The bill will go into default and not get paid. You, nor your siblings are responsible for your parents' bills. Once they go into a nursing home, unless they are independently wealthy, they will most likely end up having to be on Medicaid, and the bulk of their social security income will have to be given to the nursing home to help pay their portion of the bill. They will be allowed to keep a VERY small portion (like $60 a month) for "incidental expenses" like clothing and personal supplies. There will be no money for paying other bills, including credit cards.
This will need to be explained to the credit card companies. Do not let them talk you into paying the bill yourself - you're not required to. It's not your bill. The bill may end up going into collections if the company does not write it off - you'll just have to ignore it and keep in mind that if your parents are going into a nursing home, their credit rating will no longer matter, so even if the bill goes to collections, it's not going to do anything. They can't collect from someone who has no funds.
I'm speaking from experience here. I had to deal with this when my mother went into a nursing home, and then when she passed away. Only one company was difficult about it and tried to get me to pay the bill from her estate - there was no money in the estate, but they wouldn't accept my statement about that and pursued collection. I told them to go ahead and try to collect from my deceased mother if they were determined to do so.
This will need to be explained to the credit card companies. Do not let them talk you into paying the bill yourself - you're not required to. It's not your bill. The bill may end up going into collections if the company does not write it off - you'll just have to ignore it and keep in mind that if your parents are going into a nursing home, their credit rating will no longer matter, so even if the bill goes to collections, it's not going to do anything. They can't collect from someone who has no funds.
I'm speaking from experience here. I had to deal with this when my mother went into a nursing home, and then when she passed away. Only one company was difficult about it and tried to get me to pay the bill from her estate - there was no money in the estate, but they wouldn't accept my statement about that and pursued collection. I told them to go ahead and try to collect from my deceased mother if they were determined to do so.