“New Study Links MA Plans to Lower Levels of Hospital Visits,” by Patrick Connole, Provider “At a time a growing number of long term and post-acute care providers are either entering or considering entering the Medicare Advantage (MA) market on the risk side, a new report by consultants Avalere Health said their research shows MA beneficiaries spent less time seeking hospital care for certain conditions. The report said MA plan holders with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes experienced significantly fewer inpatient stays and emergency room visits relative to those in traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President,
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“The ‘Big Bang’ of Alzheimer’s: Scientists ID genesis of disease,” ScienceDaily “Scientists have discovered a ‘Big Bang’ of Alzheimer’s disease — the precise point at which a healthy protein becomes toxic but has not yet formed deadly tangles in the brain. A study from UT Southwestern’s O’Donnell Brain Institute provides novel insight into the shape-shifting nature of a tau molecule just before it begins sticking to itself to form larger aggregates. The revelation offers a new strategy to detect the devastating disease before it takes hold and has spawned an effort to develop treatments that stabilize tau proteins before they
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“With little saved, employers and aging employees share same fear: Can retirement happen?,” by Yasemin Sim Esmen, Employee Benefit Adviser “Less than two-thirds of workers are confident that they will retire at age 65, and nearly a third of those surveyed plan to continue working in retirement, according to a Transamerica Center for Retirement survey. Sixty-two percent of baby boomers, the group closest to retirement, believe they can comfortably retire. Confidence is lowest among Generation X, who have been hit during the Great Recession and are starting to turn 50, which leaves them a limited amount of time to save.
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“The 2018 Medicare Trustees Report: Fiscal and Policy Challenges,” by Joseph Antos and Robert E. Moffit, AEI Economic Perspectives “Medicare’s financial outlook has deteriorated in the past year, according to the latest annual report by the program’s trustees. The Medicare Hospital Insurance trust fund is projected to be depleted in 2026, three years earlier than estimated in last year’s report. That understates the policy challenge. Every year, the program relies more on general revenues to cover its costs. In total, Medicare will receive $324 billion in general revenues this year. That will more than double by 2026. Prompt action is
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