This is what my table looks like when I make phone calls to the Veteran's Association about Dad's hospital bills... every all laid out, at my finger tips... but maybe now I'll be able to put it away for good.
As you all know we've been battling Dad's hospital bills from April of last year when he ran away, subsequently got picked up in an ambulance, and received stitches on his head. The bills for this episode totaled about $8000.
After applying for ER assistance from the Veteran's Association, and re-applying when we were denied, I am happy to say that 8 months later, the huge hospital bill has been taken care of. I was so upset when I received mail from the VA the other day indicating that they only paid $435.00, but after a quick phone conversation, I have been told that any payment by the VA is considered 'full payment' and the hospital cannot bill us anymore. Huge weight off our shoulders!!!
The last bill remaining is the ambulance bill and that has been re-submitted by the lovely lady who I spoke with on the phone. They will only pay ambulance fees if the ER fees have been paid (paid!), so I hope it's only a matter of time before this last bill is settled as well.
On another note, I received a notice from the local VA reminding us to schedule a colonoscopy for Dad. UGH. There is a lot of 'preparing' for a procedure like this one, if you know what I mean, and I still have nightmares from the last time we prepped him for it two years ago! My defiant inner child is pouting, "No! I DON'T want to do it." On the other hand, I guess Dad's care-takers at Whittier will have to deal with everything, so maybe I should just schedule the appointment. Or not? I mean, he has Alzheimer's so why put him through that procedure... I don't know. Such a strange dilemma. Should we even be worried about preventative procedures? Am I awful to think this way?
Anyway, Thank You to the VA for the long, but ultimately helpful process of taking care of Dad's hospital fees. We'll try not to bother you with any more of those. :)
This week, I am inundated with paperwork/financial type chores that have everything to do with Dad. Because I am his Power of Attorney, I am in charge! Chaaaaarge! Probably the most annoying of all these chores is dealing with Collections and Dad's hospital bills from when he ran away back in April. I gotta say though, I'm learning a lot.
FAX:
His medical coverage consists of the VA and Medicare Part A - both of which typically don't cover Emergency services. Dad's bills from his run-away incident on April 11th add up to almost $8000 including the Ambulance Ride. The VA may cover these expenses if the incident is associated with an ailment that they have been treating him for (like Alzheimer's). Since nothing happens very quickly through the VA, Collections is now calling me about his Ambulance Bill, but of course they won't tell me anything until I fax them the POA... WHICH I did two weeks ago, but they never got it. So, I'm going to fax them again.
I am also faxing a letter to Dad's mortgage company. His mortgage is currently paid through an automatic payment, but since he is selling his mobile home, it is also being paid through Dad's escrow... so we're double paying. They need a letter signed by me to discontinue the automatic payment.
EMAIL:
Furthermore, I've been dealing with Dad's home insurance as well! Now, with this particular document I was able to scan and email it back, so that saved me a fax, but I spent almost an entire hour trying to get the correct person on the phone that could answer my questions.
MIA (missing in action):
Lastly, I'm supposed to get another check for Dad from Morgan Stanley so that he can pay next month's rent, but I haven't heard back from them. They're usually very prompt, so I'm not sure what is going on with that. I know things are tough around the holidays, but I gotta say this is a strange one. We need that check before the 5th of next month to pay his rent!
Lawyer:
Next week we are meeting with a Lawyer who specializes in Elder Law so we should be getting a better idea on how Dad is doing financially and what we need to do to make sure that when his money runs out, everything goes smoothly. We estimated that Dad has about 10 more months of Whittier Place before he can't afford it anymore... but we'll know more after we meet with the Lawyer.
