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anonymous262233 Posted March 2018

Well... That Tunnel Light was a train...

Yikes. It turns out that the tour person misquoted the price ("If it seems to good to be true...) for the AL near my house.

After taking Dad to lunch at the AL near my house and completing an assessment, they determined that Dad would need to pay $1,014 a month for oxygen and medication maintenance. That's quite a lot to put pills in a cup and turn his machine on and off. This took my savings down to $85 per month.

After some pushback, I was placed on an "incentive" (I know what this means... I was in sales, but whatever), and they were able to reduce the care cost for a year. This will save about $400 per month vs. what we are currently paying.

Well, at least I can reduce the amount of hours at the part time job and Dad will be closer to me. That will save gas on my part and I may be able to grab a little more rest instead of spending 1.5 hours in the car just going back and forth.

...I have a year to figure out where to find the money when the incentive is over at least

Vickie5297 Mar 2018
You didn’t say if dad was a veteran? They have an aid and attendance benefit of $1830 a month that would help you a lot if he is was in service during a war!

anonymous262233 Mar 2018
Thanks everyone. I was going to ask for a detailed breakdown of the costs, but now that I got the incentive for a year, I'm just going to shut up about it. I'll revisit the costs next year or after Dad is settled. It's my hope that that ridiculous price is based on an assumption that Dad needs way more care. I'm hoping once they see it's simply a matter of distributing his meds and turning on his portable tank when he rides around the facility, they'll ease up on the price.

She kept saying something about the insurance liability with the oxygen. I'm starting to "sneak" things out of Dad's current room and putting them at my apartment until I get keys to the new place.

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cdnreader Mar 2018
Dear Tinyblu,

You are such an amazing person. I'm glad you got your dad settled. Maybe the facility will continue to offer the incentive next year. Take your time and if this is not the case, hopefully you can find another option. Sending you hugs.

freqflyer Mar 2018
Tinyblu, that is great that your Dad will be closer to you, and now you can reduce your work hours.

When my Dad was in Independent Living, one option was pill maintenance, and it was $30 per day, which was $900 per month. The high cost had to do with the employee who was certified to give the residents their pills. Plus the pills were all stored in the nurses office under lock and key, even aspirin.

Once my Dad moved to Assisted Living/Memory Care, this service was part of the monthly rent.

Needsadvice Mar 2018
If your dad was a veteran he may qualify for a monthly benefit.

GardenArtist Mar 2018
Tiny, does your father have a pulmonary doctor who can script for the oxygen so that's it's paid for by Medicare? Or perhaps the VA will pay for it.

It sounds like this place is providing its own oxygen equipment, and charging you for more than I recall Medicare would pay. I'm sure it wasn't as high as the $1K figure.

My father has never paid a cent for oxygen, for the concentrator, portable concentrator and the tanks, or for the cannulas and tubes. His pulmonary doctor scripts for everything. And our service company is outstanding.

surprise Mar 2018
Tiny, now you can put the whole rigamarole with the first AL, ADC, and VA van behind you- a fresh start! I think this is a wonderful offer, not a train at all. You are doing a great job!

anonymous326422 Mar 2018
Tinyblu, does your dad’s VA offer Home Based Primary Care? If he’s eligible for that, it might help cut down on some of his expenses. (I’m not sure if he’d be eligible on hospice though.)

I’m sorry it didn’t work out as well as you had hoped but it still sounds like it could be a better situation for you both. Good luck with the move and fresh start!

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