The eldercare planning checklist

1. Write down what actually changed

Facilities and agencies will all ask the same first question: "what's the situation?" Two or three sentences is enough.

• What happened: a fall, a diagnosis, a hospital discharge, or a slow change that crossed a line
• What help is needed today, not someday: meals, medications, mobility, memory, being alone at night
• What's working right now, and roughly how long it can keep working

2. Gather the documents

You don't need all of these to start calling. But each one you have ready removes a delay later.

• Power of attorney: financial and healthcare. These are two separate documents.
• Advance directive / living will, if one exists
• Insurance cards: Medicare, Medicaid if applicable, any supplemental or long-term-care policy
• Medication list: names, doses, prescribing doctor. The pharmacy can print this.
• A simple financial snapshot: monthly income, savings, any long-term-care insurance. Nobody needs exact numbers yet; the range determines which options are realistic.
• Veteran? Discharge papers (DD-214). Some veterans and surviving spouses qualify for care benefits many families never hear about.

3. Know the three phrases before anyone uses them on you

• Home care: help comes to them, from a few hours a week to round-the-clock, non-medical or nursing-level
• Assisted living: they move somewhere with staff, meals, and help built in, but keep their own space
• Memory care: assisted living designed and staffed specifically for dementia, usually a secured wing or building

Which one fits is a conversation with their doctor and your family, not something a sales call should decide for you.

4. The money questions to settle early

• Medicare does not pay for ongoing help with daily living, not at home long-term and not in assisted living. Knowing this early prevents the most common planning mistake.
• Medicaid can pay for long-term care, but eligibility looks back at finances over several years. If it might apply, talk to your state's Medicaid office or an elder-law attorney sooner rather than later.
• Ask every facility or agency: what's the monthly cost, what's included, and what triggers an increase? Get it in writing.

5. Questions to ask any facility or agency

• Are you licensed, and can I see the latest state inspection report?
• What is the staff-to-resident ratio on days, nights, and weekends?
• What exactly is included in the base price? What costs extra?
• What happens if care needs increase? Can they stay, and at what cost?
• What are the contract terms for leaving: notice period, refunds, deposits?

6. Three calls that cost nothing

• Their doctor: ask for a care-needs assessment; it anchors every other decision
• Your local Area Agency on Aging: a government-funded office that explains local options for free (eldercare.acl.gov, or search "area agency on aging" plus your county)
• An elder-law attorney: one consultation, if Medicaid or family disagreement is anywhere on the horizon