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May 2005 Back to Table of Contents Back to Archives Main Page Section: Being Well More About Hospital Discharges By Toby Laping, Ph. D., C.S.W., Private Care Manager
Typically, you’ll have a hard time finding staff in the hospital who will support your desire not to leave as quickly as possible, but you do have certain rights, and there are certain things you should know. When the discharge planner tells you that you’re going to “go to an alternate level of care,” that can feel like a threat. Don’t take it as that. Instead, it’s hospital jargon for saying that you really don’t need to be in an acute care (i.e. hospital) bed any longer. Beyond that, it doesn’t have a great deal of meaning for you, although the hospital wants to minimize its patients who are on alternate levels of care. You are also likely to be told that you are going to be issued a Medicare termination letter. Let’s be clear about what that means. First of all, the Medicare termination refers only to this stay in the hospital. Of course you still have Medicare as your health insurance. Beyond that, even if you are given a Medicare termination letter, you’re still covered by Medicare for a couple more days. Further, you have the right to ask that Medicare reconsider a decision to stop paying for more hospital days during this admission. Once you get your letter of termination, you have the right to call the phone number on the letter and ask for reconsideration. There is no penalty for making that request even if you’re denied, so if you are looking for more coverage, make that call. You are likely to be told, if you’re on Medicaid, that you must take the first available bed offer from a facility within a 50-mile radius. Not quite. The hospital wants you to take that bed, as does Medicaid, but you do have some choice. Our advice is to refuse beds only circumspectly, being realistic about what other facilities are likely to offer you a bed. If you have been caring for a hospitalized relative and you cannot do so any more for whatever reason, you need to be clear about that with the discharge planner. You need to be able to say that returning the patient to his previous living arrangement will not be a safe discharge plan, and your assistance with his safekeeping will not be available. If you find yourself intimidated by pressure to take the patient home, call on a friend, a relative, a neighbor or a professional to speak for you. It’syour right! www.wnycaremanager.com back to top back to table of contents Current Issue | About Forever Young | Where to Find | Advertise | Our Advertisers | Community Calendar | Contest | Clubs | Contact Us | Archives | Home |
