When you find out that insurance doesn’t cover a certain type of care, you might feel like you’ve hit a wall.
The good news is that VNS Health offers a full range of private care services that provide the level of support and care you want.
What Is Private Care?
Private care is care that you pay for out-of-pocket or with a long-term care policy.
It’s an option when you want extra help caring for a loved one or more support after you come home from the hospital than insurance will pay for.
Looking for a different service?
When Is It Time for Private Care?
There are many times when private care may be beneficial to you or your loved one.
You may be caring for someone with dementia who needs more supervision than you can manage. Maybe you need someone to be with a frail parent to make sure they don’t fall. Or you might want a round-the-clock nurse for a loved one who’s receiving hospice care. Or maybe you need care quickly and don’t want insurance processes to delay it.
For any home care or hospice care services not covered by Medicare or other insurance, VNS Health is here to make sure that the care you receive works for you.
When to Consider Private Care
- Your loved one requires live-in or 24-hour care to remain safe at home as long as possible.
- You’d like to supplement covered hospice services so that you can focus on what’s important during your loved one’s final months.
- You or your loved one needs assistance with a chronic illness, and you’d like someone to monitor clinical progress and communicate with doctors and their medical support team as needed.
- You or your loved one want a nurse to administer treatments, such as infusions, feeding tubes, or ostomies.
- You’ve scheduled a procedure and need someone to meet you on discharge to escort you home safely.
- You need additional assistance bringing home a newborn.
Paying for Private Care
When you choose VNS Health, we’ll work with you to understand your care needs and coverage. We will work with you to determine which services best meet your needs, and we’ll help you explore all your payment options too. With your permission and authorization, we will call your insurance company to check your policy and the amount of coverage you can get through your current insurance plan.
Many seniors and their families choose to pay out of pocket for home care for several reasons:
- Gives you greater flexibility in the type and amount of services you can order. In some cases, a patient’s Medicare coverage or other private insurance may not pay for all the services you want.
- Allows you to avoid the restrictions and limits of programs provided by the government or private insurers.
- Might be less expensive than a nursing home or assisted living facility.
To discuss your options for care and to help you estimate costs, call VNS Health at 1-888-735-8913.
Private Care Services from VNS Health
Private care covers a lot of different services — and VNS Health is here to help.
As your loved one gets older, they may have trouble with day-to-day tasks. You may worry about loneliness and whether they’re connecting with other people — which can be tough to do as you age.
Home health aides offer support and companionship to your loved one. A home health aide might be the right choice if:
- Your loved one wants to feel connected and be treated with dignity and respect
- You want reassurance that your loved one has the right trusted helper to be safe and live comfortably
- Your loved one needs help that isn’t covered by insurance
- You are looking for responsible, knowledgeable, compassionate respite care
- Your loved one needs help with daily tasks like food shopping, cooking, bathing, and dressing
If you caring for a loved one as they age, live with a chronic condition, or heal, you know that caregiving can be overwhelming as well as rewarding. There are highs and lows, and you might not know what each day will bring.
At VNS Health, we understand the many aspects of being a caregiver and want to provide you the support, guidance, and tools to help you during this challenging time.
Caregiver support services can help you and your loved one if:
- You have suddenly been plunged into a caregiving role because of an illness or medical crisis
- You need help getting up to speed on your new caregiving responsibilities
- Your loved one has multiple, or increasing, medical issues or conditions
- Your parent or aging loved one is in need care but doesn’t want to admit they need help
- Your family members have different opinions about the best way to care for your loved one
The right home care starts with the right information. A clinical assessment is a tool that medical professionals use and that can help you make the best decisions about a loved one’s care.
VNS Health offers three types of clinical assessments. The PRI assessment gives you unbiased guidance about whether your loved one can continue to live independently or would be more comfortable and safer in a skilled nursing facility.
A PRI assessment is required by New York State law before admission to a nursing home. Our nurses can also conduct a home safety screening or fall prevention assessment to help you make meaningful safety improvements to your loved one’s home.
