Seniors can find health help on Web
The Washington, D.C.-based National Council on Aging (NCOA) has launched a Web site designed to help senior citizens and their families find federal, state and local health programs to meet their needs. The Web site, www.benefitscheckup.org, helps match senior citizens with benefits programs for which they might be eligible.
According to the NCOA, more than three million eligible seniors do not receive food stamps or participate in Medicaid. In addition, many middle- and upper-income seniors are missing out on Veteran’s programs, property tax relief, nutrition programs and educational benefits.
The Web site was created to help solve that problem. The site requires visitors to complete a confidential online questionnaire to determine eligibility for nearly 1,000 benefits programs in its database. Visitors then receive a report of programs that match their needs and information about how to enroll in them.