Eugene J. Sauers knows putting a family member in a nursing home almost always is hard, and the former Schuylkill County resident said Wednesday he has written a book to help people cope with the many difficulties involved.
"It's very complex. The regulations are very confusing," Sauers, a Landingville native and 1950 graduate of the former Pottsville Catholic High School, said. "When this hits people, they're frantic."
Sauers, 81, of Levittown, decided to write "Medicaid, PA Nursing Homes and You" in order to guide people through those regulations and give them the knowledge to obtain medical assistance from the state Department of Public Welfare, where he worked for 27 years before retiring as manager of the Bucks County Assistance Office.
"I try to put it in layman's terms," he said.
Sauers, who has owned and operated Sauers Consultation and Services for the Elderly since his retirement in 1991 from the department, said his clients prodded him to write the book.
"I did a chapter at a time. The chapters are all about questions people have. This is the first time I ever wrote a book," he said of the 84-page volume that took him three or four months to pen. "I got good feedback."
Sauers said the book is not a money-making venture for him.
"I want people around the state to know about this," he said.
He wrote the book in a question-and-answer format, drawing on his 50 years of experience in and out of government to deal with problems facing most people who have to deal with the government and nursing homes.
"Very few families ... don't end up with someone in a nursing home," he said, noting that one in three people who reach age 65 will need nursing home care. "Unfortunately, it's very, very expensive."
Questions include the differences between Medicare, which is public insurance for the elderly and disabled, and Medicaid, which is for the financially needy; the income and wealth levels that determine whether people can obtain Medicaid; the property that will be counted toward that determination; and transfers of property that can be disregarded when considering whether someone is eligible for medical assistance.
Sauers said that provision is the most controversial of the law, since it covers any transfer within five years that was not made for adequate consideration. He also said department workers can be quite intrusive in trying to determine whether any such assets were transferred, even when such inquisitiveness is not authorized by laws and regulations.
"Not only do such needless procedures cause delays and backlogs in the application determination of eligibility, but can be very demeaning to families requesting help in obtaining Medical Assistance for their loved one," Sauers wrote. "I think they forget that they are civil servants. Their job is to serve people, not the other way around. This is most unfortunate."
He said he believes the book can help anyone who reads it.
"You might find the answer for what you can and can't do," Sauers said.
He also has a warning for people who have to deal with some private nursing homes.
"Many nursing homes are now run by for-profit firms that are only interested in the bottom line," Sauers wrote.Writer: Eugene J. Sauers
Age: 81
Residence: Levittown
Book: Medicaid, PA Nursing Homes And You
Education: Pottsville Catholic High School, diploma, 1950
Experience: Employee, supervisor and manager, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, 1964-1991; owner and operator, Sauers Consultation and Services for the Elderly, Bristol and Levittown, 1991-Present