In-Home Care for $0 Out of Pocket
In his long time war against diabetes, Mr. Tanner has successfully persevered for many years. Unfortunately, he lost a recent battle which led to a leg amputation, leaving him in a wheelchair. Mr. Tanner now requires daily assistance to help with bathing and dressing, preparing meals, running errands, and maintaining his Richardson home. Because of his diabetes, Mr. Tanner also goes to day-long dialysis appointments three days a week.
Although Mr. Tanner saved wisely and planned for retirement, his diabetes expenses have consumed much of his savings. Fortunately, Mr. Tanner purchased a long-term care insurance policy several years ago, which will pay $100 per day for in-home care.
CHALLENGE
Mr. Tanner's complex needs and busy care schedule stretch from morning to night every day. Whereas the simplest solution may be to place a caregiver with Mr. Tanner all the time, his long term care insurance wouldn't cover the cost. We know Mr. Tanner couldn't go a day without care without risking a fall or unplanned hospital visit.
How could we ensure all Mr. Tanner's needs are met without exceeding his long term care budget?
SOLUTION
During our admission meeting with Mr. Tanner, we listened to his needs and concluded that creative plan of care was in order. Instead of arranging an all day plan, we combined hourly home care with task-based visits to stay within his $100 daily limit.
On dialysis days, we use a long morning visit to bathe, groom and dress Mr. Tanner, prepare his breakfast, complete housekeeping tasks, and drop him off at his dialysis appointment. We then pick him up five hours later, take him home, and prepare dinner before we finish for the day.
On days Mr. Tanner doesn't have dialysis, we provide care for five straight hours to assist with daily grooming activities, longer household tasks, run various errands, and prepare three nutritious meals. We are also able to focus on exercise and physical therapy activities, which contribute to Mr. Tanner's overall health and wellness.
RESULT
Instead of focusing on fixed periods of time, we focused on Mr. Tanner's desired outcomes for care. By combining hourly care and shorter visits to accomplish a specific set of daily tasks, we were able to deliver home care within Mr. Tanner's long-term care insurance budget.
To protect his privacy, "Mr. Tanner" asked that we use a pseudonym.