Whether you are already a senior or you are just planning for your retirement years, the very real possibility that you will need nursing home care should be forefront in your mind given that you have about a 70 percent chance of needing some type of long-term care as a senior. Concerns about the possibility that you will be mistreated or neglected coupled with the fear that you will lose your independence likely make you dread the prospect of living in a nursing home. If nursing home care becomes necessary, you need to understand that you have rights as a nursing home resident. With that in mind, the Los Angeles attorneys at Schomer Estate & Wealth Advisors explain your rights as a nursing home resident in California.
California Nursing Home Rights
California law protects nursing home residents and provides you with the ability to a file a complaint with the California Department of Public Health if you feel those rights have been violated. Some of your rights as a resident in a nursing home in California include:
- The right to be told about the cost of room, board, care, and any other services that you may receive.
- The right to be informed about:
- What Medi-Cal will pay for if you are eligible.
- What Medi-Cal will not pay for, and the cost of those items or services.
- What care and services are included in the daily rate.
- What other services are available and what the charges are for these other services or items.
- If you are married and your spouse is at home, the nursing home must give you written information about standards for Medi-Cal eligibility.
- The right to be informed about any charges made for the items and services available in your nursing home and their new charges.
- The nursing home must give a 30-day notice prior to raising your daily room rate or charges for other services.
- The limitation which prevents the nursing home from charging you for items or services for which payment is made under Medicare or Medi-Cal.
- The nursing home should tell you the cost of an item or service when you request it.
- The right to choose how you spend your time and participate in activities of your choosing.
- The right to participate in social, religious, and community activities inside and outside the facility that do not interfere with the rights of other residents in your nursing home. This right should be protected by the nursing by:
- Inviting you to participate in planning scheduled activities.
- Listening to your opinions and planning activities that are of interest to you.
- Offering a variety of activities at times convenient to you and the other residents in your nursing home.
- Activities should take place at different times throughout the day (morning, afternoon, evenings and weekends).
- Informing you of all planned activities in the nursing home so you can select those activities that are appropriate, meet the objectives in your plan of care, and are of interest to you.
- Helping you with arrangements to leave the facility when you want to participate in an activity outside of your nursing home.
- Your nursing home must encourage you to make as many choices as possible about your daily life. For example, you have the right to:
- Make reasonable choices about schedules. This means that you have the right to stay up late at night reading or watching television.
- You have the right to sleep late or to get up early if you want.
- You do not have to get up and go to bed on a schedule that is set by the nursing home.
- Request baths or showers, as you choose, at the time of day you choose.
- Your nursing home must respect your request as much as possible.
- You have the right to handle your own money.
- Have a choice in the foods that you eat, respecting cultural preferences as much as possible.
- Make decisions about your health care. For example, you have the right to choose your physician and to participate in planning your care.
Do You Have Concerns about Your Rights as a Nursing Home Resident in California?
For more information, please join us for an upcoming FREE seminar. If you have questions or concerns about your rights in a California nursing home, contact the experienced Los Angeles elder law attorneys at Schomer Estate & Wealth Advisors by calling (310) 337-7696 to schedule an appointment.
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