How can I manage my deceased dad's medical bills?

Honestly I wouldn't burden yourself with this. If Medicare isn't helping you to get things paid, then they go unpaid. Once your father is deceased, the debts are wrote off.

I, personally, would not pay anyone a dime out of my own pocket. I agree with Mistyds but I don't understand why some of the services won't bill Medicare? EVERYONE billed Medicare and BC/BS after my father died and they were paid. The services were rendered when he was alive. This doesn't make sense.

Medical bills were debts of your dads. They are not debts of the trust.

They flat need to bill Medicare and whatever secondary insurer dad had.

Your dad did the trust most likely for asset protection and to avoid probate. The trust is its own free standing legal entity. Bills don't say "Trust xYZ" but "John smith" or "estate of John Smith". John smith is dead and if there's no probate opened then no estate. There is nothing or nobody, the vendors can go after. The bill becomes debt written off.

rotten deal i agree with the one that said he is gone not your problem ..well you could send the bill collector a copy of death certificate & tell them here is proof he is gone ... aint like they can go to heaven to collect sorry you got to go thru it they probably get a tax write off anyway

You don't have to submit anything to Medicare of anyone else. Of course, they want you to do all the footwork because you're free. You don't have to pay anything---they are your father's bills and if Medicare doesn't pay, the providers can sue the estate and go to court to get it figured out. The most important thing is to NEVER sign or verbally say that you will pay the bills---it is not your responsibility. If the providers knew that Medicare wasn't going to pay, they shouldn't have given the services. And you're right---for secondary insurance to pay the claims have to go through Medicare first. I would send a registered, return receipt letter to the providers that are giving you a hard time to let them know it is their responsibility to submit claims to Medicare, not yours, and your father's debts are not yours so you are not going to pay them with your own money---they can file the claims with Medicare & secondary insurance and then if they want to pursue more money, they can take the proper legal measures to do so. Take the letter to the post office, send it out, then go home & shred all paperwork from the providers. If they contact you by phone, don't talk to them, and if they contact you in writing then shred the letters. You've said all that needs to be said. Providers & their billing departments know exactly what they're doing with this---they do it all the time. If they can find a gullible family member to acknowledge responsibility for the debts, they accomplished their mission. Let them do their jobs---that's what they get paid for.

Is this situation a plus or minus for trusts vs. estates? I will be redoing my will, etc., next year and am considering a living trust rather than a POA.

You are not responsible in any way for your dad's bills. If they won't talk to you, frankly, that's not your problem. Providers have your dad's insurance information and they know how to submit claims. They will have to be satisfied with whatever the insurance companies give them. Believe me, they do this every day. Don't let them play you for a fool. You're not obligated to even speak to them.

Personally, the only thing I would do is send creditors is a copy of the death certificate. They must realize that they cannot collect from someone who has passed away and frankly, no one else has liability for this debt. If Medicare is giving the provider a hassle, that's between the provider and Medicare.

Tell Medicare to go somewhere

I would first get a hold of your dad's death certificate through the county. Another thing that would help is giving a copy of that death certificate to whoever should know he died. You keep the original copy that you paid for, so take the one that does not say void and just make copies to send to whoever is concerned. As for the letters you may be getting, return them with a copy of the death certificate.  as long as your name was not on the bills, you're not responsible for paying them. If they want to go after assets, they can do so at their discretion. If there are no assets and nothing to get, I guess they are screwed. As mentioned here, don't pay a dime out of your own money. If there's nothing to get, then I guess they won't be collecting and all the bills should be wrote off

I am not sure but I think if the Probate Division in your county appoints you the Executor, you should have no problem. Also contact the Office on Aging in your county for help. Do not submit to Medicare and expect to be reimbursed. The people who gave him services should file the Medicare claims, not you.

There is one piece of information missing in all of these answers. Not all medical care providers participate with Medicare. In that case, the provider cannot submit claims to Medicare. These providers expect to be paid by the patient and then the patient can submit paperwork to Medicare to be reimbursed at the Medicare rate. Some providers no longer participate in Medicare due to decreased reimbursement rates and the new requirements for participation.

Do NOT pay one cent out of your own pocket. When we were trying to determine what we would do with my late mother, many a professional told us "do not use your own money."