Medicare Could Soon Cover Dental And Eye Care

A nurse is smiling next to an older woman.


As part of a large budget bill making its way through Congress, there is a provision to provide dental and eye care for Medicare recipients for the first time in our nation’s history.  Ironically, the bill is facing opposition from dentists, who fear that government reimbursement rates would be too low.  Back in 1965, the American Dental Association fought to keep dental from being a paid service for Medicare recipients.  Sadly, nearly half of all Americans over the age of 65 did not visit a dentist last year, and almost 20% have lost all of their teeth.  I know about the problem firsthand.  In addition to owning Family inHome Caregiving, I am president of the non-profit Hands to Help Seniors which provides emergency assistance to seniors in a financial pickle.  The vast majority of our donations go to providing dental care to low-income senior citizens, which is very expensive.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/29/upshot/medicare-dental-care.html

Long Term Care Insurance Or LTC To Be Funded By The Government?

A stethoscope laying on top of papers.


Long Term Care or LTC Insurance is the only insurance policy which will cover the care of services provided by companies like Family inHome Caregiving.  Unfortunately, it is very expensive and few people have it.  A 2019 study funded by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care found that by 2029, more than half of the nation’s 14.4 million middle-income older adults won’t have the financial resources necessary to pay for senior housing or in-home care.  The study concludes that both public and private funds need to come to the rescue.  There is hope.  The Well-Being Insurance for Seniors to be at Home (WISH) Act would create a federal LTC trust fund that would pay for catastrophic long-term care for those who need it, and it would also allow private insurance companies to offer affordable coverage plans for the initial years of disability.  The plan would be fully paid for by a slight increase in the payroll tax (0.3% of income for both workers and employers), or roughly $300 per year for a median-income earner.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/social-security-costs-expected-to-exceed-total-income-in-2021-as-covid-19-takes-financial-toll-11630436193?mod=djemwhatsnews

Biogen’s Aduhelm Not Accessible To Most Alzheimer’s Victims

A doctor and patient looking at a book


There was much excitement when Biogen’s Aduhelm was approved by the FDA for use on Alzheimer’s patients in June.  Although there was controversy in the medical community regarding whether or not it was effective, it gave hope for many suffering from a disease which hasn’t seen a promising new drug in nearly 20 years.  The problem is, the cost of the drug is so high at $56K/year few people have access to it.  Medicare recipients won’t find out until next year if they are going to cover the drug and, if so, for whom.  Stephen Salloway, director of Butler Hospital’s Memory and Aging Program, one of the few places serving up the drug, says that by next week it will have treated ten patients with the drug, with more than 100 others on a waiting list.  Those few are paying cash.  “That’s not the way I want to go about this, that only people with means can access the drug,†said Dr. Salloway.  “That’s not what the FDA intended.  It isn’t equitable.â€Â  I agree, however, with the Medicare fund quickly running out of money without even covering drugs like this, a solution needs to come from Congress at the behest of President Biden.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/biogens-new-alzheimers-drug-beyond-reach-for-many-patients-11630077741

Pacific Grove, CA Family Caregivers Face Heartbreaking Journey With Alzheimer’s Disease, Often Ending Up In Hospice

A woman and an old lady smiling at each other.


There was a heart breaking article in the Wall Street Journal recently.  It featured Nick Clement, age 78, who has cared for his wife Lucy for the past decade.  Lucy has Lewy body dementia as well as Alzheimer’s disease.  Nick wanted to take care of his wife, however, he quickly found out how difficult it is taking care of someone who is slipping rapidly into dementia.  As her disease progressed, she was unable to brush her teeth or comb her hair, so Nick did that too.  He said that some friends stopped calling, which can be heartbreaking.  Eventually, after Lucy had dropped from https://www.homecaremag.com/june-2021/buzz-vibration-therapy125 pounds down to 90, it took its toll on Nick who was gaunt and depressed.  He had to call in hospice which took over Lucy’s care.  Hospice asked Nick if he had told Lucy it was OK for her to go.  He had not, but went to her room and looked into her eyes and told her he would be alright, it was OK to go.  Sadly, she died the next morning.  Unfortunately, most of us will have to go through this with a family member.  If you need help, CHOMP has a service called Hospice of the Central Coast, as does the Visiting Nurses Association (see links below).  Please reach out for help if you need it, they both have compassionated caregivers.

https://www.montagehealth.org/care-treatment/hospice/

Pebble Beach, CA Online Scams Abound : Elder Abuse Fundraising Scams Abound

An old woman with a bruised eye and hand on her face.


here was a sad story in The New York Times recently about how some fundraisers—including many politicians—trick people (particularly senior citizens) into donating more than they want to.  The story profiled Steve Vaughn, who started to go through his fathers bank statement after he died and was shocked to see 400 donations totaling more than $11K over just a four month period.  There were donations to Donald J. Trump, Mitch McConnell, Tim Scott, Steve Scalise and many others.  There were notes with the bank statements showing the 90-year old had repeatedly try to dispute the charges with his credit card company—all to no avail.  Here is how the scam works.  Fundraisers will call you and ask you for a donation and once you agree, they will enter them into the system as a recurring payment.  Instead of taking a fixed amount, say $100, out of your account, they will take out $100 every month or sometimes every week.  They are hoping people aren’t diligent about going over their bank statements, so pay attention!  Many of them are targeting high-income areas of Monterey County like Carmel, Pacific Grove & Pebble Beach.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/26/us/politics/recurring-donations-seniors.html

C

Monterey, CA Can Driving Habits And Credit Scores Predict Future Alzheimer’s Or Dementia Diagnosis? By : Derek Baine

An older woman with a gray hair sitting in front of trees.


