NY Dementia Caregiver Guide: Programs, Legal Planning, Respite (2026)

If you are a New York dementia caregiver, the single fastest thing that helps today is one free phone call: 1-800-272-3900, the Alzheimer's Association 24/7 helpline. More than 426,500 New Yorkers age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's disease, and behind almost every one of them is a family doing what you are doing right now. If you are a NY dementia caregiver in 2026, the good news is that New York has built more public infrastructure around dementia care than almost any other state. But that infrastructure stays invisible until somebody walks you through it, and that is exactly what this guide does.1

This is the dementia-specific deep dive in our New York caregiver pillar. For the broader landscape, paid family caregiving in NY, time off work, all nine respite funding streams, see our Caregiver pillar landing page, How to Get Paid as a Family Caregiver in New York, and Respite Care in New York. This article focuses on what changes when the diagnosis is dementia.

What Every New York Dementia Caregiver Should Do First (The 90-Second Version)

If you read nothing else, read these eleven things.

1. Call the helpline first. The Alzheimer's Association 24/7 helpline at 1-800-272-3900 is free, in 200+ languages, staffed by clinically trained care consultants, and is the single best front door to NY's dementia infrastructure. A care consultant will tell you which Center of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease (CEAD), which Area Agency on Aging caregiver coordinator, and which Alzheimer's Association NY chapter to call next.
2. You are not alone. More than 426,500 New Yorkers age 65+ are living with Alzheimer's disease, about 12.7% of the state's adults over 65, per the Alzheimer's Association 2025 Facts and Figures state data.1
3. The CEADs. NYSDOH funds a statewide network of Centers of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease (CEADs): NYU Langone, Columbia, SUNY Downstate, Montefiore, Stony Brook, Albany Med, Glens Falls, SUNY Upstate, University of Rochester, and University at Buffalo. Each provides comprehensive diagnostic evaluation, biomarker workup, anti-amyloid infusion access, and family education.1
4. Sign the documents now. New York Public Health Law explicitly provides that dementia is not "mental illness" for proxy purposes, so a person with mild-to-moderate dementia can still validly sign a Health Care Proxy and Durable Power of Attorney if they understand the act. The legal window closes earlier than families think.1
5. Real treatments exist. Lecanemab (Leqembi) and donanemab (Kisunla) modestly slow clinical progression in early symptomatic Alzheimer's with confirmed amyloid pathology. Medicare Part B covers them through a required patient registry. They are disease-modifying, not a cure.1
6. GUIDE respite. Medicare's GUIDE Model launched July 1, 2024 and includes up to $2,500 a year of caregiver respite. Sixteen GUIDE models operate in NY, including Northwell Health, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Columbia University Neurology, ArchCare Dementia Care Connect, Isaac Health, Tembo Health, RBA Behavioral Wellness, and CareND Neurology Group. If your loved one has traditional Medicare and a confirmed dementia diagnosis, ask your CEAD or PCP whether your nearest GUIDE participant can enroll them.1
7. Medicare won't pay for the nursing home. It pays only for a limited post-hospitalization skilled-nursing stay; Medicaid is the only realistic public payer for custodial nursing home care, after a spend-down. NY enforces a 60-month look-back for institutional Medicaid; community Medicaid currently has no look-back (the long-anticipated 30-month community look-back is still unimplemented).2
8. Respite is layered. Dementia families can tap all nine streams in our Respite Care in New York guide, plus the GUIDE Model $2,500-a-year benefit. The Alzheimer's Association 24/7 helpline (1-800-272-3900) is the fastest way to learn which streams you qualify for.
9. MOLST is for late stage. The pink-paper Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (DOH-5003) is a current medical order, not an advance directive. Use it when the patient is in long-term care, at FAST stage 6c–7, and the family has had a goals-of-care conversation with the attending physician. Premature MOLST execution can cause under-treatment of reversible conditions.
10. DMV reporting is voluntary. In NY, a primary care doctor or memory specialist can voluntarily file DMV form DS-7, meaning you don't have to be the one to take the keys. The 2024 JAMA Network Open analysis found mandatory-reporting states have higher dementia underdiagnosis because patients avoid the doctor.
11. Hospice has a clear trigger. CMS Local Coverage Determination L34567 sets the eligibility floor: FAST stage 7 plus at least one secondary condition (aspiration pneumonia, septicemia, stage 3–4 pressure ulcers, weight loss ≥10% in 6 months, or albumin <2.5 g/dL). Hospice is not giving up, it is the most concentrated dose of caregiving support the U.S. healthcare system offers a dying patient.

How This Guide Is Organized

The article walks through the eight central questions every NY dementia family eventually asks, in roughly the order they ask them.

1. The Size and Shape of Dementia Caregiving in New York

1.1 The headline numbers

The Alzheimer's Association's 2025 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures is the primary source on NY dementia epidemiology.

• NY adults 65+ living with Alzheimer's disease: more than 426,500, about 12.7% of the state's adults over 65.1
• United States adults 65+ living with Alzheimer's: more than 7 million, about 1 in 9 people age 65+.
• United States unpaid hours of dementia care (2025): more than 19 billion hours of unpaid help nationally.

New York's dementia-caregiving population is among the largest of any state. That scale, by itself, tells a worried family the thing they most need to hear: you are not alone in this.1

1.2 The race and ethnicity overlay

The 2025 Facts and Figures race and ethnicity findings have direct relevance to NY, a state with large Black and Hispanic/Latino populations.

• Older Black Americans are about twice as likely as older White Americans to have Alzheimer's or other dementia, roughly 19% of Black adults 65+, versus about 10% of White adults 65+.1
• Older Hispanic/Latino Americans are about one and a half times as likely as their older White peers.
• Modifiable risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, obesity, sleep apnea, midlife hearing loss, and social isolation) account for a larger share of cases in non-White populations (Lancet Commission on Dementia, 2024 update).
• Despite higher prevalence, Black and Hispanic adults 65+ are less likely to be formally diagnosed with dementia. Diagnosis disparity is driven by access barriers (specialist scarcity, language, transportation), implicit bias in primary care, and lower trust in research and health-care institutions stemming from historical inequities.

This means the NY dementia caregiving population is disproportionately Black and Latina women, often working-age, often sandwich-generation, often without paid leave, often relying on patchwork arrangements rather than formal long-term services and supports.

