Question: Many people with traditional Medicare also take out "Medigap" supplement coverage. Would that have provided additional benefits here?
No. That only covers the copays, deductibles, etc -stuff you would have been out of pocket for normally. None of the cover additional benefits. The advantage to a medigap plan is that you don't get locked into an insurance company's HMO or PPO plan: you are still on Original Medicare.
According to the linked story, the previous Manor Care rehab facility treated her horribly, including falsifying her records. That's where she contracted the infections that put her back into the hospital and why she needs more rehab. Seems like that's a factor that should be taken into account. It's not like she has terminal cancer.
Well, we really don't know anything about her medical history, only the story told by her family. Hard to say what's correct, medically speaking.
Very few people would understand this kind of subtlety, especially when they are severely ill and their loved ones are scared. Maybe the doctor or somebody should be obligated to explain it all to them. But "Go home and die!" can't be the right answer under any circumstances.
Well, no, that would be a horrible thing to actually say out loud. But in effect, when a patient does not qualify for rehab facilites and they are not expected to recover . . . well, that's exactly what happens.
I would heartily recommend looking at long-term care insurance. Of course, this is useless for this woman now, but either LTC, Medicaid, other specialized programs or basically draining the assets and retirement income is how people pay for assisted living, nursing homes, etc.