There has been such slow progress on the search for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, I was pleased to see that some researchers are focusing on finding early clues as to who may be vulnerable to getting Alzheimer’s disease or some other type of dementia.  A recent article in The New York Times said that some scientists believe that pathologies underlying brain decline may begin many years before symptoms emerge.  A spate of experiments is underway to see if little things like overlooking a couple of credit card payments or habitually braking while driving could be a sign that dementia is in your future.  “Early detection is key for intervention, at the stage when that would be most effective,†said Saye Bayat, the lead author of a driving study funded by the National Institutes of Health and performed at Washington University.  The study took 64 older adults with preclinical Alzheimer’s disease as determined by spinal taps and 75 who were deemed cognitively normal (results were not shared with the study participants).  For a year, researchers measured both groups’ driving performance.  The study found that driving behavior and age could predict preclinical Alzheimer’s 88% of the time.  Those findings could spur recruitment for clinical trials and allow for interventions—like an alert when a car drifts—to help keep drivers safely on the road.  Dr. Jason Karlawish, a geriatrician and co-director of the Penn Memory Center, called the study “provocative†and well designed.  “The results suggest that monitoring a real-world, cognitively intense behavior can detect the earliest, subtle signs of emerging cognitive impairment,†he said.  Another study analyzed medical records and consumer credit reports for more than 80,000 Medicare beneficiaries and found that those who eventually received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease were significantly more likely to have delinquent credit card payments (and sub-prime credit scores) than those with similar demographics who never received an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.  I hope these studies bear fruit.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/23/health/dementia-behavior-alzheimers.html

 

Many Older American’s Still Haven’t Gotten The Coronavirus Vaccine, Fueling More Deaths : By Derek Baine

A close up of the word coronavirus with an image of a virus


Sadly, many senior citizens have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which is causing hospitalizations across the country to soar as the highly contagious delta variant spreads rapidly.  The U.S. can now boast that is has a much higher share of seniors without full vaccine protection than many other wealthy countries, which means that we will likely see a disproportionate number of deaths of senior Americans compared to other developed countries.  In contrast, unvaccinated seniors in Britain, Canada and Spain are very rare.  Even London, which has higher rates of vaccine hesitancy among seniors than the rest of Britain, is far ahead of the United States in its vaccination rates.  Thankfully, California is doing much better than other states.  Low elderly vaccination rates in Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana and Nevada have coincided with surging rates of hospitalizations and deaths.  Next on the list are likely to be Colorado, Kansas and North Dakota which have not yet experienced severe Delta outbreaks but has low senior vaccination rates.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/08/24/world/vaccines-seniors.html?campaign_id=34&emc=edit_sc_20210824&instance_id=38663&nl=science-times&regi_id=52105769&segment_id=67063&te=1&user_id=7052b81671c57203c64c377c7522baa7

Pacific Grove, CA Telemedicine Is Here To Stay, Says Medicare

A person holding a stethoscope in front of a laptop.


More than three times as many Medicare beneficiaries had access to their doctors via a phone or video visit during the pandemic than before, a trend which is likely to continue with the new COVID-19 variant causing another surge in coronavirus cases.  The Kaiser Foundation, which recently conducted a study on this issue, said that expanded telehealth care is really good news for people of color, those with disabilities and low income families.   Those living in rural areas had difficulty getting to the doctor e//ven before coronavirus.  Believe it or not, Monterey County is considered rural and indeed in South and North County populations are spread out over quite a large footprint. Thankfully, in early 2020, Medicare expanded coverage of such visits to enable all enrollees to keep up with their medical care while minimizing their r4isk of exposure to the coronavirus.  Although the rules only extend through the end of 2021, there are a number of bills in Congress which would make telehealth coverage permanent.

 

https://www.aarp.org/health/medicare-insurance/info-2021/telehealth-increase-covid-pandemic.html

Salinas, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available

A woman is helping an older person in the bathroom.


Salinas, CA Home Care Aide (HCA) Senior Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregiver Jobs Available (Also Aromas, Big Sur, Carmel, Carmel-by-the-sea, Carmel Valley, Castroville, Corral-de-Tierra, Del Rey Oaks, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pebble Beach, Prunedale, Seaside, Soledad & Watsonville

We have developed a reputation for having the best caregivers (Home Care Aides or Senior Companions) in Monterey County over the past decade and have recently expanded into Santa Cruz County.   We are currently looking for qualified caregivers.

 

Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey is seeking compassionate, mature and dependable caregivers who want to improve the lives of our elderly Clients by providing in-home, non-medical care.  Our services include:

Caring companionship

Meal preparation

Incidental transportation

Running errands

Light housekeeping

Medication reminders

Monitoring of safety while bathing

Information and referral services

Other services that improve the safety, security and quality of life of seniors.

 

If you believe you would make an exceptional Home Care Aide, we would love to hear from you!  We prefer those with experience helping the elderly, disabled and others with mobility problems.  Having cared for those with dementia and/or Alzheimer’s is a plus.  To work for us, you must have excellent references, a clear criminal record, a good driving record, and an insured reliable vehicle.  To apply, please visit our website www.fhcofm.com, click on home care aides, then careers where you can fill out an application online.  We have immediate openings all over Monterey County.

The Alliance on Aging To Host Senior Luncheon On Thursday, September 2

A group of people giving thumbs up to the camera.


Thanks to the Alliance on Aging for once again hosting a luncheon for senior citizens.  The next one will be from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the St. Ansgar’s Lutheran Church Parking Lot at 72 East San Joaquin Street in Salinas. A box lunch consisting of a hero sandwich, Greek pasta salad, a bag of chips, bottled water and a homemade cookie will be served. We can also look forward to getting a bag of goodies from the Food Bank for Monterey County.  Reservations are required.  Please call 758-4011 or 655-1334 to reserve your spot.