“Untangling the Mysteries of the Brain,” by Sarah Lai Stirland, Senior Living Executive “A growing body of research suggests that reducing risks of developing dementia—or at least slowing its progression—can be accomplished through diet and exercise. Some researchers say specific diets and exercise regimes can to a limited extent restore brain health. Human biology and the brain are complex systems that interact with their environments, though. No scientifically rigorous studies have definitively proved that dementia is 100 percent preventable.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):  Excellent, very long article summarizing latest research and limited
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“Resident who kissed woman in iconic WWII photo dies at 95,” by John O’Connor, McKnight’s Senior Living “he sailor shown kissing a woman in Times Square celebrating the end of World War II has died. George Mendonsa, who lived in a Middleton, RI, senior living community with his wife, was 95. When the iconic photo known as “ The Kiss” was taken, Mendoza was on leave in New York City.  Photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt snapped the photo, which was published in Life magazine. The woman in the photo was Greta Zimmer Friedman, an Austrian-born Holocaust refugee and dental assistant. Mendonsa spoke
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“The Link Between Menopause and Alzheimer’s,” by Sumathi Reddy, Wall Street Journal (gated) “Women make up nearly two-thirds of patients with Alzheimer’s disease in the U.S., in part because they live longer than men. Now, researchers are exploring whether hormonal changes related to menopause affect the development of the disease. … Most people think of how menopause affects fertility. But Dr. Mosconi says its effect on the brain is what results in night sweats, hot flashes and even memory changes. Those symptoms are caused by declining levels of estrogen and other hormones. Estrogen protects the female brain from aging and stimulates
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“Experts: Home equity is key to solving the country’s looming retirement crisis,” by Jessica Guerin, HousingWire “As Baby Boomers continue to retire en masse without sufficient savings to support their later years, it’s become glaringly apparent that the country is on the brink of a retirement crisis. Pensions have dwindled, Social Security is insufficient, health care costs are rising and people are living longer than ever before, carrying little resources with them into retirement. But many older Americans do have one major source of wealth at their disposal: their house. And for some, utilizing their home equity could be the answer
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“If I Ran AARP for One Day: Here’s What I’d Do to Redefine Aging, Fix Health Care, Balance Generational Equity, Eliminate Ageism in the Popular Culture, and Create a New Social Role and Purpose for Elders.” by Ken Dychtwald “Back in 2004, at the annual national conference of the American Society on Aging, I gave a somewhat edgy speech entitled, “If I Ran AARP for One Day: Here’s What I’d Do to Redefine Aging, Fix Health Care, Balance Generational Equity, Eliminate Ageism in the Popular Culture, and Create a New Social Role and Purpose for Elders.” The session was moderated by Joanne Handy,
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“What Are Medicare Advantage Plans’ New Mini LTC Benefits Really Like?,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “A team of actuaries at Milliman says 577 Medicare Advantage plans are now providing at least one benefit that’s similar to the type of benefit a long-term care insurance policy might offer. The most popular “long-term care type benefit” is for support for caregivers: 421 plans offer caregiver hotlines, respite services or other caregiver support benefits. The most unusual LTC type benefits are benefits for housekeeping and therapeutic massage. Just one plan offers either of those benefits, the actuaries found. … A copy of the Milliman report
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“Seniors’ Health Costs May Be Moderating But The Need For Long-Term Care May Be Growing” by Howard Gleckman, Forbes “Instead of dying of heart attacks at 60, more of us will live to 85, when we will get dementia. That’s why we need to shift resources from medical care to long-term supports and services. … While Cutler and his colleagues didn’t put it this way, their research strengthens the argument that the US needs to shift resources from medical care to long-term supports and services.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Yeah, we really
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“One state’s single-payer push now includes LTC insurance,” by Marty Stempniak, McKnight’s LTC News “New York is taking another stab at adopting a single-payer healthcare system, and the effort includes coverage for long-term care. … The revenue to fund the bill likely would involve a progressive tax on some income, such as dividends and capital gains. A previous analysis by the Rand Corp. estimated that adding long-term care benefits would increase costs to the state by upward of $22 billion. That would amount to a total cost of about $139 billion in 2022, more than the state’s entire budget, Crain’s reported earlier
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“The Largest Individual LTCI Claim of 2018,” by Jesse R. Slome, ThinkAdvisor “Seven insurers told us about the largest claims they still had open as of Dec. 31, 2018. At each of those insurers, the largest open claim was for more than $1 million. At several, the largest open claim has surpassed the $2 million threshold. Most of the largest claims have been open for at least 11 years. The largest open claim of all has led to the payment of more than $2.6 million in benefits. The claim has been open for more than 15 years. When clients talk
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“THE NATION’S RETIREMENT SYSTEM: A Comprehensive Re-evaluation Needed to Better Promote Future Retirement Security,” Government Accountability Office “Fundamental changes over the past 40 years have led to various risks and challenges for the three main pillars supporting the U.S. retirement system. For example, current projections indicate that by 2034, the Old-Age and Survivors trust fund for Social Security’s retirement program—the first pillar—will only be sufficient to pay 77 percent of scheduled benefits, due in part to the aging of the population (see figure). Other federal government retirement-related programs also face financial uncertainty. For example, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which
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