How we verify
The short version
Every fact on a state page comes from the agency or the law that sets it. We link that source beside the fact, show the date we checked it, and check it again at least every 90 days. If we cannot confirm a fact at its source, we leave it off the page.
Where facts come from
We use the source that actually sets the rule, not someone else's summary of it. In practice that means:
- the state agency that runs the program, such as the state Medicaid agency or the office that runs a waiver program;
- the federal agency that sets the national rule, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services or the Department of Veterans Affairs;
- the law or regulation itself, when the rule is written there;
- your health plan's own documents, when the question is about a plan.
News stories, nonprofit guides and other websites can point us to a source. We never cite them for a figure, a deadline or an eligibility rule. We open the official page or document ourselves and read the rule there.
Sources where you read the fact
A list of sources at the bottom of a page makes you hunt. So on a state page, each fact carries its own source link and its own checked-on date, right where you read it. Our guides carry a dated source list as well, plus a checked date beside key figures, dollar amounts and deadlines.
What the checked-on date means
The date beside a fact is the day one of us opened the source and confirmed the fact matched it. It is not the date the agency published the rule, and it is not the date we last edited the page. If an agency changes a rule after that date, our page can be behind until the next check. That is why the date is always shown.
Checking again every 90 days
Rules change. Pay rates go up, programs open and close, and phone numbers move. We check every state fact again at least every 90 days, and sooner when we learn that a rule has changed.
When a fact goes 90 days without a new check, the page shows "Re-check due, last verified" and the date of the last check. That label means the fact was right on that date and is waiting for its next check. It does not mean the fact is wrong. Until the new check is done, confirm it with the source linked beside it before you act on it.
The page stays up while it waits, because a verified answer with its date is more use to you than no answer. A page comes down only when the program itself ends. Then the old address sends you on to the page for that state, so a saved link still leads somewhere useful.
What we will not publish
- A fact we could not confirm at its source. The field stays empty and the page waits.
- A guess about whether your parent or spouse qualifies. Only the agency or plan can decide that, and the page tells you who to ask.
- A figure from memory or from an old page, even one of ours.
Who checks
Mario Bailey, Founder and Editor, and Jada Williams, Managing Editor, review every page before it ships. Every fact is checked against the agency source before a page ships: each source link is opened, the fact beside it is confirmed, and its checked-on date is set to the day of that check. The page is then read from start to finish as a reader would read it.
When we get something wrong
Tell us through the contact form. Name the page and the fact, and include a link to the source if you have one. We check your report against the official source. If we were wrong, we fix the page, note the fix and its date, and list it on our Corrections page.