A client who is at 67 years of age is asking the nurse how he will afford his hospitalization, which has now been extended and involves extremely expensive drugs. The best response by the nurse is:

Question

1. "Don't worry. I'm sure everything will work out okay.".
2. "You need to focus on recovering and not worry about finances.".
3. "Much of your care will be covered by Medicare.".
4. "I'll have someone from the business office come and talk to you about your bill.".

Answer 1

3. "Much of your care will be covered by Medicare.".

Rationale:
The Medicare amendments to the Social Security Act and their subsequent expansions provide a national and state health insurance program that includes extremely expensive hospital care and prescription drug coverage for adults over the age of 65. Ignoring the client's concerns by telling him not to worry is not therapeutic communication and does little, if anything, to confront the client's concerns. Passing the concern to the business office does not address the client's concerns. Nurses should have some knowledge about the payment sources of their clients, especially those who have automatic coverage with Medicare because of their age.