Over the last 18 months, hundreds of thousands of Americans have fallen ill with COVID-19, with around 30 percent of those with COVID continuing to suffer long-term effects that compromise their self-care abilities. If you're facing an uphill climb after contracting COVID, what care options are available to you? Below we discuss a few of your long-term care options after COVID.
A Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)
If you have Medicare, you may be covered for spending up to 100 days per benefit period in an SNF if necessary. This may include a nursing home, rehab facility, or any other facility where you receive skilled medical or nursing care. Once this care is no longer required, or once you've hit the 100 days Medicare provides, you may be discharged to home nursing care, home relative care, or home self-care to finish your recuperation.
You may also be able to remain in an SNF beyond 100 days, though you may be assessed the daily self-pay rate if you don't either have long-term care insurance or qualify for Medicaid coverage.
Home Nursing Care
Another COVID recovery option is home nursing care, where a nurse or other medical professional visits your home once or more a day to provide you with treatments, therapies, and other care you need to regain your strength. You may be able to taper the number of visits down over time until you reach the point of no longer needing this level of care. In addition to SNF care, Medicare may cover in-home nursing services, as well. Many private health insurance policies and Medicaid may also provide coverage for in-home nursing care when deemed necessary.
Home Relative Care
One option that those dealing with COVID aftereffects may choose is receiving care at home from a family member (often a spouse, parent, or adult child). Medicaid covers both in-home nursing care and other home caregiving services as well, depending on the state. In many cases, the spouse caregiver may even be able to receive Medicaid payments for performing this service, depending on Medicaid rules in your state. This may be a less expensive option than other types of nursing care and may help keep your "bubble" smaller for COVID purposes by allowing your caregiver to also be the person you already spend a great deal of time with.
Important Disclosures:
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however LPL Financial makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.
Sources
https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-vaccines-do-their-work-focus-moves-to-long-covid-11627038001
https://www.medicaidplanningassistance.org/in-home-care/
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