Information nursing homes need to admit you

After choosing a nursing home, you'll plan for admission. When you contact the nursing home, it's helpful to have the following close by:

Payment information

Information about any health care coverage and long-term care insurance you have that pays for nursing home care, health care, or both. This includes the name of the insurance company and the policy number.

If Medicare or Medicaid will cover your nursing home stay, the nursing home can’t require you to pay a cash deposit. They may ask that you pay your Medicare coinsurance amounts and other charges you normally would have to pay. If Medicare or Medicaid won’t cover your nursing home stay, you may have to pay a cash deposit before you’re admitted.

Health & contact information

This includes your:

• Medical history (like a list of your past health problems, surgeries or other treatments, shots you've had, and food or drug allergies).
• Current health status (like a list of your current health problems, recent diagnostic test results, and information about any activities of daily living that you have trouble doing by yourself).
• Current prescriptions, including dose, how often you take it, and why you take it.
• Contact information (names, addresses, and phone numbers) for your health care providers.
• Contact information for family members, in case of an emergency.
• Health care advance directives.

Personal needs accounts

You may want to open an account the nursing home manages, although the nursing home can’t require this. You can deposit money into the account for personal use. Check with the nursing home to find out how they manage these accounts and how often you’d be able to access your account.