Living with it
Your father has Alzheimer’s or another dementia. The care is hard. The coordination does not have to be.
Dementia is the diagnosis that turns a patient into a whole household. The person who used to manage their own appointments cannot, the person who used to remind them to take medication is now the one confused, and every doctor’s visit needs a second set of ears. About 7 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s. Almost all of them are cared for by family.
Prefer to speak with someone? Call 628 234 2273 (NAV-234-CARE). Free initial call. No obligation.
Does this sound familiar?
You are probably here because of one of these.
You may have searched for
- “dad diagnosed with alzheimer's what do i do”
- “help caring for parent with dementia”
- “medicare dementia care”
- Appointments get missed or double-booked because your parent cannot track them and will not let you.
- Medications are taken twice, or not at all.
- The neurologist, the primary care doctor and the cardiologist do not seem to talk to each other.
- Your parent is still driving, or still cooking, and you are not sure it is safe.
- You have heard about a Medicare “care planning visit” and nobody has offered one.
- You are grieving someone who is still here, and doing their paperwork at the same time.
The part nobody explains
What is actually going on
Dementia care is mostly coordination: getting a proper evaluation, aligning several doctors around one medication list, making the home safe, arranging supervision, and planning for stages that have not arrived yet. Medicare covers more of this than most families use, including a dedicated cognitive assessment and care planning visit, and since 2024 a new model program (GUIDE) that pays for dementia care navigation and respite in participating practices.
The hard part is that every piece requires a phone call your parent can no longer make and you do not have time for. A navigator does not treat dementia. A navigator makes sure the people who do are all working from the same plan, and that the household around your parent can hold.
How a navigator helps
Your doctor recommends the care. We help you follow through.
One dedicated person who learns your situation, makes the calls, coordinates the next steps and follows up on what happens. Here is what that looks like for this situation.
We help get the evaluation and the plan
A proper diagnosis, a cognitive assessment and care planning visit, and a written plan from the physician. We coordinate the appointments and make sure the family knows what was decided.
We align the medication list
Multiple doctors, multiple prescriptions, one confused patient. We help get a single reconciled list to the pharmacist and the doctors, and help set up pill packaging or reminders that work.
We help make the home safer
Wandering, stove safety, falls, medication storage. We help identify home-safety resources and community programs, and coordinate what your parent agrees to.
We find the support that exists
Adult day programs, respite, the Alzheimer’s Association helpline, Medicaid waiver services, veterans’ benefits, and GUIDE-participating practices where available.
We keep the family informed and the patient in control
Your parent decides what is shared, for as long as they are able to. Authorized family members get the same updates, so decisions are made together rather than by whoever answered the phone.
Medicare may cover Navigate Care.
Medicare Part B covers Community Health Integration services for eligible patients when everyday challenges are affecting their health or access to care.
Questions families ask
Does Medicare cover dementia care coordination?
Medicare Part B covers a cognitive assessment and care planning visit with the physician, and may cover Community Health Integration services for eligible patients when practical challenges affect their care. Some practices also participate in Medicare’s GUIDE dementia care model, which adds navigation and respite benefits. We help you find out what applies.
My parent will not accept the diagnosis. Can you still help?
Yes, carefully. Many families begin with practical help that does not use the word dementia: “someone to keep the appointments straight”. Services begin only with your parent’s agreement, and we work with the doctor they trust.
Will you help with placement decisions later?
We help you understand the options, the costs and what Medicare and Medicaid do and do not pay for, and we coordinate the practical steps. The decision stays with your family and your parent.
Guides
Guides that go deeper on this
Our guides go deeper on each part of this situation. They are free, sourced and written for families doing this for the first time.
Memory loss, dementia and Medicare: what's actually covered
Testing, treatment, care planning and the benefits most families never hear about — explained without the jargon.
Your father was just diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The first 30 days.
What to do while the news is still new: the documents, the doctor visit Medicare pays for, the safety questions, and how to talk about it with him.
When your parent refuses help at home
“I don’t need a stranger in my house.” Why that is the most predictable sentence in caregiving, and the approaches that get past it.
Nursing home, assisted living or home care: choosing, and paying
Four settings, wildly different costs, and one Medicare rule almost every family misreads. Here's what each actually provides and who pays for it.
PACE: the Medicare program that keeps a nursing-home-eligible parent at home
One team, one building, one phone number for every medical and social need, with no copays and no deductibles. It is the best-kept secret in long-term care, and it is only available in some places.
Caregiver burnout: the second patient nobody schedules
The person doing everything is quietly running out. Here's what respite actually looks like — and how to accept it.
Planning ahead: the documents and conversations families postpone
Power of attorney, advance directives, and the talk nobody wants to start — easier now than in a hospital hallway.
Often goes with
You cannot slow the disease. You can stop drowning in the logistics.
Tell us what is happening. We will listen, check whether Navigate Care can help and explain the next step.
Or call 628 234 2273 (NAV-234-CARE). Free initial call. No obligation.