<prompt> Human: Hi rpersonalfinance, I posted in April about my familys dire financial situation brought on by my fathers Alzheimers diagnosis and the other hardships we have undergone since his layoff in 2013. A lot has happened since then, and I thought the community deserved an update. Before I begin, I would like to thank all of those who commented and upvoted my post. Thanks to your input it reached the front page of PF and received a great deal of visibility, and I was able to receive some great suggestions. My family was humbled by your outpouring of support.First, Ill address the primary issues that brought me to this subreddit seeking advice: our loss of health insurance and our pending loss of food stamps. We understood that when my Dads disability case was approved, he would lose his food stamp money.1. The relationship between the Health Care Marketplace and individual insurance companies in Alabama is strained at best, and as unuovo_donna pointed out, many of our problems stem from Alabamas refusal to take the Medicare expansion plan, which I educated myself on after making this post. Nonetheless, I participated in several three-way calls with my mother and Health Care Marketplace reps, and we were able to join a 500month plan partially subsidized by the federal government. Its not great, but its better than nothing at all.2. Regarding the disabilityfood stamps debacle, I took unuovo_donna s advice once again and wrote to all Alabama state representatives, senators, and President Obama about my fathers plight. Most representatives sent me back form letters, but REPRESENTATIVE MO BROOKS shouting out to him even though I disagree with his political views pushed Dads case through the system and we received our first disability payment in June. It included back payments through October, allowing my parents to start a small emergency fund. The food stamps office reduced our monthly amount but has not cut us off entirely.It took several months of arguing and debate, but in June my parents also finally allowed the house to go into foreclosure and moved into a two-bedroom apartment. I am especially pleased with this development, because it puts my parents finances in the black for each month. Instead of losing money monthly as they were in my previous post, they can now save a little each month toward my dads future long term care needs. I now have full transparency into my parents finances, so thank you to ulets-go-bravos for helping me put a plan in place towards this end.My dad is still taking Aricept the generic version -- thanks udutch_ninja and his doctors have also added Prozac and are experimenting with Namenda at the moment. He has good days and bad days, but on his good days we are able to converse fluidly and enjoy our time together.Ive been very busy with all of these life changes, but I unexpectedly landed a paid internship this summer in the insurance field at a Fortune 100 company. While insurance is not related to my field of study in college, I find it interesting, and more importantly it should allow me to support my parents as my dad develops long-term care needs. I also began dating a wonderful young man in the spring -- hes been nothing but sympathetic to my familys plight, and he lives in the city where my internship is located. The internship will lead to a full-time job in January if I perform well this summer. My future is looking brighter for the first time in a very long while.Thank you again, rpersonalfinance .Edit: Wow, thank you so much for the gold! Im honored.Assistant: Really great news OP!Not to be inappropriatemorbid or off topic I didnt see your orignal thread, but now may also be a good time to revisit the entire familys end of life plans and paperwork, not only for your parents but for yourselfsiblingsfamily included where applicable. The states can sometimes make this a mess, and its always good to get that kind of stuff figured out while theres breathing room, while dad is able to fully participate, and you arent stressed out after major life events. Having final expenses planned and paid for well beyond when its needed completely removes that decision making responsibility from a shitty situation later.Human: agreed. resources: google your state plus healthcare power of attorney. there will be a FREE form for ppl to fill out their healthcare power of attorney. you dont need a lawyer.also, i highly recommend the booklet seven five wishes, google five wishes living will. i would REALLY recommend your parents fill this out. anyone can fill it out. it can be scanned into your medical record at your hospitalclinichealthcare systemAssistant: Thank you so much for this document. I will share this with my parents. Dad is very emotional about his condition and, at times, does not seem to comprehend the terminal nature of his illness. However, I agree that it would be helpful to have this on file for both Mom and Dad going forward, and I will advocate for this in conversation.  <response>: I know its a painful and uncomfortable conversation to have, but if you can do it now while your dad is still medically sound enough to complete paperwork it will save you a lot of heartache in the long run. If youre not comfortable doing with both of them together, perhaps you could discuss with your mom privately to explain the importance and have her convince your dad of just how necessary it is.Kudos to you for stepping up to the plate and taking care of your family! 