Do not sign an admission agreement as a personally responsible party. You can sign as your parent's agent or representative, which is a different thing, and the distinction can be the difference between managing a bill and owing one.
If you are reading this in a hospital corridor with a clipboard in your hand, that is the sentence that matters.
The signature line
Admission packets often include language that could be read as a personal guarantee of payment by whoever signs. Facilities generally cannot require a third-party guarantee as a condition of admission, but that does not stop the form from being placed in front of you with a pen.
Sign in a representative capacity. Write it out. Your name, as agent under power of attorney for your father, or as his authorized representative. Do not sign your name alone on a line that says responsible party without reading what that party is responsible for.
Ask this before anything else
Is this facility Medi-Cal certified, and does it have a Medi-Cal certified bed available? A facility can be certified in general and still be placing your parent in a bed that is not. If you learn nothing else on the tour, learn this. It determines whether your parent can stay once private funds run out.
Discharge planning moves faster than you do
Hospital discharge planners work on short timelines and they are not being cruel, they are managing a bed. But the pace means families make placement decisions in a day that they will live with for years. You are allowed to ask for time. You are allowed to ask what happens if you say no to the first option.
“Nine out of ten of my elder law calls come from an adult daughter standing outside a hospital room. The most useful thing I tell her is usually not legal at all: you can slow this down by twenty-four hours, and twenty-four hours is often enough to find a better bed.”
Delia Vasquez-HartRights that exist whether or not anyone mentions them
- Written notice before an involuntary transfer or discharge, with a right to appeal
- Participation in care planning, including by the resident's representative
- Freedom from unnecessary restraints, physical or chemical
- Access to visitors and to the resident's own records
- The ability to file a complaint with the state licensing agency and with the Long-Term Care Ombudsman
The Ombudsman is the resource families use least and benefit from most. It is free, it is independent of the facility, and a call from that office changes behavior in a way that a call from an angry son does not.
The eviction you did not expect
Facilities sometimes attempt to move residents out when private funds run low and Medi-Cal is pending, or after a hospitalization when the bed has been filled. There are notice requirements and appeal rights attached to that. If your parent receives a transfer or discharge notice, the deadline on it is real and short. Do not wait a week to make the call.
Questions we get asked
I already signed as responsible party. What now?
Bring the agreement in. What you signed, in what capacity, and what the language actually says all matter, and the outcome is often better than the wording made you fear on the day.
Can the facility refuse my mother because her Medi-Cal application is pending?
Admission practices vary and pending status raises real practical issues, but a facility's Medi-Cal certification and bed availability are the questions to press. Get the answers in writing where you can.
They want to discharge my father back home and he cannot walk. Can they?
There are notice requirements and appeal rights for transfers and discharges. Read the date on the notice and call immediately, because appeal windows are short.
Do I need a power of attorney to act for my parent?
It makes everything easier, and if your parent still has capacity, get one signed this week. Without it you may be looking at a conservatorship, which is slower, public, and considerably more expensive.
If someone has handed you an admission packet today, photograph every page including the back sides and call (310) 555-0219. We read admission agreements in the free consultation and we do it same week when there is a deadline.