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when a commercial comes on saying they will save him money, Dad calls and signs up.

H. Are you POA?
If you are, do know that now is the time to take over all financial executive function. This is fairly minor, but your father and a phone aren't a good match now if he has management of his money, accounts and bills. This endangers him.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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I got a RAZ Mobility phone for my Mom. She was making and taking inappropriate calls. I control everything from an app on my phone: allowed contacts; when she can call, when she can receive calls; keypad function or turned off so that she can't call any other numbers. It's been great -- it looks like a smart phone but there's no internet or data plan. I can put alert messages on hers that pop up at scheduled times ("Put your hearing aids in") and it reminds her to charge it. Once you purchase the phone you add it to your phone plan and there are no other fees. I highly recommend it.
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Reply to Geaton777
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Thank you all. He has short term memory loss and is very susceptible to ads. If a health plan has a 5 star rating, those can be signed up for any time of the year. I think I found a way to change his phone settings so he can only call people on his contact list. I’ll try that for now.
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Reply to Hiyacynth
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funkygrandma59 Jul 16, 2025
Hiyacynth, the 5 star special enrollment plan can only be used once per year, so your dad cannot keep switching his healthcare plans.
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Is he competent? If so there is nothing you can do.
If he is not competent then whoever is POA should be restricting this type of change.
If he somewhat comprehends you can tell him that changing often can make it more difficult to find a doctor if he ever has to see one other than the ones he is currently seeing.
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Reply to Grandma1954
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Ok, now I'm confused. If your dad is on Medicare he can only change his plan during the open enrollment period which is Oct. 15th through Dec. 7th.
And if he has a Medicare Advantage plan that can only be changed Jan. 1st through March 31st.
And I know that even wanting to change lets say your original PCP to another, when on an Advantage plan, you have to be able to give your original Medicare number before any changes can be made.
That seems like a lot to try and figure out for someone who has dementia.
So unless your dad doesn't have dementia or isn't yet on Medicare yet, this isn't making any sense to me.
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Reply to funkygrandma59
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With Alzheimer's, your father now needs constant supervision to keep him safe and his affairs in order. In home help is required or placement in managed care.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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My mom does the same thing. Healthcare, car insurance, homeowner's insurance, cell phone provider, etc., etc., etc. It is so frustrating!
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Reply to SRWCF1972
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