Accelerated Death Benefits

This section of the Medicare website, “Paying for LTC”, defines and describes the opportunities and limitations of an Accelerated Death Benefit, a provision that can be added to a life insurance policy to pay out funds in advance of your death.

Adult Day Services

This Eldercare Locator webpage describes social and health Adult Day Services programs, and also provides a link and a toll free number for the National Adult Day Services Association (NADSA). PDF versions of the webpage are available in Spanish, Chinese and Russian.

Advance Care Planning

This website, part of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s site, provides information on research about preferences for care at the end of life. 

Advance Care Planning and Patients’ Rights

This National Cancer Institute site provides information and a fact sheet on end of life decisions and patients’ rights.

This National Institute on Aging (NIA) health information page links to publications, clinical trials, public service ads, and health and aging organizations. You can browse by category for NIA materials on a variety of topics, e.g. Alzheimer’s Disease, Caregiving, Spanish language materials, and resources for professionals.

Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC)

The AoA ADRC grants webpage links to the ADRC fact sheet and the ADRC state map. The latter provides summaries of each of the 43 states that have ADRCs, which are access points for information about services and supports for long-term care in the community.

The Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center website offers easy to read fact sheets on Alzheimer’s Disease, in both English and Spanish. It also posts news releases on research findings, and provides information and links to supports for caregivers.  Free publications can be ordered or downloaded, and a clinical trials database, and literature database can be searched.

This Eldercare Locator webpage defines and describes assisted living.  Information includes services provided, considerations for choosing a facility, and links to additional resources. Fact sheets are available in Spanish, Chinese and Russian, in PDF format. 

Assistive Devices

This Eldercare Locator webpage describes categories of devices and technology for your home to help you adapt to physical and mental changes from aging, illness or disability.  Assistive devices include books-on-tape, wheelchair ramps, computer-based aids, therapies, prosthetic devices and much more.

Assistive Technology

This website provides information about, and links to, a wide range of assistive technology products, adaptive devices, and the laws and regulations related to technology.

Board & Care Homes: ASPE

This link takes you to a summary of a 1991 ASPE study that describes board and care homes – non-medical community-based facilities, and includes information on availability and individuals served.

Board & Care Homes: AoA

An AoA “Housing with Services” webpage, which briefly describes Board and Care, as part of a broader “Housing” menu.

Care Coordination

This portion of the OPM Work/Life Handbook of Elder Care Resources lists Elder Care publications on a wide variety of topics related to caregivers in the workplace, including information on home care, long-distance caregiving, services in the community, nursing homes, and financial, insurance, and long-term care related materials.

This Eldercare Locator webpage provides resources and publications related to support for individuals who are providing care to a friend or family member. There are links to the AoA Caregiver Resource Room, the Alzheimer’s Resource Room, as well as Internet Notes on more than 60 aging-related issues.

This section of the Medicare website provides information on Continuing Care Retirement Communities, as well as other housing options, and provides links to resources to help you find and choose a community.

Eldercare Locator

The Eldercare Locator provides information and links to resources that enable older persons to live independently in their communities. This public service website links to state and local Area Agencies on Aging and community-based organizations that serve older adults and their caregivers.

This website describes various types of personal emergency response systems and gives shopping tips, including specific “questions to ask”, to help you choose one that meets your needs. 

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)

This Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) website provides information on Home Equity Conversion Mortgage programs that allow older homeowners to withdraw some of the equity in their home as a reverse mortgage.  The site offers a searchable listing of FHA-approved lenders for this program, as well as a searchable list of HUD approved reverse mortgage housing counseling agencies.

Home Health Care

This website provides detailed information about home health care, including types of services available, considerations for selecting providers, and methods of paying for care. Fact sheets are available in different languages.

Home Health Compare

This Medicare website provides an online tool to get information on locations, contacts, and quality of Medicare certified home health agencies by geographic location or by agency name.

Home Modification

This Eldercare Locator webpage describes a range of home modifications that can help meet your needs if you become less independent. The site provides a “checklist” to determine the suitability of your current living situation in meeting current and future needs, and changes you might consider making. Fact sheets are available in Spanish, Chinese and Russian.

Home Modification and Repair

This AoA webpage discusses home remodeling and repair problems and solutions for adapting your home to your needs as you age, or become ill or disabled.

This Elder Care locator site provides information on hospice care and programs - how they work, how you can pay for hospice care, and links to other resources.  

Housing Options

This HUD website describes an array of housing options, and considerations for determining the type of housing that will best meet your needs.  It includes links to a range of resources for more help.

Long-Term Care

This Medicare webpage defines long-term care, and presents information about types of services and paying for long-term care.

Long-Term Care: Financing

This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) research report explores the needs and challenges of financing care for a rapidly growing elderly population in America. 

Long-Term Care: General Information

This Federal government consumer webpage describes types of long-term care, raises questions to consider when selecting long-term care services and providers, and includes additional print and Internet resources.

Long-Term Care Insurance

This consumer guide on long-term care and long-term care insurance defines basic insurance terms, describes services typically covered, and offers “shopping tips” and a consumer check list.

