My Sad Story Update

Thanks to those out there that said a little a prayer for me and my family. So far things are going well. My mom spoke with the facility director and he was incredibly sympathetic to our plight. Apparently this is not the first time something like this has happened there (what a surprise...). He told my mom to bring all of my grandmother's paperwork and he would speak with "D" and "get things straightened out."

Yesterday, mom had her appointment and she said that "D" was like a totally different person. She and told my mom that she was sorry for the miscommunication - she assumed that my mom already knew how to do everything. They completed all of the necessary paperwork to refile for the Medicare benefits and my mom just needs to get updated copies of a few other documents. Currently, the $72,000 bill is in limbo until the benefits paperwork comes back. In the meantime, classes start next Wednesday, so it looks like I'm a student again - for a bit longer anyway.

That's the good news so far. Unfortunately, Medicare will only back-pay 90 days of care. Now I'm not sure what they consider the mark to start counting the 90 days, but we may still be left having to pay between 3 and 6 months of her care. Which means we may still need to hire a lawyer so that we don't have the pay the rest of the bill - something that could cost just as much as the bill itself.

I've been reading a lot (and I do mean A LOT) of stories similar to ours about nursing homes and care facilities suing and being sued over bills like these. Most do not end well. People have lost their homes and life savings to pay off these exorbitant fees. Now I'm not saying that we should turn our backs on the elderly or turn them into Soylant Green, but there must be a better way. A lot of these laws are based on outdated Victorian mandates that no longer apply to society today.

Like most of America's younger generation, I never realized the problems the elderly deal with on a daily basis. Everyone in my generation seems to think of retirement as a vacation, which is sadly untrue. Only now after seeing the problems my father went through with his retirement and dealing with this situation do I understand how bad it is out there for them. Retirement shouldn't be a hassle. My father worked from age 18 to 64 - he deserves to spend his "golden years" worry-free. What happens to the money the government is deducting from our paychecks every week? How is it such a problem to receive benefits for care when you can no longer care for yourself?

Obviously these are questions I can't answer. Again, I just want to thank everyone out there who read my first post and said a little prayer. I'll keep you updated as I can. Until next time!