My health

Home health care helps seniors live independently for as long as possible, given the limits of their medical condition. It covers a wide range of services and can often delay the need for long-term nursing home care.

More specifically, home health care may include occupational and physical therapy, speech therapy, and even skilled nursing. It may involve helping the elderly with activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, and eating. Or it may include assistance with cooking, cleaning, other housekeeping jobs, and monitoring one's daily regimen of prescription and over-the-counter medications.

At this point, it is important to understand the difference between home health care and home care services. Although they sound the same (and home health care may include some home care services), home health care is more medically oriented. While home care typically includes chore and housecleaning services, home health care usually involves helping seniors recover from an illness or injury. That is why the people who provide home health care are often licensed practical nurses, therapists, or home health aides. Most work for home health agencies, hospitals, or public health departments that are licensed by the state.

How Do I Make Sure That Home Health Care Is Quality Care?
As with any important purchase, it is always a good idea to talk with friends, neighbors, and your local area agency on aging to learn more about the home health care agencies in your community.
In looking for a home health care agency, the following 20 questions can be used to help guide your search:

• How long has the agency been serving this community?

• Does the agency have any printed brochures describing the services it offers and how much they cost? If so, get one.

• Is the agency an approved Medicare provider?

• Is the quality of care certified by a national accrediting body such as the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations?

• Does the agency have a current license to practice (if required in the state where you live)?

• Does the agency offer seniors a “Patients’ Bill of Rights” that describes the rights and responsibilities of both the agency and the senior being cared for?

• Does the agency write a plan of care for the patient (with input from the patient, his or her doctor and family), and update the plan as necessary?

• Does the care plan outline the patient’s course of treatment, describing the specific tasks to be performed by each caregiver?

• How closely do supervisors oversee care to ensure quality?

• Will agency caregivers keep family members informed about the kind of care their loved one is getting?

• Are agency staff members available around the clock, seven days a week, if necessary?

• Does the agency have a nursing supervisor available to provide on-call assistance 24 hours a day?

• How does the agency ensure patient confidentiality?

• How are agency caregivers hired and trained?

• What is the procedure for resolving problems when they occur, and who can I call with questions or complaints?

• How does the agency handle billing?

• Is there a sliding fee schedule based on ability to pay, and is financial assistance available to pay for services?

• Will the agency provide a list of references for its caregivers?

• Who does the agency call if the home health care worker cannot come when scheduled?

• What type of employee screening is done?

When purchasing home health care directly from an individual provider (instead of through an agency), it is even more important to screen the person thoroughly. This should include an interview with the home health caregiver to make sure that he or she is qualified for the job. You should request references. Also, prepare for the interview by making a list if any special needs the senior might have. For example, you would want to note whether the elderly patient needs help getting into or out of a wheelchair. Clearly, if this is the case, the home health caregiver must be able to provide that assistance. The screening process will go easier if you have a better idea of what you are looking for first.

Another thing to remember is that it always helps to look ahead, anticipate changing needs, and have a backup plan for special situations. Since every employee occasionally needs time off (or a vacation), it is unrealistic to assume that one home health care worker will always be around to provide care.

Health insurance is a kind of agreement between you and your insurance company that you need in case you get sick and need medical help. Unfortunately, usually people get interested in their health insurance only when something bad happens – only to find out that they have a 3,000 deductible or some important things you need (such as a wheelchair) are not included into the policy. Before you get a health insurance policy it's recommended to review all of them and find the one that will give you most coverage.

Almost all health insurance policies cover emergency services and whenever you have to go to the hospital and receive the treatment the cost will be covered less the deductible specified in the policy. A basic deductible for emergency room treatment can start at $50 and it should be mentioned that insurance companies are very particular about conditions that can be considered an emergency. If you have flu it's probably not going to be covered, unless your fever is way too high. Your health insurance is likely to cover annual check-ups, with their number specified by the policy. If you need to see your doctor more often than it's usual you need to look for a health insurance policy that soul be more comprehensive and would provide you with more coverage. Vision services are usually covered, including one visit to the eye doctor a year, while glasses and contact lenses are not covered in most cases, especially if you have a basic health policy.

Hardware coverage is required for people wearing glasses or contact lenses. Certain diagnostic services that are considered to be reasonable by your insurance company (X-rays and other procedures intended to diagnose certain conditions). You may not qualify for coverage if the symptoms you have are not considered to be serious enough – so it's always best to call our insurance company with this question. If you are planning to have a surgery a pre-authorization from you insurance company is required. The necessity of the surgery will be evaluated by the doctor and the request is supposed to be sent by your health care provider. This can take up to 30 days. So, in general you need to keep in mind that most insurance companies will not be paying 100% of your medical costs, and in most cases you will have to co-pay from 10 to 50% of each medical bill you get. Before you purchase a health insurance policy it's worth thinking about how much you are ready to pay out of your pocket for the service provided, and if that amount is not too high be ready to purchase a standard or above health insurance policy with maximum coverage.

Florida Health Insurance Rate Hike

Florida Health insurance premiums have touched new heights! Every Floridian has the common knowledge that most annual health insurance contracts will endure a rate increase at the end of the year. This trend is not new and should be expected. Every time this issue pops up it seems as though the blame game starts. Floridians blame Health insurance companies; Health insurance companies blame Hospitals, Doctors and other medical care providers, Medical care providers blame inflation and politicians, well, we really don't know what they do to help the issue... No one seems to be interested in finding the real cause of the health insurance premium rate increase. Most individuals, self employed, and small business owners have taken Florida Health Insurance Rate Hikes as the inevitable evil.

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