If you are part of the “sandwich generation” where you are both taking care of children and aging parents, you are not alone. Part of caring for a senior citizen is knowing when to step in and help and doing that in a way that doesn’t deprive your parent of the dignity of handling their own affairs. There is no guideline or rule on this. The best approach is to stay in constant communication and when you hear your senior citizen express frustration with an aspect of their lives, offer to “help out” by “organizing” that part of their affairs.
If ever there is a frustrating aspect of living that is a part of their lives, like it or not, it is Medicare and the concern for how much of the senior’s medical needs will be covered in the event he or she needs medical coverage. Because it is inevitable that all senior citizens will need medical care from time to time and most senior citizens need it frequently, learning how Medicare works is important as is knowing and what you as the primary caregiver must do to make sure your senior is covered.
It is no secret that Medicare does not cover every medical issue that will come up in a senior citizen’s life. You know that because of the abundance of commercials on television for Medicare supplement programs that are provided to give that extra financial support when a senior needs medical care that exceeds what Medicare will provide. Just like all forms of insurance, the policies and the differences between the good Medicare supplement suppliers and the crooks is hard to know. But one decision you and your senior parent or grandparent will need to work together to make is what kind of Medicare supplement program to get and which one to select.
Like all insurance decisions, every choice you make is a gamble. If you go for very basic coverage or to go with no additional Medicare supplement help at all, you are gambling that the senior will not have a medical situation arise that will become a financial stress once the Medicare help runs out. On the other extreme, if you buy Medicare supplement insurance that covers every part of the Medicare plan and provides coverage for every possible contingency, the premiums may be far more than your senior can afford.
The key to making a good decision is to mitigate that risk and find a plan that puts you somewhere between those two extremes. Sorting out who to use will call on you to use the same common sense you have always employed of asking for references, talking to other seniors about what plans work for them and working with your existing insurance agencies that you trust for guidelines. This is the common sense that has served you and your senior parent well for a long time. In fact, it is probably the common sense your now elderly parent taught you as a child. It seems right to use that judgment they gave you to find the best Medicare supplement help for their needs during this important time of mom or dad’s life.
