We are selling my mother's home hopefully soon as she is now in a memory care home. I want to have all her mail forwarded to my home so we don't miss anything. Are there any pitfalls I need to know about? I have POA but do not want to be considered responsible personally for any of her bills. Her bills currently I pay out of her checking account which she is aware of.
Also, since I do not have guardianship or medical POA, is there anything I need to know about renewing Medicare part D? Is it automatic? I have so many papers arriving from Medicare/Humana that it's overload at this point.
If you don't know how to do this do go to an elder law attorney. They can fill you in.
This is paid for by your POA document and falls under expert advice.
You need a file for each bill and record of when/how paid and copy of check paid with.
You need to call all insurance, including the supplemental insurance. Medicare will be automatic, but other is not.
Again, this is not a choice. You are POA. You can't pick and choose what you will deal with. You are acting for your Mom on ALL OF HER OBLIGATIONS.
Please do see an attorney to be certain how to do all of this. That's crucial. You need to have meticulous records.
Your first year of this is going to be onerous and I know it because I did it, setting everything up. After that it will run smoothly.
I suggest you separate Medicare statements from the supplimental statements and put them by date of service. Match them up then match to the bills. Medicare statement will show amount billed, amount Medicare approves and amount actually paid (20% less than approved amt) the balance is then sent on to your suppliment. The balance should be paid by the suppliment if not this is amt the provider will bill. The one way there maybe a balance due the provider is if a deductable has not been met or in my case we have to share the 20%. Providers bill Medicare first, then Medicare sends payment info to the supplimental on file.
Be aware that Medicare sends statements out regularly. They may also send a quarterly one showing everything for that quarter. Put those statements aside, it gets confusing. They are just repeating what they already sent. They do come in handy if you don't have the original statement though. As a POA you are not held personally responsible for her bills. Make sure any checks you sign have POA behind your name. If Mom runs out of money, she has no money to pay bills.