On September 18, 2020, the Consumer Voice announced that effective September 17, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a memo significantly easing visitation restrictions in nursing homes.
The new guidance, which is effective immediately, permits outdoor visitation, indoor visitation, and compassionate care visits and lays out a framework for those visits. CMS notes that this guidance replaces all previous guidance.
Excerpt from “FinalCare: Boomers for Parents”, The Roanoker, January-February 2016.
Photo credit: Dan Smith
“The parent may love the child who lives in Kansas City and sees the parent one time a year the same as the child who lives down the street. However, the time and attention the child living in town dwarfs that provided by the out-of-town child. Should the child in town inherit more? … If a parent is going to leave less in a will or trust to one child than another, I advise clients to write a letter to the child who is receiving less explaining why…and reiterating that it has nothing to do with love.”
The will is crucial. “There is a growing consumerism attached to wills and powers of attorney,” says Dellinger. “Non-lawyers want to make a profit and so they offer ‘products’ at a cheaper rate than what the lawyer’s price may be.” Most often, says Dellinger, you get what you pay for.
Indecision and suspicion are important stressors, Dellinger says. A well-advised parent is prepared to tell her children what she would like to see happen prior to the events that cause the stress,” he says.
“I think the families most likely to have legal difficulties are those that do not take the time to think through the ‘what ifs,'” Dellinger stresses. “…It is not fun to sit around considering your death or incapacity. However, it is a gift to those serving under a power of attorney or handling an estate.”
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Video presentation by Mark Dellinger, April 9, 2014.
“You and the Law: Aging With Dignity”, Roanoke Bar Association.
The phone call comes just before midnight. The voice on the other end explains that your mother fell and is in the hospital.
Over the course of the next several days, you learn that Mom will need to rehabilitate her broken hip in a nearby long term care facility, a.k.a. nursing home. She tells you that some facilities accept Medicaid and some do not. This is the first time you hear the word “Medicaid” in the context of care for your mother. Your mind races to remember how it is different from Medicare. Continue reading
