What will last Tuesday’s election mean for older adults and their families? A slim Democratic majority in the Senate combined with what is likely to be narrow Republican control of the House likely means no new legislative initiatives will pass Congress in 2023. The Biden Administration’s ambitious plan to support frail older adults and their families is dead, at least [...]
When Congress returns for a short post-election session, one item on its to-do list is major retirement savings legislation that has broad bipartisan support. One feature of both House and Senate bills: Expanding a deferred annuity called a Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract (QLAC). Both bills would increase the allowable size of QLACs. That might make them more attractive to some [...]
Your mom has been hospitalized for two weeks following a stroke. One morning, she’s told she’ll be discharged by the end of the day. Mom calls you in a panic. You rush to the hospital and ask for advice. Instead, you get a much-copied list of local skilled nursing facilities and a wave good-by. This scene is played out thousands [...]
Imagine, for a moment, a functioning, well-developed system for improving the lives of frail older adults. Imagine that, instead of our current chaotic, dangerous, and needlessly expensive patchwork of care for seniors, the US had a well-coordinated care model that leverages and supports paid aides, family caregivers, safe and appropriate housing, and new technology. And imagine a system that makes [...]
After years of internal debate, the FDA has approved the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids. The move will make the devices available to consumers with mild to moderate hearing loss as soon as mid-October. The move not only could save a typical buyer several thousand dollars, it also opens the door to potential new technologies that could improve the quality [...]
I’ve recently spent more time as a hospital visitor than at any time since the pandemic began. A lot has changed since Covid-19, but my experiences confirm some good advice for older patients, their families, and the medical staff that cares for them. Here are a few ideas for patients and staff. While they focus on hospitals, many apply to [...]
The Medicare trustees’ new estimate that the program’s Part A Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust fund will remain solvent for an extra two years—to 2028—sounds like good news. But dig deeper into the 257-page report and the news is grim for the future of Medicare and its 64 million beneficiaries. Headlines from the trustees’ annual report always focus on the depletion [...]
On Monday, President Biden announced a deal with 20 Internet service providers, such as AT&T and Comcast, to provide high-speed broadband to low-income households for no more than $30-a-month. That’s less than half the average 2021 cost of $61 and far less in many areas. That initiative, and an even bigger companion program to build out broadband in communities that [...]
It has become popular among many Democrats to call for investigations of nursing home ownership by private equity firms. But industry experts tell me that, increasingly, big investors in senior services are abandoning nursing facilities in favor of the far more lucrative home health business and, in some cases, private-pay senior housing. And the shift isn’t just happening with private [...]
The US desperately needs more direct care workers to provide personal assistance to frail older adults and younger people with disabilities. Many native-born Americans were unwilling to do this work even before the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, shortages are far worse. Yet, the US continues to bar entry to those who are willing and able to care for frail older adults [...]