Gop’s Fine Print Says You’renotcovered

When my father was nearing retirement, he bought a costly insurance policy that was supposed to pay for nursing care if he or my mother ever needed it. He didn’t want to burden his family with the $3,000-a-month nursing care costs.

The insurance agent said the nursing care coverage would kick in when his medical insurance stopped, and would keep paying for up to four years. Later, Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. He paid premiums for 15 years.

The day finally came when he was hospitalized, and needed to enter a nursing care facility. His medical insurance paid for only a few weeks. Then the administrator explained the situation:

Dad would need long-term care. All private medical and Medicare coverages stop as soon as this is determined. I had a few days to figure out how I would pay for his care.

I explained that I did not need to worry because of Dad’s long-term care policy. After looking at the policy wording, though, the woman at the nursing center said it would pay about half of his fees, and only if Dad was on intravenous feedings or life support. In other words, my father was not eligible to receive any payment from the policy.

The woman pointed out that a person really needs to look at the fine print in this type of policy because very few of them ever pay out.

She then asked how we would pay for his care. This is when reality set in. Dad did not have enough pension income to pay the $3,000 a month. Where would the extra $1,400 come from?

That is when I learned that if Dad’s income and assets were below $2,000 a month, Medicaid would pay for his nursing care.

What would have happened if this safety net had not been in place? My mother could have lost her home and income. Or, I could have paid $1,400 a month toward Dad’s care. Or, I could have hired someone to take care of dad for $10 to $14 an hour (more than the nursing care center cost). Or, I could have quit my job to stay home to take care of Dad.

Is this what the Republicans want when they set their sights on Medicare and the elderly? Middle-age workers, beware! Do you think the Republican tax “cuts” will offset this expense when it’s your turn to face it? How are you and your parents going to benefit? A better question might be, how are you and your parents going to pay?

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.