Deciding on medical care later in life or setting it up for a loved one is a difficult process that should be thoroughly evaluated. While there are many options available, essentially the decision comes down to care at home or in a facility. Is the quality of care comparable, especially when it comes to in-home care?
The answer seems to range from “we don’t know” to an unhelpful “it depends.” With so many people receiving care at home, either by default or by design, it is an important option to understand. A recent article in Forbes, titled “We All Want To Live At Home In Old Age, But Know Nothing About the Quality of Care We'll Get There,” to a look under the hood on this subject.
The problem is a knowledge-vacuum. There are many levels of oversight for skilled nursing homes or other care facilities. On the other hand, there are few levels for care received in the home.
In-home care may be delivered by a loved one, but it may also be delivered by a paid aide through Medicare home-based long-term services or some other program. There has been large expansion in the kinds of services available, but most of us have a hard time figuring out the quality of care available. Be sure to consult an experienced elder law attorney who is “plugged into” the network of care providers.
Reference: Forbes (March 19, 2014) “We All Want To Live At Home In Old Age, But Know Nothing About the Quality of Care We'll Get There”