“Of those who died with Alzheimer’s disease in 2014, the most recent year studied: 54.1% died in a nursing home or other long-term care facility, compared with 67.5% in 1999 24.9% died at home, compared with 13.9% in 1999 6.6% died in a hospital, compared with 14.7% in 1999 6.1% died in a hospice These realities, wrote the authors of an article in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, have implications for the government and the healthcare system, because some states and counties operate publicly funded long-term care facilities and because payments for more than two-thirds of the anticipated
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“Assisted living hospice care, Medicaid personal care services, home- and community-based services waiver programs and Medicaid data are four topics that made the top 25 list included in the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s ‘2017 Compendium of Unimplemented Recommendations.’” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): What’s the use of my former employer, the HHS-IG, conducting these studies and making these recommendations if the agency ignores them? Hopefully, that’ll change with new leadership. Assisted living hospice care, HCBS, Medicaid make OIG list #goldencareagent
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“Elder concierge, as the industry is known, is a way for the semi- and fully retired to continue to work, and, from a business standpoint, the opportunities look as if they will keep growing. Around 10,000 people turn 65 every day in the United States, and by 2030, there will be 72 million people over 65 nationwide. Some 43 million people already provide care to family members — either their own parents or children — according to AARP, and half of them are “sandwich generation” women, ages 40 to 60. All told, they contribute an estimated $470 billion a year
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“Since 1990, the divorce rate among adults 50 years and older has doubled. This trend, along with longer life expectancy, has resulted in many adults forming new partnerships later in life. A new phenomenon called ‘Living Apart Together’ (LAT) — an intimate relationship without a shared residence — is gaining popularity as an alternative form of commitment among both older and younger adults.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): “Friends with benefits” for the older set, but not likely to be much help with long-term caregiving. More older people in America are embracing a
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“The most common technology used by survey participants older than 70 was a cell phone, although the percentage of users dropped when they were asked whether they used a smartphone. Ninety-three percent of those 70 to 74 reported owning a cell phone, whereas 49% said they had a smartphone. Similarly, 63% of those aged 75 to 79 said they own a cell phone, whereas 31% had a smartphone. And 58% of those aged 80 or more years reported owning a cell phone, whereas 17% said they had a smartphone. The next most frequently used technology was the internet, with 75%
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“There has been a tremendous push for home health-based supports and services for the elderly, including allocating state and federal funds to allow more elderly to remain in their homes rather than moving to a more institutional setting. How will it impact the value and demand for seniors housing and care settings? . . . The topics discussed include what the true cost of home health is relative to the all-in cost of an assisted living community, how technology will change the future of these markets, and if assisted living providers are pursuing the home health business to complement their
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“Older people have the highest rate of homeownership in the country — about 80 percent, according to a 2016 report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard. The great majority live in single-family homes, most of them poorly suited for the disabilities common in later life.” LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform): How ironic that seniors have so much home equity that could help them age in place, but government policy, in the form of huge exemptions for home equity, divert them to nursing homes under-funded by Medicaid. Planning to Age in
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“The authors of the new paper don’t break catastrophic risk down by income level, but they note that Medicare enrollees in the top 5% in terms of out-of-pocket spending probably spent an average of $19,009 out of pocket in 2016. . . . In 2016, high-income Medicare enrollees spent an average of $564 on dental care, $820 on audiologists and other providers not paid by Medicare, and $913 on prescription drug co-payments and coinsurance bills. . . . The new out-of-pocket spending analysis shows that, for the 2016 Medicare enrollees in the top 5% in terms of out-of-pocketing spending, long-term
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