How We Research
Every figure on Honest Elder Care traces back to a published source that a reader can open and check. This page explains which sources we use, how we handle it when they disagree, and how we correct ourselves.
Our primary sources
- CareScout Cost of Care Survey (the survey long published by Genworth). Our default source for national and state median prices for assisted living, nursing homes, and home care. We name the survey year on the page, because medians move.
- Medicare.gov and CMS for Medicare coverage rules, skilled nursing facility benefits, and facility quality data.
- State Medicaid agencies for waiver programs, eligibility rules, and application routes. Medicaid is state law wearing a federal frame; we never present one state's rule as the national rule.
- VA.gov for Aid and Attendance amounts, pension rules, and VA care programs.
- IRS publications, especially Publication 502, for the tax treatment of care costs.
- KFF and the Administration for Community Living (ACL.gov) for policy context and program statistics.
When sources disagree
They often do. Industry surveys price the same service differently because they survey different buildings in different months. When two credible sources give different numbers, we print both, name both, and say which one we use as the default and why. A single unsourced number presented as fact is the failure this site exists to avoid.
What we never do
- Invent prices, statistics, expert quotes, or reader stories.
- Present estimates as survey data. Estimates are labeled as estimates.
- Claim credentials we do not hold. We are publishers, not clinicians, attorneys, or financial advisors, and our pages say so.
- Accept payment to change a number, a rule explanation, or a recommendation.
Updates and corrections
Cost guides are reviewed when their source surveys release new editions and when program rules change, and each guide shows its last updated date. If you spot an error, send it through our contact page with the source we should check. Confirmed errors are corrected on the page, and material corrections are noted on the page with the date of the fix.
Photos
Photographs on this site are licensed stock images used to illustrate care settings. They are not depictions of specific facilities, residents, or readers, and no photo on this site is evidence about any real community's quality.