(no subject)

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

I'd like to hear from people who've had to apply for MassHealth for nursing-home services for elderly relatives -- especially if your relative was coming to MA from out-of-state. What was your experience like? How much did you end up paying out-of-pocket? What organizations did you contact (and how helpful were they)?

Comments

[violet-helix.livejournal.com]

While I don't even have second hand experience dealing with them for nursing home services, miss_demeanor71's experience with MassHealth has demonstrated that they are very poorly organized. She has often gotten differing, mutually exclusive, answeres to the same question when she's asked several diffrent people, each of whom claimed to have the difinitve answer.

I wish I could offer you advice, but all I have is luck.

[jenskot.livejournal.com]

Heh, sounds exactly like the private employer-based insurance company I pay $150/mo for. Except Masshealth provides a lot more comprehensive coverage, and has a bigger provider network. :/

[joyfulkel.livejournal.com]

i would try contacting http://www.eldercare.org/index.shtml

they might be able to give you more info

Danger! Danger Will Robinson!

[taura-g.livejournal.com]

My sisters and I abandoned the idea of trying to bring my parents back to MA because the MassHealth and other associated Medicaid red tape was just too costly.

However, do not attempt the MassHealth application alone. If you have a good Senior Citizen Center in your town they should be able to help you navigate the waters. I found Medford's Council on Aging Social Services group to be extremely helpful with a LOT of good information.

Good luck.

Re: Danger! Danger Will Robinson!

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

You gotta love a government agency that so bureaucratic that you need another government agency to help you deal with them.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

If you are in Somerville or Cambridge, I suggest contacting Somerville/Cambridge Elder Services (http://www.eldercare.org/Services/CaregiverSupport.shtm) Caregiver Support program. They were very helpful to me with other issues around caring for my elderly dad (who doesn't need a nursing home at this point) and I imagine they have good resources around MassHealth as well.

My aunt was covered by MassHealth at the end of her life, but the social worker at the nursing home managed the paperwork (which was really above and beyond, not something that was in her actual job description) so I have no particular insight into that.

Get help

[red-liner.livejournal.com]

As others have noted, you don't want to negotiate the system alone; my family was in a very similar situation to yours, and there are a ton of intertwining issues that come into play. It's definitely a job for experts.

While the agencies that have been mentioned are probably good, hiring a lawyer is what really made a difference for us. I can give a very high recommendation to the Moschella & Winston firm on Broadway (http://www.moschellawinston.com/) - they're extremely knowledgeable, easy to work with, and just generally seem to give a damn about people.

They do charge fees, of course, but at least in our case they saved us many, many times what we spent with them, and really went to bat for us with the state bureaucracy while also providing a lot of inside knowledge on how to find a good nursing home and maintain a good family relationship.

Good luck to you and your family - this is a tough passage no matter what, but it can be a time of real mutual assistance.

[jenskot.livejournal.com]

As others have noted, like all insurance companies, Masshealth is a bitch to navigate - I haven't had experience with an elderly relative, but despite being a health scholar, I still had trouble establishing benefits for myself. There's a reason people who successfully recieve those benefits have low income - it's a FT job following through on all the paperwork and making sure the monkeys don't mess up on their end.

I strongly recommend you make use of your town's elderly services (Council on Aging, senior services, etc), since they usually have people who are experienced with the process of getting health benefits.