Advocacy
Political position papers, member discounts, demographic research, online versions of its bulletin, and magazine and consumer advice.
Detailed information about what Medicare covers, and how to enroll and, if necessary, appeal denial of claims.
Medicare Rights Center
A similar tutorial on how this government health care program for the elderly works. A link to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s “Medicare 101” and a hotline for questions and complaints.
National Association of Area Agencies on Aging
Articles on caregiving, policy reports, and links to eldercare service agencies.
Articles
Blogs
Caregiving
Family Caregiver Alliance
Offers tips on a wide range of topics, including how to hire help, hold a family meeting, balance work and caregiving, find important papers, and decide whether parents should move in with an adult child.
National Alliance for Caregiving
Reviews of more than 1,000 books, videos, Web sites and links.
National Family Caregivers Association
Provides statistics, research and policy reports, tip sheets, first-person accounts, a newsletter and an exhaustive resource list.
Family Caregiving 101
A separate “how-to” site by the NFCA with advice on time management, asking for help, navigating the health care maze and communicating with insurance companies and hospitals.
MetLife Mature Market Institute
Reports from a research arm of the insurance company on the price of assisted living, the strains of long-distance caregiving, and the cost to employers of baby boomer employees involved in eldercare.
Strength for Caring
A site for family caregivers from Johnson and Johnson with original articles written by experts and how-to materials.
Emotional Support
Children of Aging Parents
Support groups, both online and face-to-face. Newsletter focuses on interpersonal matters like stress among siblings, caregiver depression and getting through the holidays.
End of Life
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
An excellent search tool for finding a hospice, as well as guides on issues related to palliative care, including Medicare coverage and techniques for communicating end-of-life wishes.
Caring Connections
Contains of the consumer information from NHPCO and has state-by-state advance directive forms.
Hospice Foundation of America
Information on end-of-life issues, such as pain management. One section called “Caregivers Corner” has links, reading lists and a self-assessment tool for caregivers to analyze their own strengths and weaknesses.
Housing and Services
American Association of Home and Services for the Aging (LeadingAge)
Consumer information on senior housing from an association of non-profit nursing homes, assisted living centers, continuing care retirement communities, adult day care centers and the like.
Assisted Living Federation of America
Among other resources, offers a database of assisted living facilities searchable by location or parent company.
National Center for Assisted Living
Provides a more elaborate “facility finder” that factors in cost, method of payment, mobility, dietary needs, activities and amenities.
SNAPforSeniors
Offers a searchable housing locator with 60,000 listings, including facilities for assisted living, residential care, nursing care and rehabilitation, continuing care retirement and independent living. (Disclosure: A New Old Age partner.)
National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers
Search for a geriatric care manager by location. Visiting Nurse Associations of America. Search for home health services nationwide. Includes suggested questions to ask service providers.
Homemods.org
Advice on home renovation from the University of Southern California.
HealthGrades
Comparisons and one-to-five-star ranking of nursing homes, for $9.95 for the first report and $2.95 for each additional one.
UCompareHealthCare
Free search by location for nursing homes, plus data on quality, staffing and outcomes from government sources. (Disclosure: Owned by The New York Times Co.)
Getcare.com
A sleek, three-step process to assess long-term care options, learn about each type, and then search by location for a variety of services, including Alzheimer’s day care, grief support or respite for a caregiver.
TheSeniorGuide.com
Search by state and region for all types of senior housing, case managers, lawyers and more. Includes a glossary of industry jargon.
National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM)
A not-for-profit, professional association dedicated to assisting older adults with the physical and emotional demands of downsizing, relocating, or modifying their homes.
CareScout
Charges $499 to help users select housing options and services for the elderly who can pay their own way and are not reliant on Medicare or Medicaid.
Magazines
Miscellany
Elderweb
An eccentric site that includes the history of long-term care policy in America, census maps that show the concentration of people 60 and over, book reviews, updates on state laws affecting the elderly, and a dictionary of eldercare jargon.
Eldercare Online
This site has a home-made look and is difficult to navigate, but includes a wealth of original and imported information.
Caring.com
An all-in-one site with advice on caregiving, long-term care, talking with elders and insurance issues.
National Care Planning Council
A work in progress from a couple who “didn’t have a life for five years” while caring for four elderly parents. Now a membership organization advocating for long-term care.
Third Age
Articles, expert interviews, quizzes and discussion boards for caregivers.
Elder Issues
Some interesting articles on caregiving. Primarily the site for a company marketing online medical records for elderly persons.
Aging Parents and Eldercare
A commercial site with free access to same checklists, worksheets and on-line assessment tools found elsewhere. For sale are products like wheelchairs and incontinence supplies.
KaiserEdu
An educational site from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Includes a variety of slide tutorials and podcasts on financial and policy issues related to long-term care.
Medicare.gov
An all-purpose site with interactive tools for planning and paying for long-term care and choosing among drug plans. Includes searchable inspection results, good and bad, for the all the nation’s skilled nursing facilities.
NIHSeniorHealth.gov
A collaboration of the National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine that provides authoritative information on all diseases and disorders of old age. Each section is available in both large-type and audio versions.
National Institute on Aging
Describes ongoing research on aging and lists clinical trials seeking participants.
U.S. Administration on Aging
Brief fact sheets on aging and links to outside resources for an assortment of caregiving issues, including financial planning, residential options, in-home services, case management and the law.
CarePlanner
Free worksheets help users to create a care plan, keep track of medications and expenses, and plan home modifications.
Govbenefits.gov
A tool to help determine benefit eligibility for a variety of government programs.