Bob Dole has an op-ed piece in Wednesday's The Hill newspaper:
Though not error-free, the drug benefit is helping: With the implementation of Medicare’s prescription-drug benefit Jan. 1, Medicare now offers a crucial component of health insurance it lacked for more than 40 years. In the first several weeks, the government has experienced problems putting that plan in force. Many people with Medicare are having trouble accessing the coverage, particularly the first time they go to the pharmacy with the new benefit. But a little perspective is in order. The new program is working for the vast majority of beneficiaries.“
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Customs releases seized medicine
Customs Releases Seized Prescription Medicines From Canada - Los Angeles Times:
“Amid mounting criticism of its crackdown on mail-order medications, U.S. Customs has released hundreds of seized packages to consumers since Friday, said Canadian pharmacies and U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday. The crackdown began in November, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection quietly increased seizures of prescription drugs mailed from abroad. Previously, federal authorities generally allowed such shipments, although it is technically illegal for individuals to import pharmaceuticals.”
“Amid mounting criticism of its crackdown on mail-order medications, U.S. Customs has released hundreds of seized packages to consumers since Friday, said Canadian pharmacies and U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday. The crackdown began in November, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection quietly increased seizures of prescription drugs mailed from abroad. Previously, federal authorities generally allowed such shipments, although it is technically illegal for individuals to import pharmaceuticals.”
Link between stereotypes and hearing loss
Found on EurekAlert, From Journals of Gerontology: Psychological and Social Sciences
Elders' stereotypes predict hearing decline
Older people who have negative stereotypes about the elderly have a greater chance of hearing decline, researchers at Yale School of Medicine report in the March issue of Journals of Gerontology.
Reports on working women
Found on ResouceShelf's Docuticker:
Women--Employment--United States
Source: U.S. Department of Labor
Two Brief Reports From the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau
+ Older Women Workers, ages 55 and over
+ Women in the Labor Force in 2005
Women--Employment--United States
Source: U.S. Department of Labor
Two Brief Reports From the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau
+ Older Women Workers, ages 55 and over
+ Women in the Labor Force in 2005
Technorati Tags: Agebeat, Aging, Baby Boomers, Media
Monday, February 27, 2006
Managing mid-career employees
Chip Scanlan of Poynter and The Mechanic &the Muse blog mentioned an article to me today in the March issue of Harvard Business Review on “Managing Middlescence.” One of the authors is Ken Dychtwald of Age Wave fame. The article isn't available online (except for a price) but the abstract sounds intriguing (and on point for a middlescence manager like me). Some of this might be familiar ground for long-time agebeaters -- who also, I suspect, won't get middlescence past their editors -- but it's a great topic. I'll track down the article and post a report.
Technorati Tags: Agebeat, Aging, Baby Boomers, Media
Yummy news on chocolate
Found on Newsday's site this afternoon: "CHICAGO -- Leave it to the Dutch to help demonstrate the health benefits of chocolate. A study of older men in The Netherlands, known for its luscious chocolate, indicated those who ate the equivalent of one-third of a chocolate bar every day had lower blood pressure and a reduced risk of death. The researchers say, however, it's too early to conclude it was chocolate that led to better health. The men who ate more cocoa products could have shared other qualities that made them healthier. Experts also point out that eating too much chocolate can make you fat -- a risk for both heart disease and high blood pressure." See the whole story here:
Kaiser releases state Medicare data
This just in from the Kaiser Family Foundation: A new
policy brief
from the Kaiser Family Foundation examines the latest estimates for enrollment in Medicare's new drug benefit. In addition, updated state-by-state enrollment breakdowns have been posted on the Foundation's
statehealthfacts.org
website.
ILC releases ageism report
From International Longevity Center today: Ageism, the denial of basic human rights of older persons, is one of the most pervasive prejudices across human society. Although ageism is less acknowledged than racism or sexism, it is a harmful prejudice that negatively affects older Americans, who experience widespread mistreatment, ranging from stereotypic and degrading media images to physical and financial abuse, unequal treatment in the workforce, and denial of appropriate medical care and services.
