You might have heard your parents talking about insurance a lot more lately, as the Medicare open enrollment period ends in early December. This is the time they are working on choosing their best plan or they might have met with their insurance representative. While no one wants to think about what can happen, it might be a good time for you — as the child — to understand their medical wishes, along with the basics.
1. Do You Know Their Medicare Plans?
How are your parents paying for prescriptions? Are they all set with their Medicare? For parents — and us children — all of this can be confusing. No one is immune to scammers.
According to the Ohio Department of Insurance, which put out a news release, the agency urges Ohioans to protect themselves against scams.
“With the barrage of plan options and marketing pitches, it can be difficult to discern if something is
legitimate or fraudulent,” writes
Judith L. French, director of the Ohio Department of Insurance. “Be wary of any Medicare communication seeking personal information or money in exchange for help with Medicare enrollment or services.”
It says that Medicare will never call you to sell anything, visit your home or enroll you over the phone unless you call first — they would only call and request personal information if you are a plan member or you called and left a message.
In fact, according to the release, “Medicare has implemented new marketing guidelines for representatives of Medicare plans, including prohibiting asking for personal information, such as bank account or credit card numbers over the phone, unless it is needed to process an enrollment request.”
While you don’t need to know all the details of their insurance, it might be helpful to be aware when the open enrollment happens and have a discussion about scams.
2. Do You Know Their Medications?
As we age, it seems our medications list goes up. If you find yourself taking your parents to the doctor more often or they need more care, it can be important to know what prescriptions they are taking. Most often, they have written down their prescriptions or if not, have a discussion about what they are taking and ask them to help you make a list. The list can include prescriptions and vitamins. This could be good in situations where they are incapacitated for some reason and you have to give that information to medical professionals.
3. Do you Know the Family History?
Now is a good time to talk about their family history. You can create a family timeline, record the history from your parents on video or audio.
If you haven’t already done so, also discuss the known disorders or diseases that run in the family. It’s a good idea so you can let your children know. You might want to keep a record for the future generations.
4. Do You Know Their Final Wishes?
Whether it’s you or your sibling, have a frank conversation with your parents about their final wishes. No one wants to have this discussion, but it’s helpful if something unexpected happens. Do you know if your parents have a will? Did they arrange care if they are incapacitated? Did they arrange their final resting place or what are their final wishes? Who would have power of attorney? Do they have everything written down of what they want to happen if something happens? While your parents are under no obligation to tell you everything in their will or otherwise, it would be helpful for you to have the basics of who to contact. It would also be helpful for you as a child to let them know you understand and will comply with their final wishes.
These conversations are not always easy to have with your parents. So it’s important to be respectful to them. Here are some tips:
Go Slowly: Instead of bringing these questions up all at once, ease them into the conversations in casual settings. During the holidays or regular family gatherings is not the time to bring up these topics.
Know your role: What is happening right now with your parents? Are they relying on you more for care? Have you seen a change in their medical needs? They are still your parents. Whether you are in a caregiving role or not, the purpose of the conversation is to get information and help you and your family understand potential future needs.
