GrayBrief | The Field Guide

Most families learn how elder care works in a hospital hallway. This guide covers the same ground in about 20 minutes, while you still have time to use it.

What's inside

- The two programs everyone confuses, and what each one pays for

- What care costs right now, at the national median

- The Medicaid look-back, and the gifts that can trigger a penalty

- The four documents to get signed while everyone is healthy

- A checklist for the first 30 days after a diagnosis, a fall, or a hospital stay

- Red flags for nursing homes and advisors

- A 25-term quick reference

Format

19-page PDF. Figures current as of October 2026. Reviewed by a New York-licensed attorney, October 2026.

Education, not legal, financial, or medical advice. Reading this guide does not create an attorney-client relationship.