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Your parent
needs care,here is what comes next
What each kind of care really is, what Medicare and Medicaid actually pay for, and what to do when it is time to say goodbye.
Start with the types of careNobody teaches you this before you need it. Most families find out what Medicare does not pay for in a hospital corridor. We read the rules, check every figure against its official source, and sell nothing.
Where to start
01Types of senior care
What each kind of care is, who it is for and who regulates it.
2 guides02Paying for care
What Medicare, Medicaid and the VA pay for, and what they do not.
3 guides03Funerals & after a death
Costs, your rights under the FTC Funeral Rule, and the paperwork after a death.
3 guidesTools you can
use today
SNF 100-day calculator
Does Medicare pay for a nursing home?
Open Tool 02Price list worksheet
How much does a funeral cost?
Open Tool 03Interactive checklist
What to do when someone dies
Open Tool 04Allowance table by date
VA burial benefits
OpenAll the guides
Assisted living vs. nursing home
How assisted living and nursing homes differ in care, oversight and who pays, with a side-by-side table and the official sources.
Does Medicare pay for a nursing home?
Medicare covers up to 100 days of skilled nursing care after a qualifying hospital stay, not long-term custodial care. See the 2026 copays and run the day calculator.
How much does a funeral cost?
National median funeral costs, what a funeral home must show you under the FTC Funeral Rule, and a worksheet to total the price list you were given.
What to do when someone dies
A step-by-step checklist for the first hours, the first week and the first months after a death, with the official agencies to notify.
Palliative care vs. hospice
Palliative care can run alongside treatment at any stage of a serious illness. Hospice is for the last months of life, when curative treatment stops. See the side-by-side table.
Medicare hospice benefit
Who qualifies for the Medicare hospice benefit, how the 90- and 60-day benefit periods work, what you pay in 2026, and what Medicare stops covering.
Does Medicare cover assisted living?
Medicare does not pay for rent, meals or personal care in assisted living. It still covers medical care for residents. See what is covered and where else to look.
VA burial benefits
The VA burial allowance amounts for deaths on or after October 1, 2026, who can claim, the 2-year time limit and the free burial and headstone benefits.