1.3 The sandwich-generation overlay

The 2025 AARP/National Alliance for Caregiving Caregiving in the US 2025 survey reports that nearly a third of all family caregivers are sandwich-generation (simultaneously caring for an adult and a child under 18), rising to almost half among caregivers under age 50. Those are national rates; no official count of New York's sandwich-generation dementia caregivers is published. If you are holding a job, a child, and a parent with dementia at the same time, you are in the ordinary case, not the unusual one, which matters when you ask an employer or a care manager for accommodation.

1.4 The geographic distribution inside NY

NY's dementia caregiving load is not evenly distributed across regions:

• NYC five boroughs: the largest share of NY's dementia patient population; concentrated in older immigrant communities (especially Queens and Brooklyn) where adult-children caregivers face language and benefits-navigation barriers.
• Long Island (Nassau + Suffolk): a substantial share; affluent on average, with high private-pay capacity.
• Hudson Valley + Capital Region: a meaningful share; a mix of suburban and rural.
• Western NY (Buffalo + Niagara): a smaller, older-skewing share, with more economic stress.
• Finger Lakes + Central NY + North Country + Southern Tier: the rural remainder; caregiving challenges, distance to CEADs, and scarce in-home aides.

2. Where to Go for a Real Diagnosis

The single most important early decision a NY dementia family makes is where to get evaluated. A 30-minute primary care visit is not a dementia evaluation. A real workup involves cognitive testing, neuroimaging, biomarker analysis, medication reconciliation, a functional assessment, and a written care plan. Three pathways:

2.1 The Annual Wellness Visit cognitive screen, Medicare Part B

Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage both must include cognitive impairment screening as a structured element of the Annual Wellness Visit (HCPCS code G0438 for the initial AWV, G0439 for subsequent annual AWVs). Common tools: Mini-Cog, GPCOG, MIS (Memory Impairment Screen). If the screen flags concerns, the clinician should proceed to a deeper Cognitive Assessment & Care Plan, see 2.2.

Note on codes: G0444 is the Annual Depression Screening code, not the cognitive assessment code. The current code for the deeper cognitive assessment and care plan is CPT 99483, per CMS. If an office quotes you a different code for a cognitive assessment, ask them to confirm it against the CMS page linked in 2.2.

2.2 Cognitive Assessment and Care Plan Services, CPT 99483

CPT 99483 is a Medicare Part B benefit, billable in addition to E/M when documentation requirements are met. It is a roughly 50-minute visit conducted by an MD/DO/NP/PA/clinical nurse specialist that produces a written care plan shared with the patient and caregiver.

Required elements per the CMS Cognitive Assessment & Care Plan Services page: cognitive examination; review of medical/surgical/family/social history; functional assessment of basic and instrumental ADLs (using validated instruments such as FAST or CDR); medication reconciliation focused on high-risk drugs (anticholinergics, benzodiazepines); decisional capacity evaluation; staff/caregiver knowledge assessment; safety evaluation (driving, home, financial); identification of caregiver needs; referrals; advance care planning; written care plan.

Most NY families never hear about CPT 99483 because primary care offices don't always offer it. Ask. The CEADs offer it routinely.

2.3 The CEADs (Centers of Excellence for Alzheimer's Disease)

The NYSDOH-designated CEADs include:

CEADs offer comprehensive diagnostic evaluation (neuropsychological testing, neuroimaging, biomarker workup), care planning and family support, specialty consultation to PCPs across the state, anti-amyloid infusion programs (lecanemab/donanemab), caregiver education classes, and clinical research recruitment. Each center is supported by multi-year NYSDOH grant funding.1

2.4 The NIH Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (ADRCs)

NIA-funded ADRCs are clinical/translational research centers, separate from NY's state CEADs, though they often co-locate. NY hosts:

• NYU Langone ADRC (Silberstein Alzheimer's Institute / Pearl I. Barlow Center), one of the oldest and largest in the U.S.
• Mount Sinai ADRC, directed by Mary Sano, PhD.
• Columbia/Taub Institute ADRC.
• Albert Einstein ADRC (affiliated with Montefiore).
• University of Rochester ADRC.

ADRCs are the right place to enroll in clinical trials (e.g., next-generation anti-amyloid therapies, anti-tau therapies, prevention trials in pre-symptomatic mutation carriers).

2.5 What "memory mimics" must be ruled out

A real workup distinguishes Alzheimer's from other causes, and several of those other causes are treatable or reversible. Reversible/treatable mimics that any competent dementia evaluation rules out:

• B12 deficiency
• Hypothyroidism
• Normal pressure hydrocephalus
• Major depression (pseudo-dementia)
• Polypharmacy / anticholinergic burden / benzodiazepine misuse
• Urinary tract infection-induced delirium
• Subdural hematoma
• Sleep apnea
• Heavy alcohol use

If the primary care office didn't draw labs (TSH, B12, CBC, CMP, sometimes RPR/HIV), didn't order a brain MRI, and didn't reconcile medications, you didn't have a real workup, go to a CEAD.

3. What Programs and Infrastructure Does New York Actually Have?

This is where NY's story diverges from a Texas or Florida or Mississippi article. NY has built a five-pillar public-health-meets-clinical-care infrastructure for dementia that no other state has assembled in the same density.

3.1 NYSDOH Bureau of Healthy Aging, the public-health backbone

The Bureau of Healthy Aging within NYSDOH's Office of Public Health is the state's dementia public-health hub, with three core program lines: the CEADs (clinical-care arm); the Alzheimer's Disease Caregiver Support Initiative (community-services arm); and the CDC BOLD Cooperative Agreement (epidemiology and surveillance arm).

3.2 Alzheimer's Disease Caregiver Support Initiative (ADCSI)

ADCSI is the state's flagship caregiver-support funding stream, administered by NYSDOH's Bureau of Healthy Aging.1

• Structure: Single Source Procurement to 10 grantees statewide, plus a contract with the Coalition of New York State Alzheimer's Association Chapters that flows funding to all 7 NY chapters for the 24/7 helpline, support groups, care consultations, education, and outreach.
• Services delivered: care consultations, evidence-based caregiver training (Savvy Caregiver, REACH-II, Habilitation Therapy), the 24/7 helpline 1-800-272-3900 (200+ languages via interpreter), support groups, public outreach, professional caregiver training.3
• Underserved Communities track: RFA history shows a separate procurement targeting underserved communities, rural North Country, Southern Tier; immigrant communities in Queens/Brooklyn; African-American communities across NYC; Latino communities in the Bronx and Western Queens.
• Geographic reach: ADCSI-funded services are delivered statewide, through the grantees and the Alzheimer's Association chapters in 3.3.

