LONG TERM HOME HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS
“NURSING HOME WITHOUT WALLS”

For patients assessed as being medically eligible for placement in a nursing home, alternate community services are provided to help maintain them at home.  These programs provide a level of care equal to that of a nursing home to eligible patients in their own homes. By regularly visiting in the home, the professional team is able to offer a social and medical network to the patient. Each person accepted into the program receives an individualized plan of care ordered by a physician, which may include medical, nursing and clinical services, therapeutic activities, social services and nutritional counseling.

Some couples may ultimately apply for Medicaid in order to pay for this care at home.  In calculating eligibility for Medicaid, assets can be transferred from one spouse to another without penalty, and New York State law upholds the right of a spouse to refuse to contribute to the upkeep of the frail spouse.  This “spousal refusal” enables the well spouse to keep more of the available assets for his/her own care and well-being, and prevent becoming impoverished by the high cost of the Long Term Home Health Care Program.  Couples should seek the advice of an elder law attorney since the Department of Social Services reserves the right to sue the spouse or the estate beneficiaries for full payment owed of any benefits the frail spouse received.

Long Term Home Health Care Programs are as follows: