Care
Caregiving, long-term care and the end of life: getting paid to care for a parent, what Medicare and Medicaid cover, and what to decide before a crisis.
After a parent falls: what to do in the first minute, and how to prevent the next one
More than one in four adults 65 and older falls each year, according to the CDC. The right response in the first sixty seconds, and three fixes at home this weekend, change what happens next.
Before your parent applies for Medicaid, understand the 60-month look-back
When a parent applies for Medicaid long-term care, the state reviews five years of their finances. A gift made inside that window, including signing over the house, can mean months without coverage. Here is how the penalty works and how to avoid it.
Medicare does not cover long-term care. Here is what does
Medicare pays for short-term recovery in a skilled nursing facility and nothing for ongoing help with daily living. Medicaid is the program that does, and more families qualify than expect to.
You may be able to get paid to care for your parent
Most states run Medicaid programs that let the person receiving care hire their own caregiver, and in many states that caregiver can be an adult child. Here is how the programs work and how to find yours.
The three documents every family needs before a parent's health crisis
Only about one in three American adults has an advance directive, according to a study in Health Affairs. A health-care proxy, a durable financial power of attorney and an advance directive decide who is allowed to help your parent. Here is what each one does and how to get them done.
When is it time for hospice? Most families wait too long
Medicare's hospice benefit is written for a prognosis of six months or less. The median patient receives it for 18 days, according to NHPCO. Here is what the benefit covers, why it is not a one-way door, and the question that unlocks it.