If you are a NY caregiver and you don't know where to start, the simplest action you can take today is to call 1-800-272-3900. It's free, 24/7, in your language, and a care consultant will tell you which CEAD, which AAA, which ADCSI grantee is right for you.3

3.3 The Alzheimer's Association, 7 NY chapters

The Coalition of New York State Alzheimer's Association Chapters delivers ADCSI-funded community services through 7 chapters, between them covering every region of the state:

All chapters share the 24/7 Helpline 1-800-272-3900, the MedicAlert + Safe Return wandering registry, family-led support groups, evidence-based caregiver education programs (Savvy Caregiver, Powerful Tools for Caregivers, Memory Sundays), Memory Cafés, and Walk to End Alzheimer's events.3

3.4 NYU BOLD Public Health Center of Excellence

NYU Grossman School of Medicine is one of three CDC-designated BOLD (Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure) Public Health Centers of Excellence for early dementia detection. The Center develops a 4-step early detection care pathway and provides technical assistance to states. NYU's BOLD PHCOE is housed in the Division of Geriatric Medicine and Palliative Care (Pearl I. Barlow Center).

NY State separately holds a CDC BOLD Cooperative Agreement (NU58DP006911) awarded September 30, 2023 for a 5-year period (FY 2024–FY 2028). Activities: brain-health awareness; chronic-disease comorbidity management for dementia; partnerships to improve early detection and diagnosis; surveillance via the BRFSS Cognitive Decline and Caregiver modules.

3.5 GUIDE Model (Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience), CMS

CMS launched the GUIDE Model on July 1, 2024, an 8-year alternative payment model for comprehensive dementia care, running through June 30, 2032.

• Per-Beneficiary Per-Month (PBPM) payment to the GUIDE participant for comprehensive dementia care, care navigator, 24/7 helpline, caregiver education, behavioral support.
• Up to $2,500 per year of caregiver respite for qualifying traditional-Medicare beneficiaries with confirmed dementia diagnosis.1
• Established Track participants began delivering services 7/1/2024; New Track participants began delivering services 7/1/2025.

Sixteen GUIDE models operate in New York. Three of the large academic health systems are on the CMS participant list with New York addresses and intake numbers, which makes them the most concrete places to start asking:

Other NY participants include ArchCare Dementia Care Connect, Isaac Health, Tembo Health, RBA Behavioral Wellness, and CareND Neurology Group. The full roster is on the CMS GUIDE participant list, with NY-specific tracking from LeadingAge NY.

If your loved one has traditional Medicare and a confirmed dementia diagnosis, ask your PCP or CEAD whether the nearest GUIDE participant can enroll them. The up-to-$2,500-a-year respite benefit is new and underutilized.1

4. Are There Real Treatments for Alzheimer's Now?

The 2010s and early 2020s era when "there is nothing you can do" was nearly true is over.

4.1 Lecanemab (Leqembi) and donanemab (Kisunla)

Two FDA-approved disease-modifying anti-amyloid therapies are now available at every NY CEAD.

Required to qualify (both drugs): confirmed amyloid pathology (amyloid PET or CSF Aβ42/40 ratio), MCI or mild dementia stage (moderate or severe AD means denial), APOE genotyping for ARIA risk stratification, baseline MRI within 12 months pre-initiation, and serial MRIs to monitor for ARIA-E (edema) and ARIA-H (microhemorrhages).

Coverage:

• Medicare Part B covers both, contingent on enrollment in a CMS-approved patient registry.
• NY Medicaid (NYRx): neither drug appears on the current NYRx Preferred Drug List, so Medicaid coverage is not something to count on until it is confirmed for your case. Have the CEAD submit the authorization and get the answer in writing before the first infusion is scheduled; NYRx accepts electronic prior authorization via CoverMyMeds. The infusion administration itself is billed under the medical benefit at the infusion clinic (typically a CEAD). See 6.3.
• Out-of-pocket on Medicare: the standard Part B coinsurance and deductible apply, and a Medigap plan can bring out-of-pocket close to zero.

These drugs are not a cure. They modestly slow clinical progression in early symptomatic Alzheimer's, and they do not work in moderate or severe AD. The clinical question with every patient is: is the amyloid pathology confirmed, is the staging mild, and is the patient and family prepared for monthly or bimonthly infusions plus serial MRI monitoring?1

4.2 Brexpiprazole (Rexulti) for AD-associated agitation

The FDA approved brexpiprazole for Alzheimer's-associated agitation on May 10, 2023, the first non-off-label antipsychotic indicated for behavioral symptoms of dementia. It is on the NYRx PDL with PA requiring documentation of agitation interfering with care and failure of behavioral interventions. Not a routine first-line agent. Behavioral interventions, environmental adjustments, and treatment of treatable triggers (pain, infection, constipation) come first.

4.3 Cognitive enhancers, donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine, memantine

The cholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil/Aricept, rivastigmine/Exelon, galantamine/Razadyne) and the NMDA receptor antagonist memantine (Namenda) remain on every dementia treatment ladder. They produce modest symptomatic benefit, typically a 6–12 month delay in clinical decline. Side-effect profile (GI for cholinesterase inhibitors; sedation and dizziness for memantine) often determines tolerability. NYRx covers all four generically without PA.

5. Get the Legal Documents Done, Now

Nobody wants to sit their mother down and talk about who signs for her when she no longer can. It feels like giving up on her. It is the opposite: doing it early is how you protect her choices while she can still make them. The single most important legal conversation a NY dementia family will have is with a NY-licensed elder-law attorney, while the person with dementia still has capacity. The legal window closes earlier than families think.

5.1 Health Care Proxy, Public Health Law Article 29-C

Statute: NY Public Health Law §§ 2980–2994. Primary appointment provision at § 2981.

