--- title: "Medicare Advantage for caregivers" description: "How to help a parent compare Medicare Advantage plans: authorization, medication audits, checking doctors and extra benefits." url: https://seniorchoicecare.com/medicare-advantage/caregivers-guide/ updated: 2026-10-09 site: Senior Choice Care --- Medicare Advantage # Medicare Advantage for caregivers helping a parent choose a plan 2027 plan year Talk a plan through with a licensed agent Free, no obligation, no pressure. Have your doctors and prescriptions nearby. [](#) TTY 711. Mon to Fri, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you have become the person who manages the appointments, the pills and the paperwork, the annual plan review is now your job too. It is more manageable than it looks. **We do not offer every plan available in your area.** Currently we represent a small number of insurance agencies and the plans they carry. Please contact Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), 24 hours a day / 7 days a week, or your local State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options. We are an independent information and referral resource. We are not connected with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the United States government, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or the federal Medicare program. Calling a number on this page connects you with a licensed insurance agent or a third-party marketing partner. ## Get authorization in place first Before anyone will discuss your parent's coverage with you, you need permission on file. The usual pieces are a signed authorization for Medicare to share health information with you, a health care power of attorney if you may need to make decisions, and the privacy release forms your parent's doctors ask for. ## Audit the medicine cabinet Sit down with the actual bottles and write down the exact name, strength and dose of everything. Then check each one against the drug list of any plan you are considering. This is the step that catches the most expensive surprises, because insurers re-tier their drug lists every year. ## Confirm every doctor before you commit Call each practice and ask which plans they will be in network with next year. Ask about the specialists too, not just the primary care doctor, and note that a single large health system may be in network with one plan and out of network with another. ## Look for the extras that actually help a caregiver Some plans include benefits that lighten the load: rides to appointments, an allowance for over-the-counter supplies, or delivered meals for a period after a hospital stay. These vary widely and are worth asking about directly, because they are easy to miss in a summary of benefits. ## One more thing: the plan itself is not the whole plan Insurance covers medical care. It does not cover help with bathing, meals or supervision, and it does not pay for assisted living. If those needs are coming, it is worth talking them through at the same time so you are not surprised later. ## Request a plan review Prefer not to call? Leave your name, phone number and ZIP code and a licensed insurance agent will reach out to compare the plans available where you live against the doctors and prescriptions you use. ## Keep reading - [**medicare advantage**](https://seniorchoicecare.com/medicare-advantage/) - [** in home care assisted living**](https://seniorchoicecare.com/medicare-advantage/in-home-care-assisted-living/) --- Canonical page: https://seniorchoicecare.com/medicare-advantage/caregivers-guide/