“Big rise: More than 43,000 jobs open in long-term care as leaders plot,” by Marty Stempniak, McKnight’s LTC News “New data from the CEB TalentNeuron reveals that as of this week, there are 43,531 jobs posted by direct employers at nursing homes, along with assisted living facilities and continuing care retirement communities. That’s an increase of more than 10,000 positions when compared to a typical month in 2018, the American Health Care Association noted in a blog post Tuesday. ‘There is no question that long-term care providers are dealing with a workforce crisis and one of the main reasons for that is low
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“Aging Americans fall prey to ‘brain-boosting’ supplements offering hope, hype and dodgy data,” by Suzanne Leigh, MedicalXPress “Americans are feeding the multi-billion-dollar ‘brain health’ dietary supplement industry in a desperate bid to stave off or reverse Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. But such treatments are ‘pseudomedicine’ and health care providers should discourage patients from pursuing them, say neurologists at UC San Francisco.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Snake oil for the brain.  
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“Report: 85% of Baby Boomers plan to work into their 70s (and even 80s),” by Sheila McClear, Ladders “There’s no doubt about it: many Baby Boomers simply aren’t ready to retire. Either they don’t have enough money saved up yet, or they simply aren’t ready to leave the working world behind. Deloitte Insights took a look at what this means for the workforce, which will now absorb five generations of workers. Some organizations will be more prepared than others for people working well past retirement age. Deloitte examined who our oldest workers are, what they need, what drives them, as well as how employers can create jobs
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“Simplicity Acquires LTC Distributor,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “An insurance distributor with private equity backing has announced another distribution company deal. Simplicity Group Holdings said Thursday that it has acquired America’s First Financial Corp. of St. Peters, Missouri. America’s First was founded in 1960. It now focuses on wholesaling long-term care planning programs based on use of life insurance policies and annuity contracts.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Evidently, their focus is on equity-based products.  
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“Scamming Grandma: Financial Abuse of Seniors Hits Record,” by Yuka Hayashi, Wall Street Journal “U.S. banks reported a record 24,454 suspected cases of elder financial abuse to the Treasury Department last year, more than double the amount five years earlier, according to government data. … Meanwhile, people over 50 represent one-third of the population but account for 61% of bank accounts and 70% of bank deposits, according to 2017 research by the American Bankers Association. … Bankers and senior-citizen advocates say many cases of elder abuse involve family members or caregivers. … Bankers attribute an increase in social media use by older Americans for
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“New Study Says Americans Flocking To Urgent Care Instead Of Their Primary Doctor Due To Convenience,” by Dr. Max Gomez, CBS “More and more people are choosing urgent care over their primary doctor. It’s a growing trend among millions of Americans that could be changing the health care industry, CBS2’s Dr. Max Gomez reported Tuesday. … Urgent care clinics can ease demand in crowded and expensive hospital emergency rooms. Plus, the clinics often refer complicated patients to the main hospital. Both are reasons many urgent care clinics are actually owned by major hospital systems.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President,
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“CMS announces new ‘innovations’ to Medicare Advantage plans,” by Marty Stempniak, McKnight’s LTC News “The federal government announced a broad array of changes to Medicare Advantage plans last week in hopes it will further pressure providers to up their game in caring for seniors. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services officials said Friday that those ‘innovations’ will include everything from customizing plans based on beneficiaries’ chronic conditions and socioeconomic status to increasing access to telehealth services. It also wants to up plans’ incentives for seniors to improve their health.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care
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“5 Things Actuaries Are Saying About Death Now,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Life insurers use their own private mortality data, and general life insurance industry mortality data, to design and price life insurance policies and annuities. Some of the top mortality experts in the world are the life insurance and pension actuaries who work on Society of Actuary (SOA) mortality analyses. Three SOA actuaries— R. Jerome Holman, Cynthia MacDonald and Peter Miller — recently released a new mortality report, ‘U.S. Population Mortality Observers: Updated with 2017 Experience.’ … Here’s a look at five things that happened to U.S. mortality in 2017,
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“Medicare Advantage industry sees slower growth for 2019,” by Shelby Livingston, Modern Healthcare “Medicare Advantage insurers added 1.4 million members to their rosters for 2019 coverage, as they looked to grow membership in a market known for being politically safe and predictably lucrative. But Advantage membership is growing at slower pace compared with previous years.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): “[A] market known for being politically safe and predictably lucrative” sounds too much like crony socialism. So with everything going for it—beneficial policy, political support, consumer preference and better profit margins—why is MA
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“New York Approves China Oceanwide-Genworth Deal,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “Genworth Financial Inc. announced Monday that it has cleared a major obstacle toward selling itself to China Oceanwide Holdings Group Co. Ltd. The Richmond, Virginia-based insurer said it has received approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services to transfer control of a New York-based subsidiary, Genworth Life Insurance Company of New York, to China Oceanwide. Now that New York state regulators have approved the deal, ‘the transaction has received all required U.S. insurance regulatory approvals,’ Genworth said in the approval announcement.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President,
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