“Second hospice employee pleads guilty in alleged $60 million kickback scheme involving assisted living communities,” by Lois A. Bowers, McKnight’s Senior Living “A second former employee of a now-defunct hospice company has pleaded guilty for her role in an alleged $60 million Medicare fraud scheme that, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, paid assisted living communities and physicians in exchange for referring ineligible Medicare or Medicaid beneficiaries, some of whom then were given excessive dosages of medication that injured or killed them.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):
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“Research shows that the prevalence of dementia has fallen in the United States,” by Judith Graham, Washington Post “New research about ‘cognitive life expectancy’ — how long older adults live with good vs. declining brain health — shows that after age 65, men and women spend more than a dozen years in good cognitive health, on average. And, over the past decade, that time span has been expanding. … Even when these conditions surface, many seniors retain an overall sense of well-being, according to new research presented in April at the Population Association of America’s annual meeting.” LTC Comment (from
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“Five myths about Alzheimer’s disease,” by Denise C. Park, The Washington Post “Fritz Gilbert knew in his 20s that he did not want to die at his desk. Gilbert, 55, who retired last week, started saving decades ago for what could be one of our most fraught decisions: When to retire? The question is deeply personal. It requires a brutal look at your life. Some people get a pit in the stomach when they think about saying goodbye to that paycheck. Or at the prospect of deconstructing a nest egg they spent decades building. They might worry about feeling irrelevant
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‘Dying at your desk is not a retirement plan,’” by Thomas Heath, The Washington Post “Fritz Gilbert knew in his 20s that he did not want to die at his desk. Gilbert, 55, who retired last week, started saving decades ago for what could be one of our most fraught decisions: When to retire? The question is deeply personal. It requires a brutal look at your life. Some people get a pit in the stomach when they think about saying goodbye to that paycheck. Or at the prospect of deconstructing a nest egg they spent decades building. They might worry
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“Gout Linked to Higher Risk of Dementia,” by Janice Wood, PsychCentral “A new study finds that gout is associated with a 17 to 20 percent higher risk of dementia in the elderly. A common condition, gout is caused by deposits of crystals of uric acid (also known as urate) in the joints, which leads to inflammation. Symptom flares can be unpredictable and debilitating, developing over a few hours and causing severe pain in the joints. … In an analysis that was adjusted for various potential confounding variables, including demographics, comorbidities, and commonly used medications, the study’s results showed that gout
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