“Despite fears that dementia rates were going to explode as the population grows older and fatter, and has more diabetes and high blood pressure, a large nationally representative survey has found the reverse. Dementia is actually on the wane. And when people do get dementia, they get it at older and older ages.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Read this one.  Good news with fascinating details including: “The findings about obesity were especially puzzling. Compared with people of normal weight, overweight people and obese people had a 30 percent lower risk of dementia,
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“Almost 90% of long-term care residents don’t receive dental care during their stay, according to new research.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): What’s the real reason nursing home residents “long in the tooth” don’t get proper dental care?  Two-thirds of them rely on Medicaid and:  “In most states, the largest single financial barrier to dental care is the lack of adequate dental coverage for residents who depend on Medicaid.”  Just one more reason to plan early and avoid dependency on publicly funded LTC. Majority of LTC residents turn down dental care, study finds
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“Donald Trump’s father, Fred Trump, died from pneumonia in 1999, after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for six years.  The president-elect’s family history could have something to do with the benefits that his New York City-based Trump Payroll Corp. has offered, and his company’s benefits menu could shape how he thinks of insurance, retirement program and employee benefits once he’s in office.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Interesting tidbits re Trump and LTCI. 5 Trump group long-term care insurance plan facts #goldencareagent
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“More than three-quarters of Americans over 65 remain homeowners despite housing market gyrations. Those houses usually represent their greatest single asset.  But often there’s little equity left, even as prices have largely recovered, because so many older homeowners have borrowed against their homes.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Rising mortgage debt among retirees is an alarming trend.  Blame the Fed for pushing interest rates so low that elders have to tap home equity to replace lost investment income.  Long-term consequences are serious because home equity will be needed as a fall-back when Medicaid
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“At the focal point of President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to replace the Affordable Care Act is a more than decade-old and widely available feature of the U.S. health-care system that, despite its prevalence, has a track record of being underused and misunderstood.  Expanding health savings accounts — which are tax-exempt and used to pay for medical expenses — stands out as one of few details in the president-elect’s bare-bones plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. HSAs have been a hallmark of many Republican health plans because, the argument goes, they make patients more responsible for how they spend medical
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