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Home Care Darien IL

Does Medicaid Pay for Home Care in Darien, IL?

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At some point or another, many of us will either need to consider home health care for ourselves or for a loved one. Choosing home health care may be an easy choice for some, since it allows the person to remain in their own home and continue a certain level of autonomy while providing the attention and health care necessary. However, there are many other details included when it comes to implementing a home health care system.

One of the biggest issues is the cost of home health care and how to pay for it.

A common question is whether Medicaid pays for home care.

Government Assistance

Run by the federal government, Medicaid is a health care assistance plan for those who have low income and limited access to resources to traditional medical care. Most states have their own program with differing requirements and rules.

Note that coverage includes a certain amount for deductibles, premiums and co-payments used in conjunction with Medicare, which is also a federal insurance program for those over the age of 65 and some disabilities and diseases.

Home Health Care

Home care usually funds through a sub-section of the program, called Home and Community Based Services, or HCBS.

HCBS programs offer some or all coverage for various home health care costs, such as physical therapy, nursing care, home assistance with cooking, laundry, cleaning and/or meal delivery, transportation to and from necessary doctor and other appointments, participation in an adult day service program, home modifications to add safety elements and medical equipment and supplies.

The program requires an application process, which generally goes as follows:

  • Locate your local HCBS program and apply for home care assistance.
  • The program will evaluate the need for home health care assistance and medical care to determine if the individual needs the home health care to avoid placement in a nursing home.
  • Once the need for home health care is established, the program will look to determine whether the individual meets income and asset eligibility levels.

To begin the process and apply for home health care benefits, start by going to Benefits.gov and selecting your state. Then look for your state’s home page, where you can look for information about contacting the HCBS program to ask about applying and eligibility requirements.

Home Care counselors at Safe at Home Healthcare are available to talk with you about your Home Care needs including how to reduce caregiver stress while providing better, affordable care, including live-in care. We are an elder care agency providing Home Care in Darien. For more information about Home Care call us at (888) 703-5287.

Home Care Darien, IL: How to Reverse Cognitive Decline

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How to reverse cognitive decline

Next time some holier-than-thou vegan starts blabbering about how man wasn’t designed to eat meat, ask him if he knows what powers the human brain.

The answer ain’t tofu.

Your brain was specifically designed to function on a diet of the fats and nutrients you can only get from meat and fish.

Studies have consistently found that low levels of B12 lead to the highest brain problems — and that boosting your levels can prevent or even reverse that damage.

The latest research adds even more proof.

One study found that seniors with the lowest levels of vitamin B12 had the highest risk of cognitive shortcomings, including low scores on thought, reason, and memory tests. And it’s no wonder! Low levels of B12 can literally cause your brain to shrink.

Sound like fun? Of course not — but that’s exactly what you’re in for if you stick to a plant-based diet, because you won’t find B12 in leaves, roots, and fungi. You’ll find it in meats — especially organ meats — as well as fish and dairy.

But if low levels of B12 will turn a mind to mush, high levels can actually save it. Megadoses of B vitamins can slow or even stop brain shrinkage and reverse the cognitive slide linked to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

British researchers put 271 seniors suffering from mild cognitive impairment onto either a daily placebo or a supplement regimen of 0.5mg of B12, 0.8mg of folic acid, and 20mg of B6.

After two years, the seniors who got their B vitamins did 70 percent better on memory tests than those who got the placebos — with some of them actually showing improvements over their initial scores.

They got older… and their minds got BETTER with age. Imagine that!

But wait, there’s more: The patients on the B vitamins had slower rates of brain shrinkage — in one case by 500 percent.

Now, any reason to eat a steak is a good one to me, but these kinds of results won’t come from diet alone. For the best brain boost, invest in a good, quality supplement.

If you’re getting up there in years, no excuses — you need a B complex, and you need one now. That, and steak.

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

Home care counselors at Safe at Home Healthcare are available to talk with you about your in-home care needs including how to reduce caregiver stress while providing better, affordable care, including live-in care. We are an elder care agency providing Home Care in Darien.