Seniors encouraged to use free online service during Older Americans Month

WASHINGTON, DC, April 30, 2007 – May is Older Americans Month, and this year’s theme is "Older Americans: Making Choices for a Healthier Future." While advances have been made in the field of aging and medicine to allow seniors to live healthier lives, many seniors — especially those with limited income and resources — are not taking advantage of many government programs that can improve the quality of their lives.

The National Council on Aging’s (NCOA) BenefitsCheckUp®, a free and confidential online service, helps seniors or people who care about them determine what benefits they qualify for and how to apply.

Using this service, millions of older Americans can find out if they qualify for help with their prescription drug costs, Medicare premiums, health care or in-home services.

"During Older Americans Month, what better way to honor our nation’s seniors than to help them find the benefits they may need," said Stuart Spector, the National Council on Aging’s senior vice president of Benefits Access. "The programs seniors and those who care about them can find through BenefitsCheckUp can improve not only their health but many other aspects of their lives."

Older Americans Month, sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Aging, was established in 1963.

For more information on BenefitsCheckUp, visit http://www.BenefitsCheckUp.org.

About BenefitsCheckUp

Developed and maintained by The National Council on Aging (NCOA), BenefitsCheckUp is the nation’s most comprehensive Web-based service to screen for benefits programs for seniors with limited income and resources. It includes more than 1,450 public and private benefits programs from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Since 2001, more than two million people have used the service.

About the National Council on Aging

The National Council on Aging’s mission is to improve the lives of older Americans. NCOA programs help older people remain healthy and independent, find jobs, access benefits programs, and discover meaningful ways to continue contributing to society. A non-profit organization with a national network of more than 14,000 organizations and leaders, NCOA was founded in 1950 and is based in Washington, DC. For more information about NCOA, please visit http://www.NCOA.org.

Media Contact:

Scott Parkin
202-479-6975
scott.parkin@ncoa.org

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Informational resource recognized for service to seniors

WASHINGTON, DC, April 19, 2007 — BenefitsCheckUp, the National Council on Aging’s (NCOA) free online benefits screening service, has been honored with a World Wide Web Health Award.

BenefitsCheckUp (www.BenefitsCheckUp.org) received a Silver award from World Wide Web Health Awards, announced in late March by the Health Information Resource Center (HIRC). These awards recognize the best Web-based content for professionals and consumers, with the goal of providing a "seal of quality" for electronic health information. There were nearly 1,000 entries in the fall/winter National Health Information Awards, from hundreds of organizations.

"It’s a pleasure to be recognized for doing what we’re passionate about," said Stuart Spector, senior vice president of NCOA’s Benefits Access Group. "Helping seniors find benefits they may need to improve their health and quality of life is a primary objective of BenefitsCheckUp."

Developed and maintained by NCOA, BenefitsCheckUp is the nation’s most comprehensive Web-based service to screen for benefits programs. It is primarily targeted to helping seniors with limited income and resources. The service is available online to individuals and those who care about them and is also used extensively by community based organizations and government agencies.

More than 10.8 million people aged 55 and over have incomes at or below 150% of the poverty level, according to a 2006 U.S. Census Bureau report. There are millions of dollars in benefits available through federal, state and private programs that go unused. BenefitsCheckUp will help identify programs that help with: prescription drug, health and in-home care costs, energy bills, housing and rent assistance, nutrition needs, legal expenses, and property tax rebates.

Since 2001, close to two million people have used BenefitsCheckUp, which includes more than 1,400 public and private benefits programs from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The Health Information Resource Center (HIRC), organizer of the World Wide Web Health Awards, is a national clearinghouse for consumer health information programs and materials. These Web-based health awards are an extension of the HIRC’s 14-year old National Health Information Awards (NHIA), the largest program of its kind in the United States.

About BenefitsCheckUp

The mission of the National Council on Aging is to improve the lives of older Americans. NCOA programs help older people remain healthy and independent, find jobs, access benefits programs, and discover meaningful ways to continue contributing to society. A non-profit organization with a national network of more than 14,000 organizations and leaders, NCOA was founded in 1950 and is based in Washington, DC. For more information about NCOA, please visit www.NCOA.org.

Media Contact:

Scott Parkin
202-479-6975
scott.parkin@ncoa.org

Filed under: News by bocharovvm
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