• A "competent adult" may execute a Health Care Proxy. Every adult is presumed competent unless a court has adjudicated otherwise.
• Critically, "mental illness" under § 2980 (the definitions section) explicitly excludes dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. This was the basis for the holding in Matter of Mildred M.J., 43 A.D.3d 1391 (4th Dept. 2007), where the Fourth Department upheld a proxy executed by a woman with moderate dementia.1
• Capacity standard: "the ability to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of health care decisions, including the benefits and risks of and alternatives to any proposed health care."
• A proxy takes effect when the attending physician (and a concurring physician for life-sustaining-treatment decisions) determines the principal lacks capacity.
• The proxy form does not need to be notarized, but it must be signed by two adult witnesses (the agent cannot be a witness).

The article-level guidance: execute a Health Care Proxy as soon as a memory concern is raised, not after the diagnosis hardens.

5.2 Family Health Care Decisions Act, Public Health Law Article 29-CC

If the patient never executed a proxy and lacks capacity, NY PHL §§ 2994-a through 2994-u (the Family Health Care Decisions Act, enacted 2010) creates a surrogate decision-making hierarchy:

1. Court-appointed Article 81 guardian with health-care decision authority.
2. Spouse or domestic partner.
3. Adult child (18+).
4. Parent.
5. Adult sibling (18+).
6. "Close friend", an 18+ adult who has maintained regular contact and signs a § 2994-d statement.

The FHCDA covers hospitals, nursing homes, and (since 2015) hospice settings, but it does not apply in private homes. So a family caring for someone at home, without a Proxy, has no statutory decision-making authority under FHCDA. This is one more reason to execute a Proxy now.

5.3 Durable Power of Attorney, General Obligations Law § 5-1501

Statute: NY GOL §§ 5-1501 through 5-1514. The 2021 reform (L. 2020, ch. 323) amended §§ 5-1501 through 5-1514 effective June 13, 2021 for all POAs signed on or after that date.

Key 2021 reform changes relevant to dementia families:

• Eliminated the separate Statutory Gifts Rider; gifts are now incorporated into the Modifications section (a modest annual gift total is allowed without special language, and larger gifts require explicit modification authority).
• "Substantially compliant" language allowed, exact wording no longer required.
• "Safe harbor" for third parties (banks, financial institutions) accepting an acknowledged POA in good faith.
• Sanctions authorized against a third party that "unreasonably refuses" a valid POA.
• Two disinterested witnesses required (one may also be the notary public).1
• A POA is durable unless it expressly says otherwise, meaning it survives the principal's later incapacity, which is the entire point for dementia families.

Every dementia family should have both a Health Care Proxy and a durable POA. The Proxy covers medical decisions; the POA covers financial decisions, real estate, taxes, and government benefits applications, including Medicaid. Note: NY's Medicaid application can be filed by a POA agent only if the POA explicitly grants "Government Benefits" authority.

5.4 MOLST (Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment, DOH-5003)

MOLST is not an advance directive. It is a physician (or NP/PA) signed medical order, on a bright-pink form, that travels with the patient across care settings.

• Use case: seriously ill patients, including advanced dementia, likely to face a foreseeable medical emergency within the next year, where the patient/surrogate has stated preferences about CPR, intubation, hospital transfer, artificial nutrition, antibiotics, and dialysis.
• MOLST is the only NY-authorized form for nonhospital DNR and DNI orders.
• Must be signed by the patient (if capacity) or surrogate (FHCDA hierarchy or Health Care Proxy), and discussed in a goals-of-care conversation with the physician/NP/PA.
• MOLST is portable, emergency responders and ER staff are required to honor it.

The most important nuance: MOLST is for late-stage dementia in a long-term-care setting. Early- or mild-stage families should focus on Proxy + POA + goals-of-care conversations, and execute MOLST when (a) the patient is in long-term care, (b) is at FAST 6c–7, and (c) the family has had a goals-of-care conversation with the attending. Premature MOLST execution can lead to under-treatment of reversible conditions (e.g., a UTI not aggressively treated because the MOLST limits antibiotics).

5.5 Article 81 Guardianship, Mental Hygiene Law § 81

When a person has dementia and never executed a Proxy or POA, and the family needs decision-making authority, the path is MHL Article 81 guardianship of person and/or property.

• Filed in NY State Supreme Court.
• Functional standard, not diagnostic standard: incapacity is shown when the person is unable to provide for personal needs and/or property and cannot understand the consequences of that inability, established by clear and convincing evidence.
• Least restrictive alternative principle: the court tailors the guardian's powers to the specific needs (limited guardianship). A dementia patient with mild impairment may need only a property guardian, not a personal-needs guardian.1
• Hearing typically held within 28 days of petition filing.
• Court appoints a court evaluator to investigate; the alleged incapacitated person (AIP) has counsel.
• Cost: typically several thousand dollars in attorney and court-evaluator fees, paid out of the AIP's estate, and more in contested cases.

Article 81 should be the last legal tool, not the first. Encourage Proxy + POA in early dementia. Article 81 becomes necessary when (a) no advance documents exist, (b) family disputes are blocking decision-making, (c) the patient is being financially exploited and a court order is needed, or (d) a third party is refusing to honor a POA.

5.6 The Medical Aid in Dying Act, not your dementia planning tool

Governor Hochul signed the Medical Aid in Dying Act (S.138/A.136), often shortened to MAID, on February 6, 2026. The Act takes effect six months after signing, and the delay is there so the Department of Health can write the implementing regulations and facilities can train staff, so the operating details are still being drafted. What the state has said about the law is narrow: it "will allow medical aid in dying to be available to terminally ill New Yorkers with less than six months to live."1

Families sometimes hear about the new law and assume it is a way to write down late-stage dementia wishes in advance. It is not that kind of document, and it is not a substitute for the planning in this section. Do your dementia planning with the Health Care Proxy, the Durable POA, and later the MOLST. If you want to understand how the Act might apply to a specific diagnosis and prognosis, that is a question for the treating physician and an elder-law attorney once the regulations are published, not one to settle from a news story.

For NY families seeking a non-statutory expression of late-stage dementia preferences, advocacy organizations (End of Life Choices NY, dementia-directive.org) circulate template "Dementia Directives" that can be attached to a Health Care Proxy as guidance for the agent. These are not statutorily binding the way the Proxy itself is, but a thoughtful agent will follow them.

6. Who Pays for What: Medicare, Medicaid, GUIDE, NYRx

The money questions are where most families feel the floor drop out, usually right after they learn Medicare will not pay for the nursing home. Here is the honest map of who pays for what, so you can plan instead of guess.

