“Alzheimer’s and dementia leading cause of death in England and Wales,” by Amelia Hill, The Guardian “With the numbers of people living with dementia in the UK expected to rise to 1 million by 2021, campaigners are urging the government to fulfill its pledges on adult social care, including publishing its long-awaited green paper. In his first speech as prime minister, Boris Johnson vowed to solve the UK’s social care crisis ‘once and for all,’ asserting that he would protect the elderly from the fear of having to sell their home to pay for the cost of care.”   LTC Comment (from Stephen
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“5 Cheapest Countries for Retirement (Some of Which May Surprise You),” by Marlene Satter, ThinkAdvisor “Some think of retirement as a last chance to do something nobody would expect, something different. But if there’s little retirement money saved, is it even possible? Well, be of good cheer, because GoBankingRates has looked into the matter to find places to spend retirement abroad. Using Numbeo, an online pricing database, to identify 50 countries that are the cheapest in the world to live during retirement, GoBankingRates ranked those countries by four key affordability metrics—and then measured each metric against what you would find in New York City.”   LTC Comment (from Stephen
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“Class-Action Lawsuit Seeks To Let Medicare Patients Appeal Gap in Nursing Home Coverage,” by Susan Jaffe, Kaiser Health News “If they win, people with traditional Medicare who received observation care services for three days or longer since Jan. 1, 2009, could file appeals seeking reimbursement for bills Medicare would have paid had they been admitted to the hospital. More than 1.3 million observation claims meet these criteria for the 10-year period through 2017, according to the most recently available government data.”   LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): The “observation stay” rule never seemed
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“To Save Money, American Patients And Surgeons Meet In Cancun,” by Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News “Medical tourism has been around for decades but has become more common in the past 20 years as more countries and hospitals around the world market themselves to foreigners. There are, of course, risks to going outside the country, including the headache of travel and the possibility that the standards of care may be lower than at home. If something goes wrong, patients will be far from family and friends who can help — and it might be more difficult to sue providers in
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“How Assisted Living Improves Quality of Life,” by Ruben Castaneda, U.S. News & World Report “From arranging social events to helping residents manage their medication, staff members at assisted living facilities can boost the living standards of seniors in ways large and small. … Here are seven ways assisted living can improve residents’ quality of life:”   LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Click through for the slide deck.  
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“Eating more meat and eggs lowers dementia risk in men,” by Alicia Lasek, McKnight’s LTC News “Men whose diet contained more choline, a nutrient found in a variety of foods, had a 28% lower risk of dementia than those with a comparably low intake, a Finnish investigation has found. … Major contributors of choline in the American diet are eggs, meat, poultry, fish, dairy foods, pasta and rice. The recommended daily intake is 425 mg/day for women and 550 mg/day for men. Two hard-boiled eggs provide up to 300 mg of choline.”   LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President,
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“Financial Performance of Medicare Advantage, Individual, and Group Health Insurance Markets,” by Gretchen Jacobson, Rachel Fehr, Cynthia Cox, and Tricia Neuman, Kaiser Family Foundation “Medicare-for-All proposals have sparked discussion about the role of private health insurance in the U.S. health care system. Some of the current Medicare-for-All proposals would essentially eliminate private insurance. Others would allow private insurers to administer benefits under the new public program, similar to the role of Medicare Advantage plans today, which serve as a private-plan alternative to traditional Medicare. Another set of proposals would create a new Medicare-like public plan option, but preserve a role for private health insurance,
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“Report Sounds Alarm on Medication Overload Among Older Americans,” by Liz Seegert, Next Avenue “Experts on aging are sounding the alarm about another U.S. drug crisis: Too many older adults taking too many medications. This trend is leading to a surge in adverse drug events (ADE) over the past two decades. The rate of emergency department visits by older adults for adverse drug events doubled between 2006 and 2014. That’s a problem as serious as the opioid crisis, but whose scope appears to remain virtually invisible to families, patients, policymakers and many clinicians, according to a recent report by the Lown
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“US seniors fulfill dreams, fight depression with virtual reality,” by Leila Macor, TechXplore “‘We use virtual reality to fulfill seniors’ wishes,’ said Ivanovitch, a digital humanities doctor. Through VR, seniors can go places they’ve never been and check destinations off their bucket lists. VR Genie, which is run by the nonprofit organization Equality Lab, is funded by Miami-Dade County’s Mayor’s Age Friendly Initiative through a mini grant. The goal is to provide nursing homes with VR helmets as soon as Ivanovitch, 35, compiles a more extensive ‘dream library.’”   LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care
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“The Benefits of Hiring a Companion for an Older Adult,” by Marijke Vroomen Durning, Next Avenue “More than 34 million family members and friends in the United States provide care to older adults, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP. … Getting help often involves hiring a home health care aide who can do tasks like bathing, toileting and dressing. Not all caregivers need someone to provide that level of care, though. Some may just need a helper to give them a little time to themselves or to run errands and do tasks that wouldn’t otherwise get done. For these
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