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Caregivers ask Georgia senators for better discharge education and Medicare rehab coverage tied to need
Summary
In public comment at an Augusta hearing, family caregivers urged changes to Medicare and hospital discharge practices to extend rehab coverage based on clinical need, improve training given to families at discharge, and increase employer and community supports for caregivers.
During the public comment portion of the Senate study committee meeting, family caregivers described long caregiving trajectories and asked the committee to consider specific changes to improve patient recovery and reduce family burden.
Katrina Holmes (speaking for her brother Terry Holmes) recounted a decade of 24/7 care after their father's 2015 stroke and pressed for Medicare policy changes: shorten medically unnecessary hospital stays, extend skilled rehabilitation coverage when clinically indicated and replace arbitrary lifetime psychiatric day caps with need-based coverage. Holmes argued that longer, medically driven rehab stays reduce long-term family burden and can be more cost-effective than prolonged hospital stays.
Committee members and other attendees emphasized gaps in discharge education and the timing when families are given navigation and training resources. One commenter proposed requiring hospital social workers to provide a recommended training plan and resource list before discharge. Caregivers also asked employers to include practical caregiver education in leave or paid-care benefits.
Senators did not adopt specific policy changes at the meeting; presenters and committee members agreed to examine coverage, discharge planning and employer benefit models in follow-up sessions.
