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Elder Law Section Resources

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN RETIREMENT

Social Security

http://www.ssa.gov – the official website of the Social Security Administration

State Financial Assistance

www.state.nm.us/hsd - New Mexico Human Services Department Income Support Division

Veterans Benefits

www.va.gov – Veterans Administration website
www.va.gov/health_benefits/ - specific link to VA health benefits

Other

http://www.govbenefits.gov/ -assistance with finding government benefits programs to which a senior may be entitled.
http://www.benefitscheckup.org – assistance with finding government benefits programs to which a senior may be entitled.

MEDICAL AND LONG TERM CARE

Medicare

http://www.alz.org - website for the Alzheimer's Association dedicated to research and prevention of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders
www.medicare.gov – the official Medicare website
http://www.medicarerights.org/Index.html - general news and information about Medicare
http://www.cms.gov/ - the official website of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that administers Medicare and Medicaid.
www.medicareadvocacy.org – the Center for Medicare Advocacy, includes a wide variety of information: summary of Medicare issues, appeals, litigation, and a link to order Medicare informational materials.
www.nmmra.org – New Mexico Medical Review Association – Medicare quality improvement organization reviews concerns from Medicare patients regarding quality of care, early discharge

Medicaid

www.state.nm.us/hsd/- New Mexico Human Services Department
www.nmaging.state.nm.us – HIBAC provides information and assistance regarding Medicaid and other public benefit programs
http://cms.hhs.gov/professionals/ - Medicaid professional and technical information

QMB/SLMB

Institutional Medicaid

www.state.nm.us/hsd/mad~html - Medicaid guidelines

Medicaid Waiver Programs

www.ltclink.com – provides info on D & E waiver program

www.state.nm.us/gcch/ - info on assistance for people on waiver programs

Long Term Care Facilities

Nursing Homes

www.nccnhr.org – National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform – includes a wide variety of nursing home information, including government policy, information on current bills and legislation, and links to state websites. Also includes a link to ombudsmen.

Assisted Living

www.ccal.org – the Consumer Consortium on Assisted Living

Board and Care

Continuing Care Communities

Resident Rights

OTHER HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS

Home Health

http://www.nmahc.org- the New Mexico Association for home care.

Skilled Care

www.medicare.gov – information on skilled care benefits covered by Medicare

Prescription Assistance

http://www.phrma.org/ - Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association general website
http://www.phrma.org/pap/ - Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association patient assistance program – includes info on low cost or no cost prescription medications for patients who can’t afford to buy them
www.needymeds.com/ - info for patients who can’t afford to buy their medications
www.themedicineprogram.com – assistance with obtaining free or low cost medicines.
http://www.candarx.net – website for Canadian prescriptions

Dental/Vision/Hearing

www.nedcomm.nm.org/aslh - Albuquerque speech, language, and hearing. Provides info on available services
www.sotheworldmayhear.org – Hear Now website – provides info on receiving free hearing aids for income eligible people
www.nmdental.org – info on low or no cost dental services for seniors
www.eyecareamerica.org – Eye Care America – comprehensive eye care for senior citizens at no cost.

HEALTH CARE AND END OF LIFE DECISIONS

Living Wills and Advanced Directives

http://www.nmbf.com/ADHC.html - website provides sample advance directive forms.
http://www.ahcaorg/forms/advance_dir_request.htm - State advance directive forms available at this website
http://www.abanet.org/elderly/toolkit/home.html - consumer toolkit for health care advance planning available here
http://www.state.ia.us/elderaffairs/Documents/Giftof PeaceofMind.pdf –website from Drake Center for Health Initiatives that includes a step by step guide to preparing advance directive
http://www.partnershipforcaring.org/Advance/documents_set.html - Partnership for caring website; can download state specific advance directive documents

Durable Power of Attorney

http://www.abanet.org/rppt/committees/pt/e1/pte1dpaspeciment.html - ABA website; includes sample durable power of attorney

Healthcare Information

http://www.medlineplus.gov/ - National Library of Medicine website. A good site for medical research
http://www.nih.gov/ - the National Institutes of Health website contains a wide variety of medical information
http://www.cdc.gov/ - the Centers for Disease Control contains wide variety of information on medical conditions
http://www.webmd.com/ - consumer website for medical information
http://www.cancer.org/ - website of the American Cancer Society
http://www.americanheart.org/ - website of the American Heart Association
www.patientadvocate.org – website of the Patient Advocate Foundation

