“Midwest is best, when it comes to the 30 best cities for older Americans in retirement,” by Grant Suneson and Samuel Stebbins, USA Today “Nearly all of the 30 best cities for older Americans are in the Midwest. Wisconsin has the most cities on this list with eight, followed by Minnesota with five, Iowa with four, and Illinois, North Dakota, and Missouri with two apiece.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): If the best states for retirement are in the frozen north, why is everyone moving to the sunny south?
Read More

“Bill Gates says there could be a way to predict Alzheimer’s using a voice app that listens for ‘warning signs’,” by Aria Bendix, Business Insider “Scientists have yet to find a cure for Alzheimer’s, a disease whose symptoms include memory loss, impaired judgment, and difficulty speaking. About 14 million Americans are expected to be living with Alzheimer’s by 2050. Doctors rely mostly on physical symptoms to diagnose the disease, though they can also use spinal taps and brain scans to detect it. But Bill Gates envisions a future in which people can predict Alzheimer’s before symptoms manifest using a voice app on their
Read More

“’Generation Alpha’ Babies Arrive With Caregiving Obligations,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “About 47% of Millennial caregivers who have children, or plan to have children, say they expect those children to help pay for their long-term care, according to survey results released recently by Northwestern Mutual. … Only about 16% of the Baby Boomer caregivers surveyed, and 35% of the Generation X caregivers surveyed, are counting on their children to help pay for long-term care, according to Northwestern Mutual.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): What would “The Who” have to say about Gen A?
Read More

“Agenda For Seniors,” by John Goodman, Forbes Senior citizens are discriminated against by a number of unwise public policies. People on Social Security lose benefits if they earn even a modest amount of wage income. Medicare is paying doctors the way it did in the last century – long before the existence of email or iPhones. Seniors are the only people in our society who can’t have a Health Savings Account – from which to pay bills not covered by health insurance. Double taxation of senior savings is unfair. Forced withdrawal of senior citizen savings makes no economic sense. And
Read More

“NAIC Forms Top-Level Long-Term Care Insurance Task Force,” by Allison Bell, ThinkAdvisor “The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has started a new effort to establish national standards for reviewing and approving long-term care insurance (LTCI) rate increase requests. The NAIC’s members agreed Tuesday, at a meeting in Orlando, Florida, to create a Long-Term Care Insurance (EX) Task Force. The task force will be part of the NAIC’s executive committee.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): We’re from the government and we’re here to help you.
Read More

“More Than Half of Americans Want To Live To 100…,” Advisor Magazine “As more people are living into their 80s and 90s, more than one out of every two Americans has their sights set on even greater longevity. According to a survey[i] released today by AIG Life & Retirement, a surprising 53 percent say their goal is to live to 100 years. Thirty-nine percent identify deeper family relationships as the main benefit of such a long life, 32 percent name seeing the world change and 17 percent want to remain productive.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term
Read More

“Lethal Plans: When Seniors Turn To Suicide In Long-Term Care,” by Melissa Bailey and JoNel Aleccia “In a nation where suicide continues to climb, claiming more than 47,000 lives in 2017, such deaths among older adults — including the 2.2 million who live in long-term care settings — are often overlooked. A six-month investigation by Kaiser Health News and PBS NewsHour finds that older Americans are quietly killing themselves in nursing homes, assisted living centers and adult care homes.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): Another example of what government interference in the LTC services market has
Read More