LodestoneEldercare Guide — point toward true help

Where to startWho helps me locallyMassachusetts

Who helps you in Massachusetts

These are the free, unbiased offices in Massachusetts whose actual job is to help families like yours. No product to sell, no charge. You do not have to figure this out alone — and you should never pay someone just to “get you approved.” Start with any one of them.

In a hurry? If a hospital is about to discharge your person, ask the hospital's discharge planner or social worker first — that is their job. Then call the Massachusetts offices below to line up what comes next.

Your Massachusetts offices

1-800-243-4636
MassOptions (Massachusetts Aging & Disability Resource)
One statewide line connecting you to your local Aging Services Access Point / Area Agency on Aging and options counseling.
1-800-243-4636
SHINE — Serving the Health Insurance Needs of Everyone (Massachusetts SHIP)
Free, unbiased Medicare counseling, reached through the MassOptions line.
1-617-222-7495
Massachusetts Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program
Advocate for residents of nursing and rest homes; local ombudsmen serve each area.
1-800-677-1116
Eldercare Locator (finds your local Area Agency on Aging)
The federal front door, run by the Administration for Community Living. Enter a ZIP and it routes you to the Area Agency on Aging for your area — works in every state.

Contacts gathered 2026-07-07. Phone numbers rarely change, but if one has moved, the source link beside it goes to the official page with the current number.

Prefer to look them up yourself?

These are the official national directories — the same doors, straight from the source. Enter your ZIP and they route you to the Massachusetts office:

What to ask when you call

  • What services can help us right now, and is there a waitlist?
  • Does my parent qualify for Massachusetts Medicaid long-term care, and how do we apply?
  • What does Medicare cover here, and what will it not cover?
  • Who can review a facility's record with me before we choose?

You now know more than most people who walk into that office. That is the whole point.

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