How to Help Your Elderly Parents with Phone Calls

Last updated: July 31, 2026

More than 53 million Americans serve as unpaid caregivers, and a huge chunk of that caregiving is administrative — making phone calls, managing appointments, dealing with insurance (AARP Caregiving Report). If you've ever spent your lunch break on hold with Medicare for your mom, or stayed up late sorting out your dad's prescription refill, you know how quickly these calls consume your time and energy.

The problem with managing calls for aging parents

As parents age, the phone calls multiply. Doctor appointments, specialist referrals, Medicare questions, supplemental insurance claims, pharmacy refills, lab results, hearing aid adjustments, physical therapy scheduling, home care coordination. Each call takes 10 to 45 minutes, and they never seem to stop.

Your parents may struggle with these calls for many reasons. Hearing loss makes phone conversations difficult. Cognitive decline makes it hard to follow complex instructions or remember details afterward. Some parents feel overwhelmed by phone trees and automated systems. Others just don't have the energy for the kind of persistent, assertive calls that insurance companies require.

So the calls fall to you. And you want to help — of course you do. But you're also working, possibly raising kids of your own, and trying to maintain some version of your own life. Every call you take on during the workday is time you have to make up later. The mental load of tracking which calls are done, which need follow-up, and which are overdue is exhausting.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, caregivers spend an average of 24 hours per week on caregiving tasks, with administrative phone calls being one of the most time-consuming and emotionally draining components.

Current alternatives and why they fall short

Some families hire care managers or social workers to handle administrative tasks. That's helpful if you can afford it, but most families can't — and even professional care managers have limited availability.

Patient portals and online tools help with some tasks, but many medical offices, government agencies, and insurance companies still require a phone call for anything beyond the basics. Try changing a Medicare plan or disputing a claim online — you'll end up calling anyway.

Some adult children take time off work or use three-way calling to handle things together. It works in a pinch but isn't sustainable week after week, month after month.

The calls that take the most time

Medicare and insurance

Calling Medicare about coverage, claims, or plan options is one of the most dreaded calls in caregiving, and most of that call is queue. Before you dial, get the authorization on file. Medicare will not discuss a beneficiary's record with you until form 1-800-MEDICARE authorization is recorded, and doing that is itself a phone call, so make it the first one rather than discovering it mid-dispute.

Doctor scheduling and follow-ups

When your parent sees multiple specialists, scheduling becomes a part-time job. Front desks answer faster than insurers, but the small calls stack up. Ask each office whether they have a patient portal you can be granted proxy access to; most large systems do, and it converts a standing series of calls into messages you can send at any hour.

Prescription management

Checking whether a prescription is ready, requesting refills, asking about interactions. Pharmacies put you on hold constantly. Automatic refills and text notifications remove most of these calls, and pharmacists will usually call you back about interactions if you leave a question with the technician.

Billing and disputes

Medical bills are confusing for everyone. When your parent gets an unexpected charge, ask for an itemized statement first, and write down the name and reference number of whoever you speak to.