Press Release
Executive Summary
Download The Status Reports (PDF)
Download complete Ageism In America report (PDF)
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Excess cost of Medicare drug benefit
Found this weekend on ResourceShelf Docuticker:
Source: Center for Economic and Policy Research
The Excess Cost of the Medicare Drug Benefit (PDF; 56 KB)
“The waste and inefficiency built into the structure of the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) will add more than $800 billion to the cost of prescription drugs to the government and beneficiaries over its first decade, compared to a drug bill designed to maximize efficiency. The most simple and efficient way to cover the cost of prescription drugs would have been to establish a simple add-on to the basic Medicare program, comparable to the prescription drug benefit provided by most private health insurers.”
Source: Center for Economic and Policy Research
The Excess Cost of the Medicare Drug Benefit (PDF; 56 KB)
“The waste and inefficiency built into the structure of the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) will add more than $800 billion to the cost of prescription drugs to the government and beneficiaries over its first decade, compared to a drug bill designed to maximize efficiency. The most simple and efficient way to cover the cost of prescription drugs would have been to establish a simple add-on to the basic Medicare program, comparable to the prescription drug benefit provided by most private health insurers.”
Friday, February 24, 2006
Medicare asks about simplifying
This comes this evening from AP:
(AP) After promoting the wide choices available to the elderly and disabled for Medicare drug coverage, the Bush administration is now considering limiting those options. In a 39-page memorandum to insurers, employers and others administering the drug benefit, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services asked for advice on how to simplify the program in 2007.
I found it here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/24/ap/health/mainD8FVPBEO1.shtml
NPR on black farmers in U.S.
I don't get to hear NPR's excellent Talk of the Nation show, although I do get a podcast of its Science Friday edition.But I stumbled upon this excellent piece about the book "Black Farmers in America." Wonderful photographs and an essay are online, plus link to audio from Thursday's show. (Why is this on AgeBeat blog...several of these farmers are old.) See and hear it here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5230129
Would the old-old be “mature matures”?
On CBS' Public Eye blog today: "Most news industry chatter these days never fails to touch upon on a declining interest in newspapers and networks scrambling to entice the kiddos to watch network news. And as such, Harris Interactive released the results of a poll today (it should appear on their site sometime in the next day) that attempts to quantify the news consumers' viewing, reading and Web surfing habits (at least those of the 2,985 U.S. adults surveyed online between January 12 and 17, 2006.) Some of the results:
"Unsurprisingly, “Matures” (that's people 59 and older, in pollster jargon) were the most likely to watch network or cable news, with 88% responding that they watched either "daily" or "several times a week." Fifty-one percent of “Echo Boomers” (18-27 year olds) did the same."
Read the rest of the blog entry here: http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2006/02/24/publiceye/entry1344255.shtml
Technorati Tags: Agebeat, Aging, Baby Boomers, Blogs, Media
Investigation in “high-pressure” Medicare sales
Caught up with this on KaiserNetwork.org: The
HHS
Office of Inspector General
has launched an investigation into whether health insurers are using “high-pressure sales tactics to push” Medicare beneficiaries into HMOs under the new prescription drug benefit, instead of basic prescription drug plans, the
Chicago Tribune
reports.
Technorati Tags: Agebeat, Aging, Health, Media, Medicare, Politics
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
So, it's good crisis, right?
The good side of the Social Security "crisis" ... from a new survey:
Wachovia's annual Retirement Fitness Survey revealed that more than 80% of consumers said Social Security will be important to their own retirement well- being, yet nearly half are not confident that it will be available to them when they retire.
You can find the news release here: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060222/clw036.html?.v=41
Technorati Tags: Agebeat, Aging, Media, Social Security
Don't eat as much, learn more
Today on EurekAlert...tucked at bottom of this is how the research might relate to Alzheimer's.
Nature Neuroscience
Learning and memory stimulated by gut hormone
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found evidence that a hormone produced in the stomach directly stimulates the higher brain functions of spatial learning and memory development, and further suggests that we may learn best on an empty stomach.
<<...OLE_Obj...>> National Institutes of Health, VA Merit Review Grant; Contact: Karen N. Peart, 203-432-1326, Yale University
Technorati Tags: Agebeat, Aging, Alzheimer's, Health, Media
Elderly in the suburbs
Another possible gem from ResouceShelf Docuticker. This report mentions inner suburbs and challenges, including number of aging residents. Sounds like good topic.
