The Texas Health Care Association (THCA) is carefully watching the Texas Legislature regarding Medicaid expansion. Regardless of how the legislature votes, the THCA is concerned about how to maintain access for seniors to quality nursing home care. Medicaid funding levels that adequately support seniors’ nursing home care must be maintained, said President of THCA Steve […]
Green tea extract may help battle the dreaded neurodegenerative disease. So might taking up new hobbies. Researchers in Michigan have discovered that green tea extract interferes with the formation of damaging plaques implicated in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. The new study, out of the University of Michigan, seems to indicate that an extract from […]
Advocates for the elderly in New York are asking for an increased focus on elderly abuse. Jeanne Zieff is a social worker and elder abuse program coordinator for a nonprofit agency, the Community Agency for Senior Citizens, based on Staten Island. She and her coworkers are seeing their elderly clients struggle with relatives who have […]
While hospital patients may not be aware of the distinction between formal admission as an inpatient and mere “observation” as an outpatient, Medicare rules treat those two designations very differently, and that is causing problems for patients, doctors and hospitals. Medicare pays the entire bill for the first 20 days of care in a skilled […]
Choosing the right senior care can be an emotionally-fraught decision process. As seniors age into their eighties and beyond, they may need resources that they had not planned for. While more than 80 percent of seniors report that they want to remain living in their own homes, that often is not possible. SitterCity, a Chicago-based […]
According to The MetLife Study, “Caregiving Costs to Working Caregivers: Double Jeopardy for Baby Boomers Caring for Their Parents,” there are so many adults in the U.S. workforce who must take time off work to provide care for their aging parents that the combined losses in wages, pension, and Social Security benefits tops $3 trillion […]
The MetLife Mature Market Institute just published an annual survey of assisted living, nursing home, and other elder-care costs. Researchers surveyed elder care facilities throughout the U.S. on cost and levels of care between April and August of 2012 They survey found that average rates for long-term care throughout the U.S. continue to rise. The […]
A new home-based computer tool created by Georgia Tech researchers will allow adults to self-screen for early signs of dementia. The software was inspired by a commonly-used Clock Drawing Test, a paper-and-pencil screening tool used to test for cognitive impairment. ClockReader is one of the first technology tools to assess cognitive abilities which can be […]
According to a review by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, more than 40,000 U.S. adults may be dying while in a hospital intensive care unit due to misdiagnosis of their illness by their attending medical team. The study was to determine if fatal misdiagnoses were more common in ICU than in the general […]
There are some standards elements of estate planning that you may want to consider before meeting with your estate law attorney. No matter the size of your estate, large or small, a basic estate plan, which may be as simple as a Will, is a good idea. By looking toward the future, you can ensure […]