6.1 Medicare's coverage limits, what Medicare does and does not cover

Here is what Medicare does and does not pay for across the arc of dementia care.1

6.2 NY Medicaid, the dominant funder of long-term dementia care

Three pathways:

(a) Institutional Medicaid for long-term nursing home care

• Medicaid income level (2026): $1,836/month for a single applicant, $2,489/month for a couple; income above the $50/month personal-needs allowance and any diverted spousal allowance goes to the facility.
• Resource limit (2026): $33,038 individual / $44,796 couple; a community spouse may keep the greater of $74,820 or the spousal share up to $162,660.
• 60-month look-back for institutional Medicaid; community Medicaid currently has no look-back (the long-anticipated 30-month community look-back remains unimplemented).
• Private-pay nursing home care in New York runs many thousands of dollars a month, among the highest rates in the nation, which is exactly why Medicaid planning matters.2

(b) MLTC (Managed Long Term Care) for community dementia care

• The NY default for community-based long-term services and supports for dual-eligibles 18+ with a 120-day-or-more LTSS need.4
• Eligibility floor: Nursing Facility Level of Care via the Community Health Assessment administered by the NY Independent Assessor (NYIA) under the MRT 1115 redesign framework. Cognitive impairment alone does not auto-qualify, but an assessment score reflecting moderate-to-severe cognitive impairment + ADL needs (typically supervision in 2+ ADLs, IADL impairments, or behavioral risk) usually qualifies.
• MLTC plans authorize: home health aide hours (up to 24/7 in some cases), personal care, social adult day services (SADS, distinct from medical model adult day), nutritional supports, durable medical equipment, transportation to medical appointments.
• "Behavioral health track" in MLTC: MAP-HARP (Medicaid Advantage Plus paired with Health and Recovery Plan) integrates behavioral health home and community services with LTSS for individuals meeting both BH and LTSS criteria. For dementia patients with severe BPSD plus a primary serious mental illness diagnosis meeting HARP eligibility, MAP-HARP can layer in psychiatric rehabilitation, peer support, and crisis services. (Without a primary SMI diagnosis, dementia + BPSD typically does not qualify for HARP.)

(c) NHTD (Nursing Home Transition and Diversion) 1915(c) Waiver

• For Medicaid-eligible adults 18+ requiring NF level of care who choose to receive services in the community.
• 2026 status: NHTD has reached its approved participant maximum of 14,079, and NYSDOH states it "cannot process any additional referrals ... at this time," with referrals received closed by letter rather than moved to intake. Regional Resource Development Centers fill spaces first-come, first-served only as census space opens, so treat NHTD as a door to wait for, not one you can enter today. Worth knowing: that ceiling is not static. A waiver amendment accepted May 15, 2026 raised it from the 9,400 approved in December 2025 to 14,079 for waiver years 2025-26 through 2027-28, so the program has been growing and it is worth re-checking rather than writing off. Many NY caregivers will find that other pathways (MLTC, NFCSP, EISEP) are more accessible.5
• Persons with dementia can be NHTD participants if they have a designated representative for service planning.1
• Services include: Service Coordination, Community Transitional Services, Home and Community Support Services (HCSS), Independent Living Skills Training, Community Integration Counseling, Environmental Modifications, Assistive Technology, Respiratory Therapy, Nutritional/Dietary Counseling, Moving Assistance.

NHTD is not a dementia waiver. Some online resources frame it that way; that is misleading. NHTD is a Nursing Home Transition and Diversion 1915(c) waiver with cognitive impairment as one qualifying functional criterion among many, and NYSDOH does not describe it as a dementia-specific waiver. If you are looking for a NY waiver built around a dementia diagnosis, ask NY Connects (1-800-342-9871) what is currently available rather than assuming NHTD is it.1

6.3 NYRx, disease-modifying therapy coverage

NYRx is the NY Medicaid Pharmacy Program, with Preferred Drug Program oversight by NYSDOH. It covers the older cognitive enhancers generically (see 4.3) and lists brexpiprazole with prior authorization.

On the two anti-amyloid infusions, be careful what you assume. Neither lecanemab nor donanemab appears on the current NYRx Preferred Drug List, so we cannot tell you that NY Medicaid pays for them. That absence is not the same as a denial: these are clinician-administered infusions, which are typically billed under the medical benefit at the infusion clinic rather than through the pharmacy benefit, so the pharmacy list is not necessarily where their coverage would appear. What it does mean is that nobody should plan around Medicaid coverage of these drugs until it is confirmed for their own case.

The practical route: have the prescribing CEAD's team submit the authorization and get the answer in writing before the first infusion is scheduled. NYRx does accept electronic prior authorizations via CoverMyMeds, so the request itself is quick to file. If your loved one has Medicare as well as Medicaid, Medicare Part B is the primary payer for these infusions (see 4.1), and that is the coverage path to work first.1

6.4 GUIDE Model, the new federal pillar

(Discussed in detail in Section 3.5.) Per-Beneficiary Per-Month payment to the GUIDE participant for comprehensive dementia care, plus up to $2,500 per year of caregiver respite for traditional-Medicare GUIDE-enrolled dementia patients. Sixteen NY participants. If your loved one has traditional Medicare, ask.1

7. How Do I Handle the Behaviors?

Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD), agitation, aggression, psychosis, depression, sundowning, sleep disturbance, affect the large majority of dementia patients at some point. The first principle of NY dementia care is behavioral interventions before drugs. NY families have access to several evidence-based techniques.

7.1 Validation Therapy (Naomi Feil)

Developed by Naomi Feil, MSW, between 1963 and 1980. A person-centered communication method classified into four stages: Malorientation, Time Confusion, Repetitive Motion, Vegetation. Core techniques: linking behavior to unmet needs; matching emotion; centering; rephrasing; using touch and music. Evidence base from Cochrane Reviews (Neal & Barton Wright, 2003; Scales et al., 2018) shows reductions in agitation, increased communication, and reduced psychotropic medication use.

The Validation Training Institute (vfvalidation.org) certifies workers and group leaders. Several NY Alzheimer's Association chapters offer Validation-informed family caregiver training.

