Nineteen questions to ask before your parent leaves the hospital, in the order you’ll need them.
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What’s on it
- Before you start: Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan, and any Medigap policy
- Status and timing: inpatient or observation, the planned discharge date, and the Medicare notices
- What comes next, and whether coverage applies
- Choosing an agency or facility, and which ones have openings
- What your family can and can’t provide
- Leaving: medicines, equipment, the first home health visit, follow-up, warning signs and the fast appeal deadline
How to use it
Ask whether your parent is an inpatient or under observation early, and ask again if anything changes. It can decide what Medicare pays for after the hospital.
Say early and specifically what your family can and can’t do. Write down each answer and who gave it.
Where it comes from
This tool comes from Chapter 12, “When the Hospital Says Your Parent Can't Go Home Alone,” of When Mom or Dad Can No Longer Manage Alone by Mark Duda. The chapter covers what to do when the hospital says your parent can’t go home alone.
Related reading on this site
- They’re sending her home Thursday
- When Medicare stops paying for rehab
- Why the Hospital Is Discharging Your Parent Faster in 2026
- The Discharge Decision: Rehab, Nursing Facility, or Home
- Medication Schedule: a free printable daily and weekly chart
- Emergency Information Sheet: a free printable for the refrigerator door
All 18 tools from the book are on the printable tools page.
The tools may be printed and copied for personal use within your own family. They are not medical, legal or financial advice.