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Consumer Reports Issues Guide to Long Term Care

Wed, 12/20/2000 - 1:00am — Karen Stevenson
Description: 

Whether you're exploring options for yourself or for your aging parents, you know that navigating the world of health care services and long-term-care facilities can be a daunting task. Consumer Reports, well known as an objective and unbiased source of information, has created a guidebook to selecting long term care. The handbook is designed to help readers find the right services and secure them at the lowest cost. Some of the questions they try to answer include:

- How can you take advantage of pharmaceutical company drug-assistance programs? - What essential services should a home health aide provide? - How can you calculate annual health care expenses? - How do you decipher a state survey report for a nursing home? - Where can you find adult day care? - What should you look for in an assisted-living contract?

They also discuss the ins and outs of paying for health care services, including Medicare coverage and insurance options; and include city-by-city ratings for Medicare HMOs and Medicare supplement insurance policies, as well as a guide to how well each state is monitoring nursing homes, worksheets and tables to help people figure out their assets, judge an assisted-living facility, compare home care costs, evaluate an HMO drug plan, and comprehensive appendixes to guide readers to state-by-state information on insurance counseling, advocacy groups for the elderly, other helpful organizations.

Whether you're exploring options for yourself or for your aging parents, you know that navigating the world of health care services and long-term-care facilities can be a daunting task. Consumer Reports, well known as an objective and unbiased source of information, has created a guidebook to selecting long term care. The handbook is designed to help readers find the right services and secure them at the lowest cost. Some of the questions they try to answer include:

- How can you take advantage of pharmaceutical company drug-assistance programs? - What essential services should a home health aide provide? - How can you calculate annual health care expenses? - How do you decipher a state survey report for a nursing home? - Where can you find adult day care? - What should you look for in an assisted-living contract?

They also discuss the ins and outs of paying for health care services, including Medicare coverage and insurance options; and include city-by-city ratings for Medicare HMOs and Medicare supplement insurance policies, as well as a guide to how well each state is monitoring nursing homes, worksheets and tables to help people figure out their assets, judge an assisted-living facility, compare home care costs, evaluate an HMO drug plan, and comprehensive appendixes to guide readers to state-by-state information on insurance counseling, advocacy groups for the elderly, other helpful organizations.