How We Source Our Numbers

Every figure on this site is traceable. This page explains where the numbers come from, how we rank them, and what we refuse to publish.

The rule

If a page contains a percentage, a dollar amount or a count, that page carries a numbered source list, and every source has a public URL and an access date. If we could not source a number, we did not use the number — we wrote a range, or we wrote nothing.

Tier 1: official sources

We treat these as primary and we quote them with their fiscal year or tax year attached.

• U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs — housing grant caps, eligibility categories
• Internal Revenue Service — Publication 502, medical expense rules, AGI thresholds
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services — coverage exclusions, waiver catalogues
• State agencies — Medicaid waiver terms, licensing and permit requirements

These are dated. A VA grant cap is set per fiscal year; a tax threshold is set per tax year. When a new year had not been published at the time we wrote, the page says so rather than guessing forward.

Tier 2: commercial sources, flagged

Manufacturers and dealers publish price ranges. Those are useful — they are the closest thing to a market price that exists publicly — but they are commercial documents written by parties with an interest in the sale.

Where we use them, we say so on the page: a manufacturer's name is marked as a manufacturer, and a publisher that earns affiliate commission is marked as commercial. We use them for ranges, never for a recommendation.

What a price on this site means

Unless a page says otherwise, a price here is:

• Installed, where the source quotes installed pricing
• Before sales tax and permits
• Excluding major structural work — new footings, wall removal, electrical service upgrades
• National in scope, which means it is wrong for your postcode in one direction or the other

Dealer pricing depends heavily on how much competition exists within driving distance. Two houses on the same street can differ by thousands.

What we will not publish

A number we cannot source. A grant cap from a year we have not verified. A price range invented to fill a table. A ranking of companies that reflects who pays us rather than who is cheaper.

Health and safety content

We describe equipment and costs. We do not tell you whether a device is medically appropriate for a particular person, and we do not describe a stairlift or a lift as a substitute for supervision or care. Those questions belong to a clinician or an occupational therapist.

Corrections

If a number is wrong or out of date, write to corrections@homeforyears.com. We change the page and note the date rather than defending the original.