensure that care is safe, effective, timely, patient-centered, effi cient and equitable. AQAF protects the right of each Alabama
Medicare benefi ciary to receive quality health care that meets medically acceptable standards, is medically necessary, and is delivered in the most appropriate setting.
ousing
61 Every Medicare benefi ciary in Alabama
has the right to fi le a complaint about the quality of medical care that he or she receives. You may call AQAF directly and leave your name, Medicare number and call back information in your message. As a contractor with the CMS, AQAF follows
federal regulations and guidelines. It obtains the benefi ciary’s medical records, determines whether services met medically acceptable standards, were medically necessary, and were delivered in the most appropriate setting. When a quality problem is identifi ed, AQAF delivers education and feedback to the health care providers to improve the quality of services they provide. If you have any questions about your
rights as a Medicare benefi ciary, want to request an appeal for discharges from a hospital, skilled nursing facility, hospice, home health care agency, or a comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facility, or you want more information about AQAF’s work as Alabama’s Medicare QIO, you can call AQAF’s at 1-205-970-1600 or e-mail them at
askaqaf@aqaf.com. For more information visit their website at
www.aqaf.com.
Paying For Long-Term Care
Adapted from an article by Clayton Davis, Attorney at Law Because long-term care can be very
expensive, fi nding accurate information about all possible sources of help is essential. The fi rst step should be to gather
information about all assets, sources of income and health insurance coverage for both you and your spouse. Locate the VA service number if you or your spouse ever served in the military. Reviewing your latest income tax return will help prevent overlooking any assets or incomes.
Medicare Coverage Many people are surprised Medicare has
such limited coverage for nursing home cost. At most, Medicare covers 100 days in the nursing home. You must have been admitted to the nursing home within 30 days of discharge from a Medicare covered inpatient hospital stay of at least three days. Furthermore, you must receive skilled nursing or other medical professional care. Medicare will
205-333-2990 •
www.westalabamaaging.org
61
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104
