My Mom had spinal and brain tumors. She received treatment but has never gotten better and most likely will not. She is in Hospice. My father has hired additional nursing help. How can he get medicare to pay for this care. This is turning into long term care. How can we get medicare to pay for the additional nursing staff care for my mom. My dad is 79 yrs old.
Medicare will not pay for additional nursing staff beyond what hospice can provide and still be hospice-compliant. If your mom and dad have no assets, they may be able to get Medicaid assistance. Someone in the hospice "office" ought to be able to steer you in the right direction. Call them right away.
The hospice group probably has a short list of NH that they go to. If not they are going to be able to refer another hospice group that does at-home as well as in-facility hospice care.
Another thought, IF mom realistically has just a few weeks left, some larger hospice groups have an in facility hospice in bigger cities. In my mom's city, VITAS has a freestanding hospice that was the old Women's & Children's hospital at the medical center and then they also have a separate hospice wing at one of the larger IL/AL/NH tiered facilities. They both seem to be centered on cancer or extreme trauma patients as they require a higher level of pain meds which have lots more regulation (like 24/7 morphine pumps). Often the residents are younger too and the nursing staff has more training (than the aide that come for hospice).
None of this is easy but you don't want dad to wear himself out.
Work with Hospice. If they order it, Medicare pays.
Now if the person at home (like in this case, it's Law's dad who is at home) can't do what what is needed - like dad can't lift her for bathing, or has issues giving shots or dealing with lady things - then he can hire someone to help him do this. They are hired to help Dad with whatever that is within the care plan that hospice has for mom. Medicare isn't going to pay for them as hospice requires that others are there to provide some level of day to day care. It just has to be within the care plan that the hospice has set up for the patient.
Often families hire a sitter (could even be a LVN or an RN if they can afford that level) to come in so they can go out for the night or take a weekend away so that the family member on hospice isn't alone. Medicare doesn't give a fig about this, as it's just a substitute for the family member and everybody is all kumbaya on the care plan.
They offered counseling to all of us. My cup runneth over.