Has your loved one with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, chronic lung disease, or certain other chronic conditions and disabilities lost out on Medicare coverage of therapy services because likelihood of medical or functional improvement couldn't be shown? A proposed major rules change should make qualifying for help much easier.
What has happened:
Following a national class action lawsuit, the government has agreed to a settlement plan that would allow Medicare patients to continue receiving such rehabilitative services as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and some skilled care either at home or in a nursing home.
As Gill Deford, the lead lawyer with the Center for Medicare Advocacy, explained to The Washington Post:
“If you have a chronic condition, by definition you are not improving. Our view is that Medicare regulations were intended to allow people to maintain their health status. They don’t have to show they are getting any better. The point is to allow them not to get any worse, if possible.”
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