PERSONAL AFFAIRS

Guardianship

www.tcsg.org – The Center for Social Gerontology provides links to general law and aging information, but also links to guardianship information.
http://www.nmaging.state.nm.us - Department of Aging and Long-Term Care Services
http://www.guardianship.org/ - National Guardianship Association official website

Taxes

www.state.nm.us/tax/ - Tax information for New Mexico
http://www.manaela.org/librarypublic/taxmattersinelderlaw.cfm - elder law tax matters

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

Divorce

www.nmcourts.com – NM Courts website, includes a link to family law, that includes basic divorce forms and information
www.supremecourt.nm.org – NM Supreme Court website; has a link to family law forms

Grandparents Rights

www.gu.org – website for grandparents rights

ESTATE AND FINANCIAL PLANNING

Estate Planning

http://www.abanet.org/rppt/public/home.html#estateplanning – ABA link to estate planning

Bankruptcy

www.abiworld.org – American Bankruptcy Institute website, includes court opinions, legislative news and updates, and an online library.

HOUSING

Section 8 and other Pubic Housing

www.housingnm.org – website for apartment search in NM
www.hud.gov – HUD housing official website
www.cabq.gov – Albuquerque City Government website – has link to housing services
www.bernco.gov – Bernalillo County website – has link to housing information
http://www.nhlp.org/ - the National Housing Law Project

CONSUMER PROTECTION

Credit Reports

www.equifax.com – Equifax
www.experian.com – Experian (formerly TRW)
www.transunion.com - Transunion

Consumer Rights

www.consumersunion.org – Consumers union provides legal and legislative updates and general consumer news

Other

www.naca.net – National Association of Consumer Advocates – website provides a resource center, legal articles, legal briefs and sample pleadings.
www.comsumerlaw.org – National Consumer Law Center, providing services and information for low income consumer justice.
http://www.seniors.gov/ -general consumer information for seniors and links to state websites

CRIME PROTECTION

Elder Abuse and Neglect

www.elderabusecenter.org – National Center on Elder Abuse website provides laws and legislation on elder abuse. Also statistics, research, and resources related to elder abuse.
http://www.nmaging.state.nm.us - Department of Aging and Long-Term Care Services

Domestic Violence

www.nmcourts.com – NM Courts website has a link to family law, and specifically domestic violence.

Financial Exploitation

http://www.nmaging.state.nm.us - Department of Aging and Long-Term Care Services

ELDER RIGHTS ASSISTANCE

Legal Assistance Programs

www.nmbar.org/ - Lawyer Referral for the Elderly
www.sclo.net - Senior Citizens Law office
www.aoa.gov – official website of the Agency on Aging. Provides links to state agencies on aging, long-term care ombudsmen and other aging websites
www.supremecourt.nm.org – New Mexico Supreme Court website – includes links to opinions, citations, legal forms, and the full text of NMSA
www.naela.org – National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys official site. Provides general elder law news and information.
www.neln.org - National Elder Law Network has free information on legal issues of interest to elder law attorneys, seniors, their families and the elder and disability advocacy community
www.nsclc.org – National Senior Citizens Law Center site provides links to various state laws, issues, cases and publications on elder law. Includes abstracts of relevant Federal Register notices and links to other legal service organizations
http://www.aarp.org – AARP website includes numerous links to elder law information
http://www.eldercare.gov - Eldercare locator service is a subset of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services Admin. on Aging. It helps find local resources on senior services.
http://www.handsnet.org - provides daily information for those working to improve the lives of low-income American
http://www.povertylaw.org/legalresearch/legalresearch.cfm - reference site for the National Center on Poverty Law’s library
http://www.ncoa.org - National Council on the Aging
http://seniorlaw.com/resource.htm - SeniorLaw Website - includes links to many senior law resources, including government agencies, forms, state and federal laws, etc.
http://legis.state.nm.us/ - New Mexico legislature website
www.michie.com – website that contains state statutes, administrative code, and rules and regulations for New Mexico

Ombudsmen Program

www.nccnhr.org – National Citizens’ Coalition for Nursing Home Reform – provides links to state specific sites and to ombudsmen programs.
www.nmaging.state.nm.us – Has link to ombudsmen program and services
www.aoa.gov/ - provides a link to the long-term care ombudsmen

Other Legal Forms

http://resources.lawinfo.com/ - various legal forms available
www.supremecourt.nm.org – link to legal forms
http://www.lawsource.com/also - website for American Law Sources On-line; website for publications and references
http://www.abanet.org/srlawyers/handbook/html - ABA website where you can obtain a national handbook on laws and programs affecting senior citizens