Home Care Matters

10/23/2026

It’s Medicare enroll time. Please make informed choices.

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10/22/2026

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗗𝗮𝘆?
Continue reading Why Should Families Talk About Their Medical Past During National Family Health History Day? at Home Care Matters.
https://homecarematters.com/blog/2026/10/22/why-should-families-talk-about-their-medical-past-during-national-family-health-history-day/

10/21/2026

Hey Flowery Branch! Any chance you can or would consider this??
flowery branch anyone in FB who could help? Home Care Matters will help!!

Ellen Lowsky Mize

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Help us light up Gainesville this Chanukah 🕎
Picture a tall menorah glowing on Green Street, with one more light added each night until all eight are burning. It's one of the most uplifting sights of the holiday season, and people can't help but slow down and look.
We're looking for a business along Green Street, or anywhere in Gainesville with good visibility, that would lend us a little space for the holiday.
We handle everything. We bring the menorah, set it up, and take it down. It's freestanding, so nothing gets dug up or attached to your building. Chanukah runs December 4 to 12, so it would be up from about December 1 to the 14th.
Public menorahs shine all over the world, from the White House to city squares in Paris and Sydney. With so much heaviness in the world right now, we'd love to add a little more light right here at home.
Own a business, or know someone who does? Send us a message or tag them below 💛

10/20/2026

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗜𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗣𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀?
Continue reading Why Is World Pneumonia Day an Important Reminder About Respiratory Health for Older Adults? at Home Care Matters.
https://homecarematters.com/blog/2026/10/20/why-is-world-pneumonia-day-an-important-reminder-about-respiratory-health-for-older-adults/

10/20/2026

Make sure you understand how the money is counted!

When one spouse needs a nursing home and applies for Medicaid, the spouse who stays home often assumes the household's money goes with them. Federal law draws the line differently, and much of it turns on whose name is on each payment.

Income follows the name. Under the federal spousal impoverishment rules, none of the at-home spouse's own income is counted as available to the spouse in the nursing home. A pension, Social Security payment or paycheck paid only to the spouse at home stays with that spouse. A payment made in both names is counted half to each, and that holds regardless of a state's community property rules.

Savings work the other way. When the application is made, the savings and investments of both spouses are pooled, no matter whose name is on the account. The spouse at home then keeps a protected share. For 2026 the federal ceiling on that share is $162,660, and each state sets its own figure within the federal range.

If the at-home spouse's own income is low, part of the nursing home spouse's income can be set aside to raise it. In 2026 that monthly allowance can go as high as $4,066.50.

The home has its own protection. The federal cap on home equity for Medicaid long-term care does not apply while a spouse is living in the house. And if the standard savings allowance leaves the spouse at home short of the monthly income the law allows, a fair hearing can substitute a larger allowance.

Before applying, it is worth pulling out every pension, annuity and benefit statement and noting whose name is on it. The answer can change how much the spouse at home keeps.

Source: 42 U.S.C. 1396r-5 (treatment of income and resources for institutionalized spouses) and 1396p(f); Illinois Department on Aging, 2026 Protection against Spousal Impoverishment, citing CMS's 2026 standards. Read Oct. 19, 2026.

Educational information only, not financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. Medicaid rules and state figures vary, so confirm the details with the state Medicaid office or an elder law attorney.

10/19/2026

Good info to know..

10/19/2026

More important info to know!

A tour of an assisted living community is built to be pleasant. The model apartment is staged, the dining room smells like lunch, and the questions that decide the bill rarely come up unless someone asks them. Twelve questions cover the ground, in three groups: what it costs, who provides the care, and what a tour will not show.

Cost comes first, because the monthly fee is rarely the whole price. The National Institute on Aging notes that assisted living typically comes in a few levels of care, and residents pay more if they need extra services or special care. That points to three questions: what the base fee covers and what is billed on top, what moves a resident up a care level and how much prices rose in past years, and which fees are refundable if the stay ends for any reason. Each answer belongs in the written agreement, not in a sales conversation.

Paying for it is the next question, and the national picture is plain. Most people pay the full costs of assisted living themselves. Medicare does not pay for assisted living, and Medicaid may cover some aspects depending on the state and whether the person is eligible. Federal rules add a catch: under the home and community based services waiver rules, federal Medicaid money cannot pay the cost of room and board, apart from narrow exceptions. So a community that accepts Medicaid may still expect rent and meals to come from other sources. Ask what happens when savings run out, and ask before the move, while the answer can still change the choice.

Care is the middle group. Who is on duty at night and on weekends, how long staff tend to stay, whether a nurse is in the building or reachable only by phone, and which care needs would force a move out all shape daily life more than the lobby does. The National Institute on Aging suggests asking how often key staff members turn over. Two more answers belong in writing: what happens if memory care is needed later, including where, the cost and any waitlist, and whether a resident's room is held during a hospital stay.

The last group is what a tour will not show. The National Institute on Aging recommends a second visit without calling ahead, on a different day or at a different time of day, plus a stop at mealtime to see the dining room and taste the food. Talking with residents and families away from staff, and checking the state license, fill in the rest.