Source: The Brookings Institution, Metropolitan Policy Program
One-Fifth of the Nation: A Comprehensive Guide to America's First Suburbs
"Neither fully urban nor completely suburban, America's older, inner-ring, "first" suburbs have a unique set of challenges-such as concentrations of elderly and immigrant populations as well as outmoded housing and commercial buildings-very different from those of the center city and fast growing newer places. Yet first suburbs exist in a policy blindspot with little in the way of state or federal tools to help them adapt to their new realities and secure a role as competitive and quality communities. This paper defines first suburbs throughout the nation, examines their similarities and differences, and, finally, sets out a policy agenda tailored specifically to these distinctive places."
Full Paper (PDF; 746 KB)
See also: Transcript from symposium accompanying release of report, including keynote address by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
GAO report on discount cards
New from GAO. This looked at how company's managed the discount cards in time before Medicare Part D. (Thanks again to ResourceShelf Docuticker for the link):
Medicare: Sponsors' Management of the Prescription Drug Discount Card and Transitional Assistance Benefit
Another reason to like your 50s?
According to a news release, "Men in their fifties are more satisfied with their sex lives than men in their thirties and forties, recording similar levels to 20-29 year-olds, according to a survey published in the February issue of BJU International."
Sex drive goes down, the survey showed, but satisfaction was high.
Find the release here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/02/060221084035.htm
Technorati Tags: Agebeat, Aging, Baby Boomers, Health, Media
Some links from Civic Ventures
From the latest Civic Ventures e-newsletter, some helpful links to recent "articles worth reading":
- "Policies to Promote Labor Force Participation of Older People," Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, January 2006. The conclusion: "Keeping older workers in the labor force may well be good for both workers and employers, but it is not obvious that it will happen." Find out what needs to change.
- "The New Old Age: As the pool of young recruits dries up, companies and countries are putting the retired back to work" - Newsweek, Jan. 30, 2006
- "The Rest of Your Life: Planning isn't only about finances. It's also about your search for meaning" - TIME, January, 2006
- "Where baby boom outshines 'greatest generation'" - commentary by author Leonard Steinhorn, Baltimore Sun, Feb. 8, 2006
To see the whole e-newsletter and learn more about Civic Ventures, go to its web site at Home.
Technorati Tags: Agebeat, Aging, Baby Boomers, Media
Get the latest ABO newsletter
The latest AGE BEAT ONLINE, the newsletter of the Journalists Exchange on Aging (JEoA), is available (Feb. 21, 2006 –Volume 6, Number 7)
IN THIS ISSUE: Biting the gold.
1. CALENDAR: World Parkinson Congress Offers Phone Access to Press Briefings; Families USA Holds Conference Call Friday on Potential Harm of Federal Budget; National Silver-Haired Congress This Week; Influenza Teleconference Transcript Now Available; Civic Shmivick at NCOA-ASA Joint Conference on Aging.
2. “AGE BEATLES NEWS”: San Diego ElderCare Site Starts Blog by Many With Alzheimer’s; Cox Newspapers Testing Q&A Column on Medicare Part D
3. “ON THE ABO BLOG”: John Cutter Interviews Alzheimer’s Researcher on Wandering
4. “LARKIN’S LINKS”: Our Diligent Columnist Can’t See Eye-to-Eye with Glaucoma Technology
5. LETTERS: An Encore Story on Betty Friedan
Click here to go to a page where you can download a PDF of the whole newsletter.
IN THIS ISSUE: Biting the gold.
1. CALENDAR: World Parkinson Congress Offers Phone Access to Press Briefings; Families USA Holds Conference Call Friday on Potential Harm of Federal Budget; National Silver-Haired Congress This Week; Influenza Teleconference Transcript Now Available; Civic Shmivick at NCOA-ASA Joint Conference on Aging.
2. “AGE BEATLES NEWS”: San Diego ElderCare Site Starts Blog by Many With Alzheimer’s; Cox Newspapers Testing Q&A Column on Medicare Part D
3. “ON THE ABO BLOG”: John Cutter Interviews Alzheimer’s Researcher on Wandering
4. “LARKIN’S LINKS”: Our Diligent Columnist Can’t See Eye-to-Eye with Glaucoma Technology
5. LETTERS: An Encore Story on Betty Friedan
Click here to go to a page where you can download a PDF of the whole newsletter.
Technorati Tags: Agebeat, Aging, Alzheimer's, Blogs, Media
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
