How Can I Get Medicare to Send Me Parent's Paperwork

Medicare -- through the Social Security Administration -- has a fairly simple procedure to help set things up the way you and your parent want it.

If your parent is still competent to make decisions, she can call the Social Security Administration at (800) 772-1213 and request a change of official address for her Medicare paperwork. Your parent must make this call -- Social Security will not allow you to make the change on your own. Your parent should have her Medicare card handy when she makes the call.

If your parent is incapable of managing her own affairs, you can become what's called a "representative payee" for your parent. Once completed, this puts all Social Security and Medicare paperwork in your name, on your parent's behalf. To begin this process, you can either call the Social Security Administration (at the number above) or you can go to the Social Security Administration website's special representative payee page. If you already have a Power of Attorney for Finances regarding your parent, or if a [LINK]guardianship or conservatorship has been established for your parent, Social Security will ask for copies of the documents establishing this legal relationship.