“Hawaii, Mississippi bookend new list of healthiest states for older adults,” by Lois A. Bowers, McKnight’s Senior Living “Hawaii is the healthiest state for older adults, and Mississippi is the least healthy, according to United Health Foundation’s 2019 ‘America’s Health Rankings Senior Report.’” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Poke vs. po’boy.
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“Community Care For High-Need Patients,” by Alan R. Weil, Health Affairs “Almost everyone wants to live in their own home and community as they age. Yet for many, later age brings frailty and the accumulation of chronic conditions. This month’s issue of Health Affairs examines how we can best provide care in the community for people with advanced illness.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): The June issue of Health Affairs focuses on problems with home health care for the aging, including caregiver shortages and financing. This month’s issue has several “open access” articles of interest
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“A Dozen Facts About Medicare Advantage in 2019,” by Gretchen Jacobson, Meredith Freed, Anthony Damico, and Tricia Neuman, Kaiser Family Foundation “Medicare Advantage enrollment has grown rapidly over the past decade, and Medicare Advantage plans have taken on a larger role in the Medicare program. This data collection provides current information and trends about Medicare Advantage enrollment, premiums, and out-of-pocket limits. It also includes analyses of Medicare Advantage plans’ extra benefits and prior authorization requirements.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Latest status of the MA boom.
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“Views: A retirement readiness benefit that addresses the financial challenges of aging,” by Brian Harrington, Employee Benefit News “With financial readiness emerging as a major theme in benefits, attention is turning to an often overlooked aspect of retirement planning: helping employees address the financial challenges of aging — namely long-term care, an expense that can quickly wipe out the best-laid retirement plans. To help employees and their families protect their hard-earned savings from these potentially devastating costs, more employers are offering group long-term care insurance as part of their financial readiness benefits.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for
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“10 Things to Know About Medicare Part D Coverage and Costs in 2019,” by Juliette Cubanski, Kaiser Family Foundation “The Medicare Part D program provides an outpatient prescription drug benefit to older adults and people with long-term disabilities in Medicare who enroll in private plans, including stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) to supplement traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MA-PDs) that include drug coverage and other Medicare-covered benefits. This analysis provides the latest data about Medicare Part D coverage and costs in 2019 and trends over time.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care
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“How to Pick Your Retirement Home When There Are More Choices Than Ever,” by Reshma Kapadia, Barron’s “And shoppers certainly have plenty to choose from, as the new iterations of senior housing run the gamut. Condos equipped with aging-friendly counters and wheelchair-friendly doorways are popping up near major metro areas in mixed-use condo buildings, adjacent to bike trails and within walking distance of restaurants, entertainment, and transportation. Assisted-living and continuing-care retirement communities offer independent living, but also assisted living, memory care, and nursing homes on campus. They can boast executive chefs, concierge services, and amenities on par with four-star resorts.”
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“2018 Profile of Older Americans,” Administration for Community Living “In the United States, the population age 65 and over numbered 50.9 million in 2017 (the most recent year for which data are available). They represented 15.6% of the population, more than one in every seven Americans. The number of older Americans increased by 13 million or 34% since 2007, compared to an increase of 4% for the under-65 population.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): This annual report is the best statistical snapshot you’ll find of aging in America.
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“Some Parental and Spousal Caregivers Face Financial Risks,” Government Accountability Office, GAO-19-382: Published: May 1, 2019. Publicly Released: May 31, 2019. “An estimated one in 10 Americans per year cared for a parent or spouse for some period of time from 2011 through 2017, and women were more likely than men to provide care, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics survey data. Both parental and spousal caregivers were older than the general population, with spousal caregivers generally being the oldest. In addition, spousal caregivers were less likely to have completed college or to be employed, and they had lower earnings than
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“TONI KING: Is Medicaid a good long-term care option?,” by Toni King, Chron “Toni, I have a friend who just received a bill from the state of Texas for his mother’s Medicaid nursing home care. No one informed him that Medicaid (the State of Texas) was running a tab of the entire healthcare that Medicaid paid and would take his mother’s house. Now Medicaid wants to be reimbursed for over $125,000 that was spent for his mother’s care and her expensive prescriptions. Stan recently received a document from MERP saying that Medicaid wants the money used for her care back
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“60+ population will outnumber population under 20 in 18 states next year,” by Lois A. Bowers, McKnight’s Senior Living “The number of residents aged 60 or more years will exceed the number of residents aged 20 or fewer years by next year in 18 states. … Most of the affected states are in the Northeast and Midwest, including ‘nearly every state from Wisconsin through New England’ … .”   LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Remember when “It’s Happening!” referred to “drugs, sex, and rock & roll?”
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