Clinical assessments provide information and can help take the guesswork out of caregiving. They are the right choice when:
- You believe you can no longer provide the best care for your loved one at home.
- Your loved one’s provider suggests that you look into a clinical assessment.
- You are concerned about your loved one’s safety.
If you or a loved one has an upcoming medical appointment or procedure — or can’t be discharged alone — a health care escort can help.
On the day of an appointment, one of our certified home health aides can meet your loved one to see that they arrive at medical appointments safely and on time, and get back home again.
Similarly, if you or your loved one will be having a procedure after which you need someone to pick you up (after anesthesia, for example), a health care escort can help you get home, as well as pick up any prescriptions or other items on the way.
When you or a loved one is recovering from surgery or living with a chronic illness or medical condition, you may choose professional nursing care to help as you heal or manage your health.
Private nursing care is personal medical care that meets your unique needs — on a schedule and in your own home.
Private nursing care at home is the right choice when you want:
- Hands-on care as you recover from surgery or an accident or injury
- Assistance managing an older loved one’s ongoing chronic conditions with complex medication regimens
- Assurance that your aging parent is following their doctor’s orders
- An expert to monitor clinical progress and communicate with providers
- Specialized medical treatment to care for:
- Slow-to-heal or complex wounds and surgical openings
- Infusion therapy or intravenous feedings
- Other situations that require expert care
Recovery doesn’t follow a straight line — it’s a process with ups and downs. A key part of your recovery is being able to do the things you could do before your injury, illness, or surgery.
Skilled, licensed therapists provide physical, occupational, and speech therapy to aid in recovery and to increase strength, flexibility, range of motion, and coordination.
Rehabilitation therapy is the right choice when you or your loved one is:
- Recovering from a health emergency such as a stroke or an accidental injury
- Recovering from surgery
- At risk for falls
- Living with a disability or chronic illness such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease
- Suffering from an advanced illness
Learn More About VNS Health Private Care Services
Caregiver Support Services
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Clinical Assessments
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Home Health Aides
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Health Care Escorts
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Private Nursing Care
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Rehabilitation Therapy
Learn MoreGetting Started with Private Care
Whether you require assistance with personal care, companionship, or support for medical needs, you can be sure that your plan of care with VNS Health will include all the services necessary to meet your needs.
You may have concerns about letting someone new into your home, and this is a totally normal feeling.
If you’re feeling nervous, remember that:
- Home health aides work under the supervision of a registered nurse.
- VNS Health home health aides go through thorough background checks.
- All team members and home health aides are carefully screened and trained.
Your first visit is a great time to ask questions about scheduling and services, figure out whether you and your home health aide are compatible, and get to know each other. Depending on your needs, your first visit may last up to 3 hours.
If you or your loved one would like more services than Medicare, Medicaid, or other medical insurance covers, or you want more hours for additional support to accommodate caregivers’ schedules during the work week or on weekends, you can pay privately.
In many cases, you’ll be able to continue with the same care team and home health aide. You may already be used to the services and routine — you’ll just be receiving a little more support.
Your nurse or geriatric care manager will walk you through the new services your loved one will be receiving or the new schedule that they’ll be following.
Although hospice offers a wide range of care, you may still want to add other supports onto the services covered by your insurance.
Additional support can help to keep your loved one as comfortable as possible, and many families find that when a professional attends to their loved one’s medical needs, they are able to spend time focusing on what’s important in their loved one’s final months.
Some private care services — like getting a health care escort or clinical assessment — may be a one-time event for you or your loved one.
Your VNS Health health care escort will ensure that you are comfortable and cared for and that you make it home safely.
For clinical assessments, your VNS Health team member will conduct their assessment and give you honest answers about your safety and best next steps.
After giving birth, you may find yourself wanting home support for yourself and your new baby.
If you are looking for postpartum help, your VNS team member might:
- Check on the health of both the birthing parent and the baby
- Offer support and education for breast or bottle feeding
- Monitor a C-section incision
- Follow any directions from your doctor
