Before a Medicare patient can be discharged from the hospital, there must be a plan in place for any needed continual care. Patients and their families should double check some information in that plan.
When Medicare patients are ready to leave a hospital after an extended stay, they often are not ready to go home and resume their normal lives. They might need to be transferred to another facility, such as a nursing home or a rehabilitation center. It depends on the needs of the specific patient being discharged.
Medicare requires that a plan for care be developed with a social worker who can help the patient understand the plan. Just taking the word of the social worker about what options are available, is not always advisable as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette points out in "Doublecheck when they say the rehab center doesn't have room."
Patients are sometimes told that their preferred facilities for care after being discharged from the hospital do not have room for them. Sometimes that is true, but it is not always true.
Hospitals that have financial interests in other facilities, all too often try to steer patients into those facilities and away from others. For that reason, it is a good idea for patients and families to call facilities for themselves to ask about availability.
If you think a hospital is not doing what Medicare requires it to do, then it is a good idea to contact an elder law attorney.
Reference: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Feb. 26, 2018) "Doublecheck when they say the rehab center doesn't have room."
Suggested Key Words: Elder Law, Medicare
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