Taking care of a sick adult could become less expensive under a plan introduced by Rep. Linda Sanchez. This bill would allow Medicare to pay for adult day care services.

The program would cover seniors and people with disabilities who qualify for home-care services. They would be able to choose whether they would like to receive care at home or at an adult day care center.

There would be no additional cost to the Medicare program, a Sanchez aide said. “This would simply provide Medicare beneficiaries a new option, without adding to the cost of Medicare,” Sanchez spokeswoman Marsha Catron said in an e-mail.

Currently, adult day care is not covered under Medicare, which would pay adult day care providers 98% of the home-health rate, according to a statement made by Sanchez.

Medicare can cover services from an adult day care center only in very limited circumstances. It can cover actual mental health treatment – administration and monitoring of medication, for example, or recovery from a medical crisis — prescribed by a physician, and provided at an outpatient mental health clinic. .

Some Part C Medicare Advantage managed care plans offer limited adult day care coverage as part of their comprehensive home care services. Medicare does not require these plans to offer this, so the nature and extent of what they cover depends entirely on the plans themselves.

Under the program, Medicare beneficiaries will be able to receive more services and hours of care for a lower, all-inclusive rate than currently available through many providers.

Services covered in the bundled adult day services rate would include: nursing, physical, occupational and speech therapy, social services and personal care, as well as meals, transportation and recreational activities.

“Adult day care is a family-friendly option for seniors who require rehabilitation and other assistance with daily life tasks, but don’t require 24-hour care,” Sanchez said. “This not only helps the patient but the patient’s family, who most likely has another job in addition to being a full-time caregiver.”

Caregivers, according to a summary of the bill from Sanchez, are primarily women and from families with below-average incomes. Taking care of sick relatives can have a significant impact on their household budgets.

P.S. Senior Citizens need all the help they can get! Some need someone to take them to thier doctor appointments or grocery shopping and some day care centers provide this services. Seniors need activities and distractions and if these centers offer them, why not allow for medicare coverage of such services!!

We must not forget our Senior Citizens, they have paid taxes all their working lives it’s time to give back a little.