The Obama administration is moving forward with an ambitious agenda to improve the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and unlock a method to prevent it by 2025. The plan also sets up a wide-ranging effort to improve the care that Alzheimer’s patients receive and support families.
Selected articles on health: Care of the elderly falling on shoulders of the young. Why we’re losing the battle against obesity? Whither the AMA? The big profits of non-profit hospitals.
Older people have lower rates of depression than younger groups. But depression often goes undiagnosed in the elderly, who feel the stigma of mental illness more acutely than younger people and are often less likely to seek help. Medicare began to cover annual depression screening in primary-care settings.
Santorum once wanted more government involvement in health care, not less. Electronic health records and medical malpractice. Making the best of old age. Talking about AIDS and sex.
You can be healthy well beyond 60, but you’ll be different than you were when you were 20. You’ll have different posture, wrinkles and a lot of other changes that are less obvious but age appropriate. We have to be very, very careful about calling any difference from when we were younger an illness or a disease. And we have to be even more careful about telling people that we have things we can do to “fix” these differences, but this happens all the time. That’s the medicalization of aging.
The latest casualty of the Great Recession may soon be the nation’s elderly. Cuts in government payments for patient care and less construction of new nursing homes are already taking a toll. Add to this the aging baby boom generation and you have a worst-case scenario.
Will it cover your needs? Can you pay for it? Can you afford not to have it?
Don’t buy if the out-of-pocket cost for the coverage would be more than you can afford. Policies differ greatly so know what you are buying. Shop around.
Federal officials are extending the Dec. 7 deadline for three days for some people who have had trouble enrolling in a Medicare prescription drug or private health plan because of the crush of last-minute sign-ups. Calls to Medicare’s toll-free information line, 800-633-4227 can be made until midnight tonight. “It is critical that people with Medicare who want to make a change in their coverage act today.”
Finding a high-quality nursing home is a daunting task. Fortunately, there is information online that can help you learn about nursing home quality.
More than a quarter of Medicare’s rated prescription drug plans and, unless they take steps to improve, face expulsion from Medicare.
Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign for children now has a counterpart for the 50-plus set. The National Institute on Aging on Wednesday launched its “Go4Life” campaign, aimed at increasing physical activity among Baby Boomers and their parents.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
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