If you or a loved one are considering the option of living in a nursing home, a Nursing Home Pre-Admission Screening  by Area IV staff is required. This screening can determine if alternative options for care may be available for you.

Goal: To identify appropriate long-term care services for each specific health situation.

The Nursing Home Pre-admission Screening program is a state and federal requirement for every individual seeking entrance to an Indiana licensed nursing home (long-term care facility). This process can help evaluate the applicant’s health situation and provide information on possible admittance to a nursing facility or it may provide options as to alternative care.

How to pay for Nursing Home Care:

• Private Pay
• Indiana Medicaid (the nursing home must have a specially paid Medicaid bed available and the person must apply for Medicaid).
• If the person is married, there is protection against the other spouse losing all income and assets. Contact Link-Age for a brochure about the Spousal Impoverishment Protection Program.

Information Needed To Make a Nursing Home Pre-Admission Screening Referral

• Patient’s Full Name
• Address and phone number
• Birth Date
• Social Security Number
• Medicaid Number (if applicable)
• Monthly Income
• Assets (bank accounts, 401K, stocks/bonds, trusts, CDs)
• Monthly Medical Expenses
• Cost of Medicare Part B and D
  • Do they receive Extra Help through Medicaid or Social Security to pay for Parts B & D?
  • Cost of a Medigap policy
  • Monthly out of pocket expenses for prescription drugs
  • Monthly expenses for overdue medical bills
  • Monthly cost of Psychiatric Care
  • Monthly cost for private pay In-Home Services
  • Out of pocket costs for over the counter medications, supplements and incontinence products
• Medical Diagnosis and primary care physician name
• Date of most recent hospital or nursing facility stay
• Name, address and phone numbers for family member, caregiver, and/or emergency contact person – especially if the person has dementia
• The types of things that the patient cannot do for him/herself, such as their ability to bathe, to feed themselves, to transfer from bed to standing/chair, to dress themselves, etc. There will be a complete assessment done of these abilities or disabilities.
  
  Download a PDF version of a helpful chart. PDFs require Adobe Reader to Open/Read/Download.

Contact the Link-Age Information and Referral Department to make the referral for in-home services.

Other Information

Find Nursing Home Ratings

• Indiana State Dept. of Health 
• Medicare website 

Obtain information and assistance from the Nursing Home Ombudsman

• Andrea Smothers, Legal Services, 765-423-5327 or 800-382-7581
• Indiana Office of the State Long Term Care Ombudsman, 1-800-622-4484

For the following, contact Link-Age Information and Referral Dept.

• “How to Choose a Nursing Home”
• A listing of nursing homes in the Area IV 8-county area