Caregiving decisions rarely come with a manual, and the questions that come up, whether about Medicare, benefits, medical paperwork, legal documents, or what to expect next, deserve answers grounded in something more solid than a guess. Here is where the information behind our articles and guides comes from.
Our editorial standard
Every article and guide we publish is built on publicly available information from established government agencies and nonprofit organizations that specialize in aging, caregiving, and the programs caregivers rely on most. We favor primary sources over secondhand summaries, and we favor organizations with a public mission to inform rather than to sell.
Sources we draw from
- National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health: nia.nih.gov
- Medicare: medicare.gov
- Social Security Administration: ssa.gov
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov
- Alzheimer's Association: alz.org
- Family Caregiver Alliance: caregiver.org
- Eldercare Locator, a program of the Administration for Community Living: eldercare.acl.gov
- Other reputable government and nonprofit organizations serving caregivers and older adults, cited by name wherever a specific figure, program, or recommendation is drawn from their work.
Not every article or guide draws on every organization above. A piece on medical power of attorney leans on different sources than one on Social Security timing. What this list represents is our editorial standard: where we start looking, and the kind of source we consider reliable enough to build a guide around.
How we keep it current
Programs, figures, and eligibility rules change, sometimes every year. Where a guide cites a specific number or rule, we note when it was last verified, and we review the figures that shift most often, among them Medicare premiums, cost-of-living adjustments, and IRMAA thresholds, on a regular schedule. See Why You Can Trust Us for how that review process works.
What this means for you
Our guides are organizational and educational tools. They are not a replacement for advice from a licensed doctor, attorney, financial professional, or benefits counselor. We built them to help you walk into those conversations informed, organized, and ready with the right questions, sourced from the people whose job it is to know the answers.
Tell us if something looks wrong
If you find information in one of our articles or guides that is outdated or inaccurate, tell us. Email support@caregivingguides.com with what you found and where. We would rather hear from you than have it sit wrong.