“Agenda For Seniors,” by John Goodman, Forbes Senior citizens are discriminated against by a number of unwise public policies. People on Social Security lose benefits if they earn even a modest amount of wage income. Medicare is paying doctors the way it did in the last century – long before the existence of email or iPhones. Seniors are the only people in our society who can’t have a Health Savings Account – from which to pay bills not covered by health insurance. Double taxation of senior savings is unfair. Forced withdrawal of senior citizen savings makes no economic sense. And
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“NAIC Forms Top-Level Long-Term Care Insurance Task Force,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has started a new effort to establish national standards for reviewing and approving long-term care insurance (LTCI) rate increase requests. The NAIC’s members agreed Tuesday, at a meeting in Orlando, Florida, to create a Long-Term Care Insurance (EX) Task Force. The task force will be part of the NAIC’s executive committee.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): We’re from the government and we’re here to help you.
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“More Than Half of Americans Want To Live To 100…,” Advisor Magazine “As more people are living into their 80s and 90s, more than one out of every two Americans has their sights set on even greater longevity. According to a survey[i] released today by AIG Life & Retirement, a surprising 53 percent say their goal is to live to 100 years. Thirty-nine percent identify deeper family relationships as the main benefit of such a long life, 32 percent name seeing the world change and 17 percent want to remain productive.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term
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“Lethal Plans: When Seniors Turn To Suicide In Long-Term Care,” by Melissa Bailey and JoNel Aleccia “In a nation where suicide continues to climb, claiming more than 47,000 lives in 2017, such deaths among older adults — including the 2.2 million who live in long-term care settings — are often overlooked. A six-month investigation by Kaiser Health News and PBS NewsHour finds that older Americans are quietly killing themselves in nursing homes, assisted living centers and adult care homes.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Another example of what government interference in the LTC services market has
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“Older Americans Are Awash in Antibiotics,” by Paula Span, New York Times “Patients over age 65 have the highest rate of outpatient prescribing of any age group. A new C.D.C. study, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, points out that doctors write enough antibiotic prescriptions annually — nearly 52 million in 2014 — for every older person to get at least one. Because the researchers used a national pharmacy database that tracked only outpatients, the study likely underestimates the problem.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): That’s not the only problem. Our next clipping
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“Grandparents Are a Major Economic Force: AARP,” by Michael S. Fischer, ThinkAdvisor “The number of grandparents in the U.S. has increased by 24% to 70 million since the turn of the century, and they spend an average of $2,562 a year — about $179 billion — on their grandchildren, AARP reported Tuesday. … AARP’s research showed that grandparents have four to five grandchildren, on average, down from six to seven in 2011. Forty percent of grandparents are in the workforce today, up from 24% in 2011. … Nine in 10 grandparents in the study said they provided some kind of financial support
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“5 Design Don’ts for Senior Living Communities,” by Mary Cook, Multi-Housing News “Consider the realities of aging: Eyesight, hearing and sense of smell fades, mobility becomes more challenging, once-easy daily activities cause frustration, friends change. These normal changes must be integrated into senior living design to create comfortable homes and foster positive experiences that meet aging residents’ needs. Rather than do’s, ‘design don’ts’ tell the real story. Here’s what builders, developers and operators should avoid in senior living projects.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Boomers are the high maintenance generation.
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“4 Ways Researchers Are Still Fighting Alzheimer’s,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Scientists told the Senate Special Committee on Aging earlier this week that there are many promising Alzheimer’s disease detection and treatment research projects under way right now. Dr. Richard Hodes, director of the National Institute on Aging, said increased research budgets and new gene sequencing technology are helping researchers learn more about how human genetics — and, possibly, microbes — lead to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. … Here are four hot areas of dementia research that Hodes and other witnesses discussed at the Alzheimer’s research hearing.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses,
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“Caring for Aging Parents is Not a Family Affair,” Advisor Magazine “For most families, caring for mom or dad as they age is not a family effort. According to new data from Northwestern Mutual’s latest C.A.R.E. Study, the responsibility most likely falls on the shoulders of one sibling, rather than being shared among all the children.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): You you’re the one, you probably know you are. If so, take the lead now to wake up your siblings and get ahead of the problem with LTC planning.
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“Fear and health care: Gallup survey finds Americans skipped treatment, borrowed $88B to pay for costs,” by Ken Alltucker, USA Today “Americans borrowed about $88 billion to pay for health care last year, and one in four people skipped care because of costs, according to a new Gallup survey funded by a nonpartisan health group. The nationwide survey of 3,537 adults found that lower-income adults were more likely to skip care or fear bankruptcy over spiraling medical costs, but even affluent households deferred care over concerns about finances.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): I wonder how
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