“Do some cognitive functions improve with age?,” by Erika Watts, Medical News Today     Quote: “Scientists generally believe that cognitive functions, including attention, executive function, and reasoning skills, decline with age. A new study challenges this belief and suggests that orienting and executive functioning improve with age. Researchers suggest that training the brain may help improve cognitive function. … ‘These results are amazing and have important consequences for how we should view aging,’ says Dr. Ullman. ‘But the results from our large study indicate that critical elements of these abilities actually improve during aging, likely because we simply practice
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“New poll: Seniors want to age at home with caregiver support,” by Diane Eastabrook, McKnight’s Senior Living     Quote: “A new AARP poll finds voters over age 50 overwhelmingly want to age in their own homes with caregiver support. The poll comes as Congress prepares to vote on the Biden administration’s $3.5 trillion budget that includes billions of dollars for home- and community-based services.”     LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Did we really need another poll to tell us what everyone knows? The right question to ask would have been “How much are you
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“Study: Medicare reduces older adults’ risk for catastrophic health expenses,” by Brian P. Dunleavy, UPI     Quote: “Older adults’ out-of-pocket healthcare expenses drop by 27% once they enroll in Medicare, improving their protection from financial risk, a study published Friday by JAMA Health Forum found. … And although nearly 9% of adults age 64 experienced ‘catastrophic’ health expenses — or costs exceeding 40% of annual income minus spending on food and housing — enrolling in Medicare, usually at age 65, reduced their risk for these financial problems by 35%, the researchers said.”     LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center
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“UK lawmakers back tax hike to pay for health, long-term care,” CNYHomePage.com     Quote: “British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won Parliament’s support on Wednesday for a big tax hike to pay for short-term health requirements arising from the coronavirus pandemic, as well as for long-term care needed by Britain’s growing older population. Lawmakers voted by 319 to 248 in favor of the 1.25 percentage point increase in national insurance payments made by working-age people.”     LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Hmmm. The older population, frequent voters, are the beneficiaries of this tax
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“Workers at home health agencies receiving Medicare, Medicaid must get vaccinated: CMS,” by Diane Eastabrook, McKnight’s Senior Living      Quote: “The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Thursday emergency regulations requiring vaccinations for workers at nursing homes would be expanded to include hospitals, ambulatory surgical facilities, home health facilities and a number of other healthcare providers as the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus spreads across the U.S.”     LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: Then today the Wall Street Journal reported “All employers with 100 or more employees would have to
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BREAKING: 16,000 COVID deaths missed in nursing homes, by Danielle Brown, McKnight’s LTC News     Quote: “More than 16,000 COVID-19 deaths and 68,000 cases among nursing home residents nationwide were omitted from federal data after officials made it optional for providers to submit some information during the first months of the pandemic, Harvard researchers have found. … The missed data represented 11.6% of total COVID-19 cases and 14% of total deaths among nursing home residents in 2020. … Grabowski added that by including the unreported cases and deaths to the 2020 totals, investigators now estimate the national 2020 total of
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“How Taxes, Medicare Premiums Erode Social Security Benefits Despite COLAs,” by Ginger Szala, ThinkAdvisor   Quote: “Retired clients collecting Social Security benefits get hit in two ways when it comes to inflation. First, the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, typically doesn’t keep up with Medicare payment adjustments, and second, income levels above which retiree benefits are taxed haven’t been raised to match price and income growth. The combination, a Center for Retirement Research at Boston College paper states, means that inflation continues to eat away at Social Security benefits despite the yearly COLA.”     LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center
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“PLANNING AHEAD: Are inheritances protected and other Medicaid myths [Column],” by Janet Colliton, Times Herald   Quote: “Not only is planning possible during the five year ‘look back’ and when you are considering nursing home care, but this is where most of our planning is done — provided there are sufficient assets left to develop a plan. If it is possible, you do not want to approach a nursing home requesting admission for you or your spouse or parent when there are no, or very little assets left. The plan also has to consider what kind of care you need
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“How COVID-19 Has Changed Americans’ Views on Health Insurance,” by Michael Popke, ThinkAdvisor   Quote: “COVID-19 has made Americans more anxious about dying, becoming disabled or needing long-term care, according to the results of a recent survey conducted on behalf of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), a global trade association of life insurance and financial services professionals. The survey provides insight from more than 1,050 U.S. residents about how the pandemic has impacted their attitudes toward life, health, long-term disability, and long-term care insurance.”     LTC Comment, Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform: All I can
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“CalPERS long-term care insurance settlement: how to avoid missing out on $35,000 checks,” by Wes Venteicher, Sacramento Bee   Quote: “CalPERS agreed to pay up to $2.7 billion in July to settle the lawsuit, which was filed in 2013 by policyholders who claimed CalPERS improperly raised rates on their plans. The plans at issue came with an ‘inflation protection’ benefit and a promise that rates would remain stable. The settlement agreement gives 60,000 current policyholders a choice: they can participate in the settlement and receive a refund of all the premiums they’ve ever paid, but will lose their coverage. Or they
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