The CareCircleLog magazine
Practical reporting on the money, paperwork and daily logistics of caring for an aging parent at home.
Nine reports written for the adult child who ends up holding the pill bottles, the discharge folder and the phone. Every rule, rate and benefit named here is one you can look up, and every article says plainly what a program will not pay for. Written and checked by Jimenez Julien.
practical guide
A hospital stay rewrites a medication list in ways nobody explains at the door. Here is how to compare the discharge summary against the bottles at home, catch the holds and swaps, and finish with one list everyone trusts.
Read this report
comparison
Two services arrive at the same front door and do completely different jobs. What Medicare covers after a hospitalization, what an hourly aide does instead, and how most families end up using both at once.
Read this report
mistakes to avoid
Most families discover the hole in their paperwork at the worst possible hour. These are the errors that leave an adult child unable to talk to a doctor, a bank or Social Security, and the fix for each one.
Read this report
regulation and compliance
Federal rules and state CARE Acts give family caregivers specific rights at discharge: to be named in the record, to be trained, to see a plan and to appeal. Here is what to ask for while your parent is still in the bed.
Read this report
case study
Several state Medicaid programs pay a live in family caregiver a daily stipend. This follows one composite case built entirely from program rules, from the level of care screen to the notes the state expects every day.
Read this report
trends and outlook
Medicare now pays participating practices for dementia care navigators, a round the clock support line and a capped respite benefit. What the GUIDE Model covers, what it leaves out, and how to find a program near you.
Read this report
checklist
Falls put more older adults in the hospital than anything else that happens at home. Walk the house in this order, fix the cheap things first, and learn which changes Medicare will flatly refuse to pay for.
Read this report
numbers and benchmarks
The quoted hourly rate is only part of the bill. How an agency builds its price, why four hour minimums exist, what live in care actually means, and what changes the day you hire a caregiver directly.
Read this report
field report
PACE folds a doctor, a day center, therapy and a van route into one Medicare and Medicaid program. A walkthrough of how a center runs from the morning pickup to the team meeting, and the tradeoff families accept.
Read this reportAlmost every caregiving problem in this magazine gets easier once one medication list is correct and everyone is working from it. Our reconciliation guide walks through the discharge summary, the bottles at home and the pharmacy call that finishes the job.
How to Reconcile a Parent's Medications After a Hospital Stay
Then work outward: the eight other pieces in Kitchen Table Care each take one part of it further, and every one links back here.