I became Representative Payee (SS) for Mom, Medicare thinks she lives at my address, and this is a problem with services paid by Medicare. I manage all of my mom's financial and medical care from a distance. She lives 200 miles away in a memory care residence. I am representative payee for Social Security. My address is on her social security, but they know she lives at a different address. SS passes my address to Medicare. (Medicare only has this address and it only can come from Social Security.)
For DME (durable medical equipment), suppliers can only provide from her Medicare address (200 miles from where she lives). She has been denied for a wheelchair. She would be denied for any future DME prescribed in her area because she doesn't 'live' in the same area as her Medicare address. Nor will a provider in my area, supply DME to a location 200 miles away.
I thought I did the right thing becoming rep payee, but I wonder.
I have talked with Medicare multiple times, the DME supplier multiple times, with no success. As a result, the local business (where my mom lives) had to write off the cost of her wheelchair, and the family ended up making other wheelchair arrangements outside of Medicare.
I'm sure I'm not the only caregiver in this situation. It's important that any financial/legal/medical information comes to me. I am very concerned about future DME needs as I was told that no supplier where my mom lives would provide equipment to her with a non-local address. (Her Medicare address is mine due to SS/rep payee.)
I'm about to call my two senators about this. What have others done?
Why? Well if so, then property is still under whatever homestead or senior programs allowed, so she gets a homestead exemption on properly taxes, or can technically still get homeowners coverage on property insurance. Perhaps decreased senior rates on city services. She probably will need to do some sort of "right of return" statement to keep it as an exempt asset if she's on Medicaid - for my mom this was a form provided by the state & included in the annual medicaid renewal paperwork. & also the tax assessors office had a form as well to keep it as homestead.
Between the rented box & doing all the I could on-line, it made dealing with moms affairs & accounts relatively manageable (i live in another state) for all the years she was in lL and then a NH and then even through probate. Perhaps this could be the solution for you as well.
So far it has worked for me.
I wish you luck!
ROSEPETAL