“Kaiser Study: Nursing homes have fewer residents, but those residents need more help,” by Kimberly Marselas, McKnight’s LTC News Quote: “Though occupancy rates fell between 2009 and 2016, the needs of nursing home residents have grown considerably — placing more demands on sometimes unprepared nursing staff, according to an in-depth analysis published by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. In 2016, nearly half of nursing home residents had a dementia diagnosis, and just under one-third had other psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, mood disorders or other diagnoses. … Medicaid is the primary payer source for most certified nursing facility residents,
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“Group Defends Stand-Alone Long-Term Care Insurance With Infographic,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor Quote: “The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance is using a new infographic about long-term care insurance (LTCI) claim payments to try to increase consumer confidence in stand-alone LTCI coverage. Jesse Slome, AALTCI’s director, says in a statement that he prepared the infographic in an effort to counter some consumers’ mistaken belief that LTCI issuers fail to pay claims. Slome used previously published data, from AALTCI’s own LTCI issuer survey, to show that issuers paid at least $9.2 billion claims in 2017, and that 295,000 people were using LTCI benefits
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“Older Pre-Retirees Worry a Lot About Social Security: Gallup,” by Michael Fischer, ThinkAdvisor Quote: “Fifty-one percent of pre-retirement American adults in the 50-to-64 age group are very concerned about the Social Security system, Gallup reported Friday. In contrast, only one-third of young adults expressed a great deal of concern about the system. … As for Americans in the 30-to-49 age bracket, the percentage expressing a lot of concern about Social Security has held steady in the range of 46% to 52% since 2005, according to Gallup. In the current poll, 49% said they worried a great deal. Unsurprisingly, majorities of
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“New way of defining Alzheimer’s aims to find disease sooner,” by Marilynn Marchione, AP Quote: “Government and other scientists are proposing a new way to define Alzheimer’s disease — basing it on biological signs, such as brain changes, rather than memory loss and other symptoms of dementia that are used today. The move is aimed at improving research, by using more objective criteria like brain scans to pick patients for studies and enroll them sooner in the course of their illness, when treatments may have more chance to help. But it’s too soon to use these scans and other tests
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“Do You Have What It Takes? A Workbook in Preparation for Caregiving,” by Judith M. Ashley, Today’s Caregiver Quote: “Twenty years ago, for the last six weeks of her mother’s life, the author was her mother’s primary caregiver. Her mother wished to die at home and, at that time, there was little in the way of resources to prepare the author for, or guide her through, such a responsible and emotionally-charged experience. In this, her second book, the author set out to create a practical, self-help workbook to support those who find themselves considering taking on a caregiving role and,
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“Why Americans’ Life Expectancy Is Getting Longer,” by Robert Preidt, HealthDay Quote: “Americans appear to be aging slower than they used to, which may help explain recent gains in life expectancy, researchers say. The researchers compared how biological age changed in the United States compared to age in years (chronological age). … To calculate biological age, the researchers used several benchmarks for metabolism, inflammation, organ function, blood pressure and breath capacity. … Older adults had the greatest decreases in biological age, and men had greater declines than women.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): 
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“Arthritis: Long Term Pain May Require Long Term Care,” Advisor Magazine Quote: “It’s true that arthritis can be the result of years of wear and tear; however, it’s not just the result of getting older. In fact, the average age of onset for arthritis is just 47 years old. While this number may come as a shock, it’s also true that arthritis is a condition that plagues more than 65% of our oldest Americans, especially women. … The Society of Actuaries stated in 2014 that 17% of female home care claims are due to arthritis, and it’s the second leading cause
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“Understanding the Hidden $1.1 Trillion Welfare System and How to Reform It,” by Robert Rector and Vijay Menon, Heritage Foundation Backgrounder Quote: “The true cost of welfare or aid to the poor is largely unknown because the spending is fragmented into myriad programs. Current welfare is focused largely on increasing benefits and enrollments and redistributing income. Self-defeating behaviors that increase the need for assistance are rarely even mentioned. Policymakers should replace welfare’s current focus with a new set of interlinked goals: reducing self-defeating and self-limiting behaviors, increasing self-support, and improving true human well-being. Welfare reform should (1) require all able-bodied
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“What You Need To Know About Social Security and Medicare Changes for 2018,” by David Rae, Forbes Quote: “Each and every year we see some small changes to Social Security and Medicare. This year is no different. How much you will receive from Social Security during retirement, to the caps on payroll taxes to fund future benefits are just a couple of the common areas with changes. Medicare beneficiaries will mostly pay more for their health-care premiums in 2018. There are also changes to new income rules that determine your Medicare surcharges for 2018.”   LTC Comment (from Damon V
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“The Long-Term-Care Insurance Dilemma,” by Kimberly Lankford, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Quote: “One of the most effective ways to protect your retirement savings from the high price of assisted living, in-home care or a stay in a nursing home is a long-term-care insurance policy. But recent premium hikes have many baby boomers worried that coverage is no longer affordable. “Don’t drop your policy if you’re faced with an increase; new coverage will cost a lot more. Although Ashley’s annual premiums increased by more than 75%, he’s 19 years older and his daily benefit has grown by 5% a year. A new
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