Contact Medicare 1-800-633-4227 or Medicare.gov for information about Medicare and how it can help pay for your parent’s care.  Medicare paid for my father-in-law’s dialysis, hospital stays, rehab stays, hospital bed rental and visits to the doctor.  Between Medicare and AARP supplemental insurance most of his care was covered.  We estimate that his care over seven years cost close to $1,000,000.

To find out what other programs are available go to http://www.benefitscheckup.com/ and fill out the questionnaire.  It takes about thirty minutes to complete but when you finish you will know all the local, state, and federal programs that can help you pay for you mom’s care.

Use the Institute of Financial Planners at www.ICFP.org or call 1-800-322-4237 to find a certified financial planner to help you sort through your parent’s financial affairs.

A reverse mortgage could free up money to pay for their care.  There are issues you need to consider when thinking about a reverse mortgage.  Go to the National Center for Home Equity Conversion at www.reverse.org for critical information.

I have other phone numbers and web sites for the legal, housing, and medical aspects of eldercare that I’ll get out to you shortly.

Or you can go to HomeCareSurvival.com and sign up for my Action and Implementation Program.