7.2 Reminiscence Therapy

Structured engagement with a person's life history through photos, music, scents, objects, life-story books. Cochrane Review (Woods et al., 2018): modest improvements in mood and quality of life, with possible cognitive benefits. Frequently incorporated into adult day programs, memory cafés, and Alzheimer's Association support groups across NY.

7.3 Music & Memory

National program (musicandmemory.org) that creates personalized music playlists for individuals with dementia, delivered via headphones. NYC Health + Hospitals has deployed Music & Memory across multiple skilled nursing facilities (Coler, Sea View, Henry J. Carter), with reductions in antipsychotic use and improved quality-of-life metrics. Outside NYC, individual nursing homes and SADS programs have adopted Music & Memory often with NYSOFA or private foundation seed funding.

7.4 Person-Centered Care, Eden Alternative + Green House Project

The Eden Alternative (edenalt.org) was founded by William H. Thomas, MD, in 1991 while he was medical director of Chase Memorial Nursing Home in New Berlin, NY. The Eden 10 Principles aim to eliminate loneliness, helplessness, and boredom. The Green House Project (thegreenhouseproject.org) was founded by Thomas in 2003 as a built-environment expression of Eden principles: small homes (10–12 elders), private rooms, open kitchen, integrated living. Green House homes are deemed-equivalent skilled nursing facilities for Medicare/Medicaid certification. St. John's Home in Rochester is a long-running Green House Project NY site.

7.5 Habilitation Therapy (Paul Raia, PhD)

Developed by Paul Raia, PhD, formerly VP of Clinical Services at the Alzheimer's Association MA/NH chapter. A 13-hour person-centered care curriculum that trains caregivers to approach BPSD by identifying the underlying unmet need or environmental trigger and adapting the environment/communication rather than confronting the behavior. The Alzheimer's Association offers a 7-hour train-the-trainer program for professional providers across NY; some NY chapters incorporate Habilitation-informed teaching into family caregiver education.

7.6 Behavioral interventions for specific symptoms

7.7 Caregiver-focused evidence-based programs

Several evidence-based caregiver-skills-training programs are offered through NY ADCSI grantees and Alzheimer's Association NY chapters:

• REACH-II (Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health), multi-component skills training; reduces caregiver depression and burden (Schulz et al., Ann Intern Med 2006).
• Savvy Caregiver, 6-session program.
• Powerful Tools for Caregivers, 6-session self-care program offered widely through NYSOFA AAA Caregiver Resource Centers.
• STAR-C (STAR Caregivers), behavioral intervention training.
• Tailored Activity Program (TAP), OT-led individualized engagement program.

Ask the Alzheimer's Association 24/7 helpline (1-800-272-3900) or your CEAD which programs run in your county.3

8. Respite Options for NY Dementia Caregivers

NY's nine respite funding streams are detailed in our Respite Care in New York deep guide. The dementia-specific layers worth highlighting:

1. NFCSP / Title III-E, the National Family Caregiver Support Program statutorily covers caregivers of any-age individuals with Alzheimer's disease or related disorders (in addition to caregivers of individuals 60+). 42 USC § 3030s. One of the few federal benefits that drops the age floor for ADRD caregivers.
2. NYSOFA State Respite Program, 6 community organizations covering 23 counties. Many of these grantees prioritize dementia caregivers in their intake. Catholic Charities Albany covers 14 counties; EAC Inc covers Nassau; Nascentia covers Onondaga; Madison County OFA covers Madison; NY Foundation for Senior Citizens covers all 5 NYC boroughs; RiseWell Community Services covers Suffolk.
3. ADCSI grantees, most ADCSI grantees in NY operate caregiver respite vouchers as a service component, often a few hundred dollars per caregiver per year.
4. MLTC supplemental respite, many MLTC plans authorize respite hours (varies by plan) for plan members. This is plan-specific and not a guaranteed benefit.
5. Medicare hospice inpatient respite, once the patient is on hospice, the family qualifies for short-term inpatient respite of up to 5 consecutive days at a time at a Medicare-certified facility, reusable per benefit period. 42 CFR § 418.108.5
6. VA PCAFC respite, for veterans with dementia who need personal-care assistance with activities of daily living, the VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers (PCAFC) includes at least 30 days a year of respite for the primary family caregiver. 38 USC § 1720G.5
7. GUIDE Model respite benefit, up to $2,500 a year of respite for traditional-Medicare beneficiaries enrolled with a NY GUIDE participant. The newest dementia-specific respite stream, launched July 1, 2024.1
8. Alzheimer's Association NY chapter respite vouchers, the Western NY chapter and others operate respite voucher pilots; eligibility and dollar amount vary.
9. NYSCRC Lifespan voucher, Lifespan of Greater Rochester's NYSCRC program offers up to $600 per first-time approved caregiver applicant (per care recipient). The voucher can pay an agency, individual contractor, or a hired family member or friend, one of the few NY pathways that can pay a friend or family member for respite.5

If you are reading this and you have not taken a break in the last six months, the right next action is the Alzheimer's Association 24/7 helpline (1-800-272-3900). They will route you.3

9. How Do We Know When It's Time for Hospice?

This is the question families dread most, and also the one where a clear answer tends to bring real relief instead of more dread. New York leans on the same federal yardstick every hospice uses, so you do not have to guess where your loved one stands. Here is how to read it.

9.1 The Functional Assessment Staging Tool (FAST), Reisberg

The FAST scale is a 7-stage instrument for staging functional decline in Alzheimer's disease, developed by Barry Reisberg, MD. (Note: FAST is distinct from CDR, the Clinical Dementia Rating scale, and from GDS, the Global Deterioration Scale, also a Reisberg scale. CMS recognizes all three but they score differently.)

9.2 CMS LCD L34567, hospice eligibility for ADRD

Per CMS Local Coverage Determination L34567 (Hospice, Alzheimer's Disease & Related Disorders), a dementia patient meets terminal-status criteria (life expectancy ≤6 months) when both of the following are present:

1. FAST stage ≥7 with all of: inability to ambulate without assistance; inability to dress without assistance; inability to bathe without assistance; urinary and fecal incontinence; no consistently meaningful verbal communication.
2. At least one secondary condition in the past 12 months:
   • Aspiration pneumonia
   • Upper urinary tract infection (pyelonephritis)
   • Septicemia
   • Stage 3 or 4 pressure ulcers
   • Recurrent fever after antibiotics
   • Inability to maintain sufficient fluid/calorie intake, weight loss ≥10% in 6 months OR serum albumin <2.5 g/dL1

9.3 What hospice covers

• RN visits, home-health-aide visits, social work, chaplaincy/spiritual care.
• Bereavement counseling for family up to 13 months post-death.
• All medications related to terminal diagnosis.
• Durable medical equipment and oxygen.
• 5-day inpatient respite per benefit period at a Medicare-certified hospice facility or contracted SNF/hospital.