Then read the contract twice. The same agency advises making sure every agreement is clear and asking about anything that is not, before signing.

Source: National Institute on Aging, "Long-Term Care Facilities: Assisted Living, Nursing Homes, and Other Residential Care" and "How To Choose a Nursing Home or Other Long-Term Care Facility"; 42 CFR 441.310, limits on federal financial participation for home and community based services waivers.

Educational information only, not financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. Care needs, costs and coverage vary by person and state, so confirm the details for your own situation with a professional.

10/19/2026

PSA-PLEASE take your time & read the paperwork & the SMALL print!!!

10/18/2026

Please read & make your coverage choices carefully & informed!

Every Medicare choice is priced for two kinds of years. In a healthy year, the premium is most of the bill. In a bad one, with a hospital stay, surgery or months of treatment, what matters is the most the plan can make you pay.

Original Medicare on its own has no ceiling. Medicare.gov says there is no yearly limit on what you pay out of pocket unless you have supplemental coverage or other insurance.

Standard Plan G closes most of that gap. It covers everything Plan F does except the Part B deductible, which is $283 in 2026, and it also pays Part B excess charges. So for Medicare-covered care, a Plan G holder's own share of a bad year in 2026 tops out at that $283, with any doctor in the country who takes Medicare. What Plan G charges instead is a premium, set by each insurer and paid every month, healthy year or not. In some states a high-deductible version pays nothing until $2,950 of costs in 2026.

Medicare Advantage plans each set their own yearly limit, inside ranges CMS publishes. For 2026, a plan's in-network limit falls in one of three bands: up to $4,200, $4,201 to $6,750, or $6,751 to $9,250. A PPO that also covers care outside its network has a second, combined limit, which for plans in the top band can reach $13,900. An HMO generally covers only care from its network, apart from emergency care, out-of-area urgent care and temporary dialysis away from home.

In a healthy year the math often leans the other way. Some Advantage plans have a $0 premium, and most include drug coverage, so there is no separate Part D premium. Both paths still pay the $202.90 monthly Part B premium.

What decides it is a year of Plan G premiums held against the gap in a bad year. Against a plan at the top of the range, that gap is up to $8,967 in network, the $9,250 limit minus Plan G's $283. Against a plan with a $4,200 limit, it is $3,917. That is why the plan's own limit matters more than CMS's ceiling.

The ceilings move each year. For 2027, CMS has set the top in-network limit at $9,850 and the top combined limit at $14,800. And the choice can be hard to undo. Outside the Medigap Open Enrollment Period and a few protected situations, an insurer can turn down a Medigap application based on health.

Source: CMS, CY 2026 and CY 2027 MOOP and Cost Sharing Limit Calculations; Medicare.gov, Medicare costs, Compare Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage, and HMO plans; CMS, Choosing a Medigap Policy (2026). Read Oct. 18, 2026.

Educational information only, not financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. Plan limits, premiums and networks differ by plan and state, so compare the actual plans available to you or call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program.

10/16/2026

PSA! If you are on Medicare, PLEASE read this!!

Every fall, a letter arrives from a Medicare plan that is easy to set aside unopened. Medicare calls it the Plan Annual Notice of Change, and it is the plan's own account of what will be different in January.

It comes from the plan, not from Medicare, and the rule is that it has to reach members no later than September 30. Medicare says it includes any changes in coverage, costs, and more that will be effective in January. A member who did not receive one is told to contact the plan.

The pages worth finding first are the ones about the drugs someone actually takes. Many plans place drugs into tiers on their drug lists, and Medicare says that generally a drug in a lower tier will cost less than a drug in a higher tier. A plan can also attach rules to a drug: prior authorization, step therapy, which means trying a certain less expensive drug first, and limits on how much of a drug is covered over a period of time. Those details are what move a monthly bill, and the letter is where to see whether any of them changed. Medicare's own checklist for any plan is the same one: confirm it covers your prescriptions, ask whether your doctors and pharmacies are in its network, and review costs like premiums, deductibles and the estimate of your yearly drug costs.

Then comes the part that is easy to miss. Doing nothing is allowed. Medicare's fact sheet says that someone who chooses to keep their current health and drug coverage does not need to do anything, because the coverage continues automatically. Any changes to benefits or costs for the new year still start on January 1. The same fact sheet notes that Medicare costs and benefits can change each year, which is the reason to read the letter before deciding that nothing needs to change.

For someone who wants a different plan, open enrollment runs October 15 to December 7. Medicare suggests reviewing the notices from the current plan first and then previewing plan options at Medicare.gov/plan-compare. A health or drug plan must get the enrollment form by December 7, and new coverage starts January 1.

Staying and switching are both ordinary outcomes. The letter is what lets either one be a decision instead of a default.

Source: Medicare.gov, Plan Annual Notice of Change, Joining a plan, How do drug plans work? and Drug plan rules; CMS fact sheet 12192, Remember Key Medicare Dates (September 2026); 42 CFR 422.2267 (all read Oct. 12, 2026).

Educational information only, not financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. Plan details and rules vary by plan, so confirm yours with Medicare or a State Health Insurance Assistance Program counselor.