Government -- Best and Worst Practices in Helping the Elderly

The federal and state governments are deeply involved in nearly every aspect of elder care. Medicaid provides a lot of the funding for those elderly persons who can't afford the cost of nursing homes and whose children or other family members are unable to provide the funding. Each of the states administers the Medicaid program and regulates nursing homes. Some states regulate with a heavy hand and the bureaucrats insist on compliance with petty rules and regulations that that make little sense in the care of the elderly or disabled. Other states regulate with minimal supervision or oversight.

There are an abundance of government agencies and programs for the elderly and even more grants for research programs about the problems and proposed solutions.

As we encounter news, research and other sources of information regarding the involvement of government in the care of the elderly, we will provide links to the information or will archive the information on this web site.

State specific information or resources is included in a separate page for each state. Just link to the state in the table below.  Links  Articles and reports about the activities of the federal government are next, followed by links to federal resources on the Internet.

Face the Facts: Topics to Discuss Now with Your Aging Parents

   A six page checklist by www.ElderCare.gov

Links to Federal Government Resources

for the Elderly on the Internet

  U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services Administration On Aging  ( http://www.aoa.gov )

  Includes resources for professional caregivers

  Eldercare Locator (http://www.eldercare.gov/)

  This agency provides information about various services for seniors in local communities.

  FirstGov For Seniors (http://www.seniors.gov)

  This is a web site maintained by the Social Security Administration that provides links to 13 different subject areas, to dozens of government departments or agencies, to state web sites for seniors and to numerous non-government web sites for the elderly. It is not focused on caregivers or elder care per se' but it's a good portal for a wide range of subjects of interest to seniors.

  National Institute On Aging

  http://www.nia.nih.gov/

  Online96.com - Links to State and Federal Internet Resources http://www.online96.com/seniors/gov.html

  Faire - Families Allied to Influence Responsible Eldercare  http://faireldercare.org/accomplishments/agenda.pdf

  Senior Journal Links to Government Resources for the Elderly

http://www.seniorjournal.com/AssistElderly.htm

  Links to State and Government Resources

http://huntingtondisease.tripod.com/state-resources/id20.html

  HelpingCaregivers.com

http://www.helpingcaregivers.com/state_and_national.asp