Two 90-day benefit periods, then unlimited 60-day benefit periods, with face-to-face recertification by hospice physician/NP at day 180 and every 60 days thereafter.

9.4 Top NY hospices serving dementia patients

The largest dementia-serving hospices in NY include VNS Health Hospice Care (NYC), Calvary Hospital (Bronx, the only Medicare-certified standalone hospital that is also a hospice in the U.S.), MJHS Hospice and Palliative Care (NYC + Long Island), Hospice Buffalo (Erie), Visiting Nurse Hospice of Rochester, Hospice of the North Country (Plattsburgh), Hospicare (Tompkins/Cortland), and Niagara Hospice (Niagara). A large share of U.S. hospice admissions have an Alzheimer's or nervous-system primary diagnosis.

9.5 Hospice does not mean stopping all care

The most damaging family-narrative around hospice is "we're giving up." The honest framing: hospice does not mean stopping all medications, comfort medications, including pain management, are intensified. Hospice does mean stopping curative-intent treatments (chemotherapy for a comorbid cancer; aggressive antibiotics for the 4th UTI of the year if the family/MOLST indicates comfort-focus). Hospice can be revoked at any time. And hospice transfers care to the hospice team but does not require the patient to leave home, most NY hospice care is delivered at home or in the long-term-care setting where the patient resides.

Families who elect hospice spend more time with their loved one at home, not less.

10. NY Driving and Cognitive Impairment

NY is not a mandatory physician-reporting state for cognitive impairment.

• Physicians may voluntarily report drivers via DMV form DS-7 (Physician's Reporting Form) or a letter on physician letterhead, addressed to the DMV's Driver Improvement Bureau.
• The DMV may then schedule a re-examination interview; require a road test; require a supplemental written test; require an OT-administered driver rehabilitation evaluation; or suspend the license pending physician certification.
• Family members or others (including police officers, social workers) can also submit a written report concerning a driver's safety to the DMV.
• The 2024 JAMA Network Open study (Hwang et al., doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.8236) found mandatory-reporting states (CA, DE, OR, PA, NV, NJ) had higher dementia underdiagnosis rates because patients avoided seeking care, supporting NY's voluntary approach.

You don't have to be the bad guy. Ask the PCP or memory specialist to make a voluntary DMV report. If you're uncomfortable with that, an OT-administered driver evaluation (covered by Medicare under PT/OT benefits when prescribed for a medical reason) is an objective third-party assessment.

Note on Article 19-A: Article 19-A of the Vehicle and Traffic Law governs commercial bus/truck drivers and certain other classifications, it is not the operative statute for personal driver licenses. The operative authority for medical reporting of personal-vehicle drivers is the DMV's medical reporting framework under VTL § 506 and 15 NYCRR Part 9.

11. Pending NY Legislation 2026 Session

As of 2026, New York still has no enacted state caregiver tax credit; the bills above remain pending.5

Other watch items:

• Memory care facility licensing standards, NY does not have a separate memory care licensure category distinct from Adult Care Facilities (Assisted Living Residences, Enhanced Assisted Living Residences with Special Needs Assisted Living Residence designation). Advocacy is pushing for stricter dementia-specific staff training requirements.
• Mandatory dementia training for nursing home staff, periodically introduced, not yet enacted.

12. Federal Threats 2026–2028

None of this changes what you do this week. It matters for the longer arc of planning, so here it is in brief.

12.1 OBBBA Medicaid provider-tax phase-down (on the horizon)

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21, signed July 4, 2025) phases down the federal hold-harmless threshold on Medicaid provider and managed-care-organization taxes in expansion states like New York, starting in FY 2028. Because the LTSS programs NY dementia families rely on (MLTC, NHTD, institutional Medicaid) are funded partly through this tax architecture, the phase-down could pressure New York's Medicaid financing later this decade unless the state backfills with its own revenue. There is nothing to act on today; treat it as a long-term planning signal.

12.2 OBBBA § 71121, new 1915(c)(11) HCBS waiver authority

OBBBA § 71121 amends 42 USC § 1396n to add a new subsection (c)(11) granting the HHS Secretary authority to approve state HCBS waivers without the institutional level-of-care requirement, effective July 1, 2028. This could enable a dementia-specific waiver in NY (for individuals at MCI/early dementia stage who don't yet meet NF level of care). NY has not announced a § 71121 waiver filing as of May 5, 2026.1

12.3 GUIDE Model funding stability

CMS Innovation Center models created during the prior administration are subject to ongoing review. As of May 5, 2026, GUIDE has not been terminated; participating organizations continue under contract through the 8-year model term (through June 30, 2032). The 2025 CMMI announcement of five new models (ACCESS, BALANCE, MAHA ELEVATE, GLOBE, GUARD) without naming GUIDE as continuing has raised concerns, but GUIDE remains operational at NY participants today.

12.4 Medicare AWV + Cognitive Assessment Fee Schedule

The 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (rule typically released July 2026 / final November 2026) will determine whether AWV cognitive screening and CPT 99483 reimbursement levels keep pace with inflation. CMS in 2024 increased CPT 99483 RVUs significantly to incentivize uptake; 2026 rates remain elevated.

13. Eight Common Myths to Let Go Of

Eight myths a NY dementia family should release before they go down a wrong path.

1. "Some memory loss is just normal aging, Alzheimer's is when it gets bad." Age-associated memory complaints (occasional name retrieval slips) are normal. Alzheimer's disease and other dementias are not normal aging, they are diseases caused by neurodegeneration, and they are diagnosable.

2. "Memory loss equals Alzheimer's." Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause, but it accounts for only the majority of dementia cases. Other major causes include vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia (DLB), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), Parkinson's disease dementia, mixed pathology dementia, and reversible/treatable mimics, B12 deficiency, hypothyroidism, normal pressure hydrocephalus, depression, medication side effects, urinary tract infection-induced delirium. A real workup at a CEAD or memory center distinguishes these.

