NursingHomesinUtah.com
What is skilled nursing care? We’re glad you asked.
There’s a whole page of information just waiting to be gleaned. Nursing homes usually take care of two type
of nursing patients or residents. There
are skilled residents and intermediate
residents. Sometimes you may hear an
insurance company or others refer to intermediate as “custodial” care. Skilled care comes from a definition used by
Medicare, who usually
pays for this service, or at least a portion of it.
The official definition of skilled service: skilled nursing and/or skilled
rehabilitation services are those services, furnished pursuant to physician
orders, that:
Require the skills of qualified
technical or professional health personnel such as registered nurses, licensed
practical nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech pathologists
or audiologists; and
Must be provided directly by or
under the supervision of these skilled nursing or skilled rehabilitation
personnel to assure the safety of the patient and to achieve the medically
desired result.
Basically, skilled nursing services or skilled
rehabilitations services are provided only by or under the supervision of
professional or technical personnel.
For Medicare to pay, not only do the services need to be considered
skilled, but, they must be done on a daily basis. Because the rule is often subject to
interpretation by both the nursing home and Medicare, it is important to come
to an understanding prior to admittance or shortly thereafter. And if you believe the nursing home is wrong
in their interpretation, and the resident is eligible for Medicare, you may
request that they bill Medicare anyway and get a determination from them.
Most private insurance companies have the same definition
of skilled care as Medicare.
The staff at Iron County Nursing Home
are constantly trained to help the resident utilize their entire benefit under
Medicare. If you have any questions,
contact our administrator, Daren.
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