Alzheimer's Disease Support Group

No ideas about your Mom in California. Cal is different than the rest of the country. Out here, we simply die and/or sleep in someone's shed if we don't advance prepare.

Yes, you need coverage. Period. But from where is a main concern.

Yes, you need to buy whatever coverage you can get before her diagnosis becomes part of your medical history. Even your life insurance rates can increase.

Keep in mind this:

If you buy through your employer and quit or get laid off/fired, is that coverage portable - and then, will its cost be affordable to you forever, since you probably get a discount as an employee?

If you can get A-F-L-A-C, by all means do. The Duck offers coverage through some organizations/clubs, so check that out. You should tell your employer to get it, if they don't already have it. The employer can offer it pre-tax (until Obama & his congress takes it away by making health insurance benefits taxable) and it is IN CONJUNCTION with any other insurance the employer offers, not instead of. I don't even think they OFFER health insurance.

I had purchased a short term disability policy from them. Wish I'd gotten a long term as well but my employer covered long term so I thought I would be fine. Then I had to quit work. I then had no more LTD.

The Duck was portable. The Duck paid very well for the 6 months STD policy I purchased. And because I am became permanently disabled, I don't have to pay the premium for my life insurance policy at all and it is in full force and effect (a Duck perk that will take care of my husband, also disabled, after I die). I also have a couple other policies that were portable when I quit work (cancer and something else, I forget right now). But I TOOK THEM WITH ME.

They are affordable and sooooo worth it! Cancer policy pays for itself partially by giving me $75 a year for any cancer screening like a mam, gyn checkup, chest xray, lots of others.

You are young. I was too a very short time ago. Former athletic and successful, now 52, damn near dead. No health insurance. Too much income for medicaid and not enough income to pay doctors and tests. PREPARE NOW! QUICK WHILE YOU CAN!

Think P-O-R-T-A-B-L-E at all times.

Hugs!

Hopefully, these issues will be addressed if we pass the new health program , whatever that may be. Other than that I can't advise you because my husband is a veteran and he is getting 100% coverage. Try the ALZ association in your area, I'm sure they info about this topic.

The others have addressed the insurance side of this and I can't really add anything more. I live in Alaska and my husband was already on SSI do to a disability when he developed AD so he was already covered by medicare and medicad.
However your mom has early onset which as you know is inherited so while you should do what you can to make sure you will have coverage if and when you need it I would urge you to become very proactive about your health NOW before there is any sign of the disease.
We know so much more about AD now then in the past and there ARE things you can do to help stop or slow the onset starting with diet and taking vitamins and supplements that protect the brain. This has all been talked about on other topics here but you can never say it to often.
Research has shown there is a direct link between the APOE4 gene and early onset AD, this is not true for the late onset form of the disease, and while there is not real test for it yet an extremely good clue your in danger is having higher then normal cholesterol levels in your blood. Alzheimers is caused by amyloids wrapping themselves around brain cells and isolating and killing them. The APOE4 gene is responsibile for their removal as well as the levels of cholesterol in your system. When it is NOT reducing the cholesterol it is also NOT removing the amyloids. Get check, if your levels are elevated start taking meds to reduce them NOW. If they are normal start a diet that will help keep them that way and recheck at least once a year. Research is also showing that signs of AD are turning up in people as young as 25.
So a mediteranian diet, one high in fruits and vegetables and low in fats is good, ditto with the middle eastern diet but it has the added benefit of being high in turmeric and research has shown that CURCUMIN, the stuff that makes turmeric yellow, may have the power to even prevent AD. that is being researched now and the early results have most researches adding this to their family diet and active doctors in the research rxing it to their patients.
For brain health you should be (and so should your mom) taking :
Vitamin D, 1-3,000 units a day depending on how much natural sun you are getting.
Vitamin B-3...folic acid I think about 40mg a day
Firsh oil, if you are getting cod liver oil you may want to reduce the amount of Vitamin D as it also has this and that is a vitamin that is stored in body fat and you can potentialy over dose on it.
Vitamin E 1,000mg a day
Those are the basics that help protect our brains.
I keep urging my children to take these steps, so far they are all ignoring me and since both their father and grandmother had early onset I fear their denial will end up costing at least some of them very dearly.

Georgia w gave you some great advice and I would like to add one more to the mix.

Wheatgrass it provides oxygen to the brain .
Google it . It's good stuff .

My mom has living with us for the six years their was no long term insurance.I have trouble with the homes anyway. I Haven't found good one yet.

I recently heard that wheatgrass would help with losing weight for some reason every pound my mom loses sticks to me. So I found a local health food store that had it.

I've been researching it and ad is one of the things it is suspose to help . I gave my mom a 1oz this morning . This the first time and hopefully this will help her mind will come back to the 21st century .

Right now all she dose is play with rattles and chew blankets like an infant.. She's been bed redden since last Jan . She hasn't walked since 2004.



Good luck and take care..

Next time I'm out I'll see if I can find some wheat grass and see if it helps me with the weight, seems like nothing I do helps take it off and I know I'd feel so much better if I could lose about half a human :>)

Wow, cilla, I can't believe your mom has been in a bed since 2004, that just made my heart sink when I read that. Gosh, my mom is up and still walking around but very confused. I am also going through the same thing financially, mom is on medicaid, hopefully, it actually hasn't been approved yet but now I am already thinking, how am I going to bury this woman and my father also for that matter when the time comes, I am an only child and have 4 children and grandchildren it is not in my budget at all to pay for this. I feel guilty for not being able to take care of them and then angry that I have to. Especially because I know they both made very good money and have been able to take care of this and they just didnt. Then as far as my mom goes, she had life Insurance for a while but while living at the boyfriends house she/he quit paying the premiums and now no insurance. I will keep you all in my prayers, life is just crazy.

I am so amazed at the care some of you are giving to your loved ones. I don't know how you all do it and I congratulate all of you. You are all going down in my books as saints.!!!!

I just joined this forum and think it's a great resource for people! There have not been any posts lately so I was curious if the LTC insurance came through?

Also is either your father or mother a veteran? There is a well kept secret with the VA that can help pay for care. There are some criteria attached. Let me know if you want more information.