older adults

How Can States Get Timely Covid-19 Vaccine to Family Caregivers Of Frail Seniors? It Is Complicated

Many experts have written about the importance of making covid-19 vaccines available to family caregivers of frail older adults and younger people with disabilities. But how can states do this? It turns out to be really complicated. Massachusetts shows what happens when one state decides to vaccinate not only older adults, but also the people who bring them to get [...]

By |2021-02-17T10:23:03-05:00February 17th, 2021|Health Care|0 Comments

What Biden And Trump Would Mean For Older Voters

As with so many issues, there is a major gulf between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden when it comes to issues that directly affect older adults. Biden has proposed a long list of specific proposals. Trump has said remarkably little about what he’d do in a second term, and that silence extends to programs that affect seniors. [...]

By |2020-10-26T13:54:56-04:00October 26th, 2020|campaign 2020|0 Comments

A “Herd Immunity” Strategy To Combat COVID-19 Could Be A Disaster For Older Adults

President Trump’s newest White House pandemic adviser, Scott Atlas, reportedly is advocating for the strategy of building “herd immunity” to stop the spread of coronavirus. Atlas, who is a neuroradiologist and fellow at the Hoover Institution, would allow the virus to spread as widely and quickly as possible to build immunity in the overall population. Think of it as the [...]

By |2020-09-03T10:59:50-04:00September 3rd, 2020|Health Care, Uncategorized|0 Comments

The COVID-19 Nursing Home Nightmare

The coronavirus pandemic is a nightmare for nursing homes, their staffs, residents, and their families. While we know much less about them, the situation is likely similar for Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) and other residential care for older adults. As of March 30, more than 400 of 15,000 US nursing facilities had an outbreak of coronavirus—among residents, staff or both-- [...]

By |2020-04-06T10:04:31-04:00April 6th, 2020|nursing homes|1 Comment

The 2020s Will Be A Tipping Point For Elder Care In The US

As 2020 dawns, the US is about to reach a critical, historic tipping point in its need to care for frail older adults. And we are tragically unprepared. In just five years, the first of the 77-million strong Baby Boom generation will reach age 80—the time when people’s frailty increases dramatically and they begin to need high levels of long-term [...]

By |2020-01-01T16:03:19-05:00January 2nd, 2020|Aging, Uncategorized|0 Comments

What Striking Down The Affordable Care Act Would Mean For Seniors

US District Judge Reed O’Connor’s Friday night decision to strike down the entire Affordable Care Act would damage the well-being of older adults, those 50-64 nearing Medicare, and frail elders and younger people with disabilities who are receiving long-term care benefits under Medicaid. Many lawyers believe the ruling is poorly reasoned and likely would be reversed on appeal. However, it [...]

By |2018-12-17T14:09:45-05:00December 17th, 2018|Health reform|1 Comment

A New Snapshot of Older Adults In The US

It is easy—and dangerous—to create stereotypes of older adults. Just when you think you have a picture in your head of what a senior is, you realize how very different they are. To borrow a phrase: You’ve seen one older adult and, you’ve seen one older adult. The 50 million Americans over 65 are more economically and racially diverse than [...]

By |2018-05-03T20:14:20-04:00May 4th, 2018|Aging|0 Comments

What the GOP Tax Cut Will Mean For Older Adults

Congress is nearing passage of a $1.5 trillion tax cut that would mostly benefit businesses and high-income households. For older adults, the effects are complicated. Some will receive large tax cuts. Some will be no better off and a few will be worse off. But beyond the immediate tax changes in the bill, the measure sets the stage for what [...]

By |2018-02-14T12:43:53-05:00December 15th, 2017|Aging|0 Comments

Health Care Measures Everything, Except What Really Matters To Seniors

As board chair of a community hospital, I am often confronted with the dozens of quality and safety measures that state and federal regulators use to score and pay us, and private organizations use to rate us. And as someone who works to improve the quality of care for older adults, I am struck by how much all these measures [...]

By |2018-02-14T12:43:53-05:00December 6th, 2017|Health Care|0 Comments

Where Is The Best Place In America To Retire– If You Are Sick?

We’ve all seen those best- places-to-retire lists. Inevitably, they are based on low taxes, good weather, or lots of activities. But how about this metric: Where will you get the best care if you are old and frail? Hint: Oregon is good. Rural Louisiana is not. The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, which has access to an [...]

By |2016-02-17T15:11:07-05:00February 17th, 2016|Health Care|1 Comment