Guide
What to bring to the first phone call
The difference between a useful call and a wasted one is almost entirely preparation, and it is about eight facts and three questions.
The eight facts that decide most answers
Have these ready before dialling. Most of them take two minutes to gather and every one of them changes an answer.
Their zip code. Almost every programme is run by a state or a county, so this decides more than anything else you will say.
Date of birth. Age floors are common and they are not all sixty-five.
Any military service, ever. Including brief peacetime service, and including a spouse's. This is the fact most often left out, because people who served two years in their twenties do not describe themselves as veterans, and surviving spouses very rarely think of themselves as connected to the VA at all.
What coverage is in place. Medicare, Medicaid, both, a supplement, an employer plan, or none.
Rough monthly income, and whether it is from work, benefits or a pension. Programmes count sources differently, so the composition matters, not only the total.
Whether they own their home. Assets are treated differently by nearly every programme and a primary residence is often excluded.
Who lives with them. Household size changes income limits.
The one thing that is hardest right now. Stated as a specific difficulty: getting to appointments, the stairs, meals, being alone at night.
Why the last one matters most. A general request for help produces a general answer and a list. A specific difficulty produces a specific referral. "We need help" and "she cannot get to dialysis three times a week" go to completely different places.
Three questions to ask on every call
"Are you the body that decides this, or telling me what you know about it?" Almost everyone answers honestly, and the answer is often the second. It tells you immediately whether what follows is a decision or information.
"What would change the answer?" This reopens more situations than any other question, because refusals frequently turn on one missing document rather than on eligibility.
"Who else should I be talking to?" The person on the phone usually knows two or three bodies you have not heard of. They will rarely volunteer them.
Leave the call with something written
Before hanging up, get the name of the person you spoke to, a direct number or extension if one exists, what was agreed, and any reference number. Six weeks later the question that stalls families is not what to do next: it is who said that, and when.
If something was promised, ask for it in writing. Not as a challenge: simply say you want to make sure you have it right. Almost nobody objects, and a written statement is the difference between a follow-up and an argument.
What not to do
Do not accept a no from someone who is not the decision maker. Do not treat silence as a reply. And do not make the first call without knowing which of the three questions you are asking, because Senior Support Navigation only works when the question and the body match.
Last reviewed 28 July 2026
Walk in already knowing what to ask.
The free check gathers the eight facts once and tells you where to take them.