What is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid?
When looking into senior caregiving options, many people have questions about how Medicare and Medicaid are involved, and what the main differences include. Here’s a quick snapshot of how both differ in hopes that it will clear up some of the confusion surrounding this topic.
What’s Medicare – what does Medicare cover?
- A public benefit that is NOT “needs based”: This means that Medicaid is only available to people who earn income under the threshold set by the government and/or have only a certain number of assets.
- If a person has been hospitalized over 3 days, they become eligible for Medicare
- Medicare will pay up to 90 days care in a hospital
- After the first 20 days in a hospital, there is a co-pay required
- Medicare will also pay for 100 days of skilled-nursing care (co-pay required after 20 days)
What’s Medicaid – what does Medicaid cover?
- Medicaid is also a public benefit, but IS “needs based”
- Medicaid is what you’ll need if the stay in hospital exceeds 100 days, primarily nursing home care
- In order to meet the requirements, most people need to asset planning (managing your assets/funds) to ensure that their income level is enough to qualify and their asset level is low enough to qualify
- There are a number of tools such as this article on asset spending and this medicaid planning write-up that attorneys use to help you qualify for Medicaid without running out of resources
How the Helper Bees do things a little differently in terms of pricing:
The Helper Bee’s help you identify the kind of help you need based on your profile and how much it will cost you. We’re proud to announce that we pay our helpers almost double the industry’s average. This guarantees their happiness and translates to a higher quality service for you. This comes at no cost to you. We operate a different business model than traditional agencies and this is because of our technology and revolutionary approach to home care. Use our pricing calculator to figure out what the best option of care would be for you or your loved one and choose one of the following:
LEVEL ONE
Honey Bee Helpers
Choose a Honey Bee for help with:
- Light Housekeeping
- Errand Running
- Trips Around Town
- Salon Visits
- Doctor Appointments
- Dialysis Treatment Appointments
- Grocery Shopping
- Companionship
- Medication Reminders
- Cooking
LEVEL TWO
Bumble Bee Helpers
Choose a Bumble Bee for all Level 1 services plus personal hygiene help including:
- Showering
- Toileting & Incontinence Assistance
- Grooming & Dressing
- Transferring Assistance
LEVEL THREE
Specialty Bee Helpers
Choose a Specialty Bee for all Level 1 and 2 services plus personal hygiene help including:
- Alzheimer’s Home Care
- Dementia Care
- Diabetes Management
- Dialysis Care & Visits
- Parkinson’s Disease Care
- Stroke Care
- ALS Care (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis)
For more information please visit our available helpers here
Below is a video that discusses more about the differences between Medicare and Medicaid.