Long-Term Care Insurance: Federal Program

The webpage for the Long-Term Care Insurance Program available to federal employees, annuitants and their families includes “frequently asked questions”, sections on the application process and eligibility, and long-term care risks and costs.

Long-Term Care Services: Help Finding Care

The Eldercare Locator, a public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging, helps individuals find information on services in their area.  It links to state and local area agencies on aging and community-based organizations that serve older adults and their caregivers.  A toll free number to speak with an eldercare specialist is listed.

Long-Term Care Services (see Home Health Compare)

This link helps you locate, review and compare information on home health care providers in your area.

Long-Term Care Services (see Nursing Home Compare)

This link helps you locate, review and compare information on nursing homes in your area.

This is the official Medicaid government website, part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  The site provides program information about Medicaid, a health program managed by States for certain low-income individuals and their families.  Related links discuss Medicaid eligibility and coverage, and provide contact information for State Medicaid offices, and links to GovBenefits, and BenefitsCheckUp web sites.

This is the official Medicare government website, part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The site provides information about Medicare, a health insurance program administered by the U.S. government, covering individuals who are either age 65 and over, or who meet other special criteria. It provides information on Medicare’s health benefits, Part D prescription drug coverage, and Medicare supplemental plans. You can also download the consumer booklet “Medicare & You”, which is updated every year and has the most complete information on Medicare.

This section of the Medicare website, www.medicare.gov, provides information on the original Medicare Plan, as well as information on Medicare Health Plans and other “Medigap” policies designed to assist with some of the co-payment and deductibles under Medicare.  The site helps you find and compare Medigap plans.

This links to a free copy of a 1999 consumer booklet called “The Shoppers’ Guide to Long Term Care Insurance”, published by the National Association of Insurance Commissions (NAIC).  (an updated version is available through NAIC).  The Shopper’s Guide includes a helpful glossary, a State contacts list, and a “worksheet” you can use to compare policies.

Nursing Homes: data

This section of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website presents a summary of key statistics on nursing homes, including the number of facilities, average occupancy rates, patient profiles, average lengths of stay and more.

Nursing Home Compare:  (see Long-term Care Services)

“Nursing Home Compare” provides performance information about all Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing homes in the country that provide skilled nursing care. Resources on the site include State specific websites and contacts for additional information.  

Nutrition and Meal Services for Seniors

The Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Information Center provides a wealth of resources on healthy eating, nutritional challenges related to aging, food safety issues, home delivered Meals on Wheels, and other assistance programs. It also provides links to organizations focused on aging issues, including the Administration on Aging’s Elderly Nutrition Program.

Enacted in 1965, the Older Americans Act created the Administration on Aging, and authorized grants to States for community planning and service programs for older adults and caregivers, as well as for research, demonstration and training projects in the field of aging. This link provides information on the history, current activities, amendments and 2006 reauthorization of the Act.

Partnership for Long-Term Care: Overview

The Long-Term Care Partnership Program is a public-private partnership between states and private insurance companies, designed to reduce Medicaid expenditures by delaying or eliminating the need for some people to rely on Medicaid to pay for long-term care services. This site provides an overview of the original 4-state Partnership program, as described in a PDF document prepared by GAO, the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Partnership for Long-Term Care: California

The official website of the California Partnership for Long-Term Care is designed for individual consumers, as well as agents who are selling Partnership-approved long-term care insurance policies.  It provides contact information for insurance companies that participate in the CA Partnership program, and downloadable educational brochures.

Partnership for Long-Term Care: Connecticut

The site for the Connecticut Partnership program has information for consumers, insurers, policymakers, and researchers. It looks at program features, costs, insurance companies offering Connecticut Partnership-approved policies, and includes a Policy Comparisons Report.

Partnership for Long-Term Care: Indiana

The Indiana Partnership for Long-Term Care Insurance Program is explained in “frequently asked questions” and in a section on risks and costs, outlining “Important Points” to remember.  The site also lists contact phone numbers and policy types for participating companies.

Partnership for Long-Term Care: New York

The New York Partnership Program website provides information on Partnership policies available in New York, and basic background information about long-term care costs and risks. The downloadable educational brochure and the 43 page consumer booklet on affordable financing for long-term care offer help in deciding whether to obtain a Partnership policy.

Reverse Mortgages: FTC

This Federal Trade Commission fact sheet provides information on the various types and loan features of reverse mortgages, where to report possible fraud, and links to additional information on reverse mortgages.

Reverse Mortgages: HUD

In a question and answer format, this HUD website details the “top ten things you need to know about a reverse mortgage.”

State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)

This section of the Medicare website provides information about state health insurance assistance programs and resources, including state contact information.

Transportation

This website provides information on a range of technical assistance initiatives for coordinating human service transportation. It includes state specific “useful practices”, and a “Need A Ride” link that provides information on private and public transportation resources available in communities in each state.

Women’s Health

This website provides a range of information on women’s health issues and long-term care.