3. "There's nothing you can do." Two FDA-approved disease-modifying therapies, lecanemab (Leqembi) and donanemab (Kisunla), are now available in NY for early symptomatic Alzheimer's with confirmed amyloid pathology. In their pivotal trials (CLARITY-AD and TRAILBLAZER-ALZ 2), each modestly slowed clinical progression over 18 months. They are not a cure, but "nothing you can do" is no longer true.1

4. "Medicare covers nursing home for dementia." Medicare pays only for a limited post-hospitalization skilled-nursing stay (the first 20 days fully covered, then a daily coinsurance). Medicare does not pay for long-term custodial dementia nursing home care. Medicaid does, after a spend-down.

5. "Hospice means giving up." Hospice is comfort-focused care for individuals with a prognosis of six months or less. Families who elect hospice spend more time with their loved one at home, not less. Hospice does not stop comfort medications; it stops curative-intent treatments.

6. "I have to take their car keys away myself." New York is not a mandatory physician-reporting state. NY physicians may voluntarily report drivers via DMV form DS-7 or a letter on physician letterhead. Families don't have to do this alone.

7. "Family members can be paid through Medicare to care for someone with dementia." Medicare does not pay family caregivers, full stop. The pathway in NY is the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) under Medicaid, which permits adult children, other adult relatives, and friends, but not a spouse or a legally responsible relative, to be paid by Medicaid for hands-on personal care provided to someone who is Medicaid-enrolled with a qualifying functional need. See companion How to Get Paid as a Family Caregiver in New York.6

8. "Putting Mom in a nursing home is abandonment." The honest framing: home care, with respite layered in, is the right answer for many families until it isn't. Triggers for nursing-home transition are well-documented in the geriatric literature: 24/7 supervision needs the family cannot meet without harming their own health; combative or wandering behavior that creates safety risk; medical complexity (tube feeding, complex wound care, IV antibiotics) that exceeds home-care training; caregiver health collapse. NY's MOLST + Health Care Proxy + Durable POA + 60-month Medicaid spend-down planning + Article 81 guardianship architecture exists precisely because families face this transition. The right care setting is not a moral test, it's a logistics decision.

14. Crisis Lines and Hotlines

Additional Resources

The primary sources behind this guide are grouped below for reference.1

Federal statute and regulation

• 42 USC § 3030s, § 3030s-1 (Older Americans Act NFCSP)
• 42 USC § 1396n (Medicaid HCBS authorities)
• 42 CFR § 418 (Medicare hospice)
• 38 USC § 1720G (VA Caregiver Support Program)
• 38 CFR § 71.40 (PCAFC)
• 90 FR 47891 (PCAFC Legacy Extension Final Rule, 9/29/2025)
• P.L. 119-21 §§ 71115, 71117, 71121 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act)

NY statute and case law

• NY PHL Article 29-C (Health Care Proxy) §§ 2980-2994
• NY PHL Article 29-CC (Family Health Care Decisions Act) §§ 2994-a through 2994-u
• NY GOL §§ 5-1501 through 5-1514 (Power of Attorney)
• NY MHL Article 81 (Guardianship)
• NY Elder Law § 214-d (NY Connects)
• Matter of Mildred M.J., 43 A.D.3d 1391 (4th Dep't 2007)

FDA actions

• Lecanemab (Leqembi) FDA Traditional Approval, July 6, 2023
• Donanemab (Kisunla) FDA Traditional Approval, July 2, 2024
• Brexpiprazole (Rexulti) FDA AD agitation indication, May 10, 2023

CMS / federal program

• CMS LCD L34567 (Hospice, Alzheimer's Disease & Related Disorders)
• CMS GUIDE Model, https://www.cms.gov/priorities/innovation/innovation-models/guide
• CMS Cognitive Assessment & Care Plan Services, https://www.cms.gov/medicare/payment/fee-schedules/physician/cognitive-assessment
• CMS Hospice Monitoring Report April 2025
• NCD 200.3 (Lecanemab/Donanemab coverage)

NYSDOH / NY agency

• NYSDOH Bureau of Healthy Aging, https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/conditions/dementia/
• NYSDOH CEAD At-A-Glance, https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/conditions/dementia/docs/cead_at-a-glance.pdf
• NYSDOH ADCSI Single Source Procurement
• NYSDOH MOLST page, https://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/patients/patient_rights/molst/
• NYSDOH NHTD Waiver, https://www.health.ny.gov/facilities/long_term_care/nhtd/
• NYSDOH MLTC Plan Directory, https://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/redesign/mrt90/plan_directory/index.htm
• NYRx Medicaid Pharmacy Program PDL (revised April 23, 2026)
• NYSOFA, https://aging.ny.gov/
• NY Connects, https://www.nyconnects.ny.gov
• NY Master Plan for Aging, https://planforaging.ny.gov/
• NY DMV Report a Medical Condition, https://dmv.ny.gov/report-a-medical-condition

Alzheimer's Association

• 2025 Facts and Figures, https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures
• 24/7 Helpline, 1-800-272-39003
• NY chapters: NYC, Long Island, Hudson Valley, Northeastern NY, Central NY, Rochester & Finger Lakes, Western NY
• MedicAlert + Safe Return wandering registry
• Center for Dementia Respite Innovation (CDRI)

Peer-reviewed

• Alzheimer's Association, 2025 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures
• Hwang Y, et al. "DMV Reporting Mandates of Dementia Diagnoses and Dementia Underdiagnosis." JAMA Network Open. 2024;7(4):e248236
• Schulz R, et al. REACH-II. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145(10):727-738
• Cochrane Review, Validation Therapy for Dementia (Neal & Barton Wright 2003; Scales et al. 2018)
• Cochrane Review, Reminiscence Therapy (Woods et al. 2018)
• Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care 2024 update

Reputable secondary

• AARP/NAC Caregiving in the US 2025, https://www.aarp.org/pri/topics/ltss/family-caregiving/caregiving-in-the-us-2025/
• NHPCO/Alliance for Care at Home 2024 Facts and Figures
• NYSBA FHCDA Resource Center
• LeadingAge NY GUIDE Models tracker
• Compassion & Choices NY (Medical Aid in Dying)
• End of Life Choices NY

Learn More

Find personalized help navigating New York dementia care resources at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.