Elders are often confused when trying to navigate the Medicare maze. Oftentimes, an adult child may step in to lend a hand.
However, if you want to speak with Medicare on behalf of your parent, you have to have the right legal document in place first.
In order to talk to Medicare on behalf of an elderly parent, a caregiver must be appointed as an official representative. To obtain access to your parent's Medicare records, you have to fill out an Appointment of Representative Form. Get the form from the Social Security office. It's important to take this step ahead of time. Once your parent becomes incapacitated it's too late. You will have to go to court to be named legal guardian, or get power of attorney or else you won't be able to act on your parent's behalf.
You can download the form from the Department of Health and Human Services Center for Medicare & Medicaid services website: https://www.cms.gov/cmsforms/downloads/cms1696.pdf