Best of the Web

  • The Center is a private, non-profit organization which provides education, advocacy, and legal assistance to help elders and people with disabilities obtain necessary healthcare. Site includes basic information on Medicare and late-breaking news, updated daily.

  • Information about Child Health Plus, New York State's health insurance plan for children. Includes topics such as eligibility, cost and how to apply for the program.

  • Well researched articles and reports on health care quality, managed care, health policy, minorities and health care, health care in NYC and more.

  • This consumer guide sponsored by the Georgetown University's Institute for Health Care Research and Policy provides a summary of consumer protection laws, organized by state.

  • Consumer guide to handling disputes with your private health plan. Provides national and state by state information on the process. Funded by the non-profit Kaiser Family Foundation.

  • Site sponsored by the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living providing a large amount of detailed information on long term care including insurance.

  • A series of articles from the American Dental Association on choosing dental benefit plans.

  • Common questions and answers regarding dental insurance and coverage brought to you by the American Dental Association.

  • Policy statements and briefs from a leading consumer organization dedicated to the achievement of high quality, affordable health care for all Americans.

  • Detailed information from the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) on all aspects of long-term care insurance. In PDF format requiring Adobe Acrobat to view.

  • Information about health care access and health insurance, including related NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene programs

  • Created and maintained by the Health Care Bureau of New York State, this web page provides information on how to settle disputes not only concerning health care insurance but also about the operation of the health care system itself.

  • Healthy NY is designed to encourage small employers with 50 or fewer employees to offer health insurance coverage to their employees, dependents, and other qualified individuals. Healthy NY is also available to eligible working uninsured individuals including sole proprietors.

  • The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations evaluates and accredits more than 18,000 health care organizations and programs in the U.S.

  • Information created by AARP covering many topics relating to managed care. Includes overviews, opitions and your rights when dealing with managed care organizations.

  • Data and links provided by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to help consumers rate health care procedures and organizations.

  • Provides free counseling to people with Medicaid problems or questions. Easy-to-read publications discuss Medicare basics.

  • The National Committee for Quality Assurance is a non-profit that assesses and reports on the quality of managed care plans. Their Health Plan Report Card reports on over 400 health plans, divided by managed and non-managed plans.

  • Health insurance information for consumers. Includes a directory of insurers, consumer rights, frequently asked questions and much more.

  • This site provides access to a report created by the New York State Department of Health. This report contains a large amount of information on managed care plans serving residents of New York State including the results of a satisfaction survey.

  • New York State Partnership for Long Term Care is a unique program which combines private long term care insurance and Medicaid to help New Yorkers prepare financially for the possibility of needing nursing home or home care.

  • A detailed resource from the U.S. Agency for Health Care Research and Quality written in easy to understand language.

  • The children's health insurance program, which provides health insurance for uninsured children, is sponsored by the Health Care Finance Administration. Site includes information on legislation and how to enroll.

  • One of the agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, CMS runs the Medicaid and Medicare programs, which serve about 75 million Americans. Site contains a large amount of information for both consumers and professionals concerning Medicare and Medicaid.

  • This should be your first stop for anything Medicare-related. Contains information on Medicare eligibility, claims, health plans and much more. Available in English, Spanish, and Chinese.

  • Information from AARP concerning long-term health insturance. Includes information on whether and when to buy a policy.

  • Overview and detailed information on health benefits available to veterans including eligibility, counseling services, forms, facilities locators and information for homeless vets.

  • A step by step guide to choosing a health care plan based on quality. Prepared by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.