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Genetic Testing is a New Form of Health Fraud

Date: November 3, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Genetic Testing is a New Form of Health Fraud

Genetic screening reps have appeared at health fairs and senior communities to talk to seniors. They have a pretty sweet offer, find out if you or your family are at risk of developing cancer by doing a free cheek swab. As the old saying goes, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Investigators are saying that genetic testing is a new form of health fraud.

Genetic Testing is a New Form of Health Fraud

 

Genetic Testing is a New Form of Health Fraud

 

Genetic testing is bringing millions of dollars a year in unnecessary tests that target seniors. The Department of Health and Human Services has seen an increase in calls complaining about these tests. In 2018, they only got one or two calls a week. 2019 shows them getting as many as fifty calls a week.

More than three hundred investigations are working on genetic testing fraud schemes. The investigations started when people noticed unusual Medicare billing data patterns that began in 2015.

Medicare payouts for genetic tests jumped from 480 million in 2015, to 1.1 billion in 2018. These numbers don’t include any Medicaid payouts either.

What makes it a scam, though?

Marketers get seniors to turn over their Medicare or Medicaid info, then they will get a free cheek swab that will help them understand their risks and health secrets. Doctors sign off on the tests, and the genetic companies rake in the money.

The thing is, many of the tests aren’t relevant to the patient’s history. Sometimes doctors sign off on these tests without talking to the patient, either because there isn’t enough time or possibly getting a cut of the money from the genetic company.

Seniors get little to no benefits from these tests.

How to Prevent Getting Scammed

With the rise of many different genetic companies becoming mainstream, it’s easy to get scammed. Make sure that your doctor is the one that orders the test and don’t respond to any companies offering a test for free.

Read more here.

6 Ways You Can Avoid the Flu

Date: October 28, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
6 Ways You Can Avoid the Flu

No one likes getting the flu, and sometimes, even when you get your flu shot, you still get sick. Aging adults are vulnerable to the flu, and medical complications can quickly arise. Sometimes the flu will turn into a hospital visit. Here are six ways you can avoid the flu.

6 Ways You Can Avoid the Flu

6 Ways You Can Avoid the Flu

 

1.  Get a Flu Shot Early

You shouldn’t wait until the middle of flu season when everyone around you starts getting sick. It actually takes around two weeks for your body to respond to the shot by creating immunity from it. Get your flu shot at the beginning of the season. That way, you are protected when it gets bad.

2. Always Wash  Your Hands

Wash your hands with soap and water:

  • Before eating
  • After blowing your nose
  • After going to the bathroom
  • After going shopping or being out in public
  • After using public transportation, elevators or railings of any kind
  • After flipping light switches or turning doorknobs
  • After using your phone or computer

If you can’t wash your hands, you can use hand sanitizer.

3. Don’t Touch Your Face

Rubbing your eyes, mouth, or nose can transport germs into the body through your respiratory system’s mucous membranes.

4. Drink Water

Staying hydrated gives your immune system energy to take germs out of your body.

5. Focus on Immune Boosting Nutrition

Eat more citrus, leafy greens, broccoli, sweet potatoes, and berries during flu season. If you have food restrictions, talk to your doctor about food that you can eat that boosts your immune system.

6. Get Enough Sleep

Sleep deprivation can weaken the immune system, so make sure to get plenty of sleep. If you have a hard time sleeping, try relaxing nighttime rituals. Creating patterns before going to bed has shown to help improve sleep.

Read more here.

Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart are Going into Home-Based Care

Date: October 27, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart are Going into Home-Based Care

As more adults grow older, the more interest large retailers have in getting into home-based care. Familiar names like Walmart, Amazon, and Best Buy are entering the home care industry.

Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart are Going into Home-Based Care

Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart are Going into Home-Based Care

 

Hopefully, this means more accessible products for everyone.

Best Buy

Best Buy announced that they would be looking at senior care as a way to grow in the future. Their goal is to give five million seniors health monitoring services in the next five years.

Best Buy actually bought GreatCall in 2018, which makes and sells smartphones, medical alert devices, and other tech to help seniors age at home. They also bought Critical Signal Technologies, a company that helps seniors age in place.

Amazon

Amazon is going in a different direction, by testing out the home care field with their own employees, using Amazon Care. Amazon Care is a virtual care pilot that allows users to talk to a doctor remotely through text or video. You can also get in-home follow up care and get prescriptions delivered to the house.

If the test goes well, they’ll expand it to the general public.

Walmart

Walmart is trying a new health clinic that has Amedisys Inc. kiosk that is supposed to help customers learn more about home health services.

The first location is in Dallas, Georgia, right next to a Walmart and is 10,000 square feet. Customers can learn about a variety of services like home care, hospice, and personal care.

Read more here.

7 Ways for Non-physician Caregivers to Help Seniors With Their Cognitive Functions

Date: October 20, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
A Healthy Mind Creates a Healthy Body

Sometimes it can be hard to tell whether a senior’s forgetfulness is something to worry about or not. You don’t want to make any assumptions, especially if you aren’t a doctor. You will want to get a second opinion, but it can be hard to get a senior to a doctor. There are some ways that non-physician care providers can help seniors with their cognitive functions.

7 Ways for Non-physician Caregivers to Help Seniors With Their Cognitive Functions

7 Ways for Non-physician Caregivers to Help Seniors With Their Cognitive Functions

These are seven ways you can talk about a senior’s cognitive function and possible decline, notice any deterioration, and support the senior in your life.

1. Have All the Info Needed

Everyone needs to have all the necessary information. A caregiver should give information about the brain and cognitive decline to you and your senior. They will even refer you to a doctor if it’s needed.

2. Know the Signs and Symptoms

Everyone must know the signs and symptoms of cognitive impairment. Especially the people in charge of the senior. They should be trained to know that these signs may not be enough for a diagnosis, and a doctor needs to do an official evaluation.

3. Be Aware

It never hurts to be aware. Listen for concerns about cognition; look for any signs or any changes that happen slowly over time. This is something that both professional and family members can do.

It’s good for both the family and the professionals to talk to each other as well. Together you will be able to create the whole picture.

4. Create a List of Procedures and Referrals

It’s good for professional non-physician caregivers to develop a system to detect any changes in cognitive functions. It’s also good to have a list of doctors that can evaluate the brain if and when it’s needed.

5. Mental Status Test

Non-physician caregivers should use a test to detect cognitive impairment only if

  • this type of testing is within the scope of practice of the non-physician care provider
  • The non-physician care provider has been trained to use the test
  • Everyone consents to the test
  • There is a procedure for offering a referral for people who score poorly on the test to a doctor for an evaluation

6. Encourage Seniors to Listen to Their Doctor

If a doctor comes up with a game plan for a senior, it’s up to the non-physician care providers to work with the senior and their family to follow it. You can also encourage the family to get additional info from the doctor if it’s needed.

7. Be Supportive

Getting a dementia diagnosis can really shuffle up a person’s life. The senior and their family will be looking for support. Talk to them if they don’t understand the diagnosis and encourage them to talk to the doctor that gave the diagnosis.

Read more here.

“Rational” Suicide is on the Rise Among Seniors

Date: October 20, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
"Rational" Suicide is on the Rise Among Seniors

Seniors across the country are thinking about “rational” suicide. These people aren’t depressed, or at least most aren’t. They don’t even want to end their lives soon, but they see it as a way to avoid declining health in their later years.

"Rational" Suicide is on the Rise Among Seniors

“Rational” Suicide is on the Rise Among Seniors

 

How can suicide be rational? Well, to some people, it can’t be. It’s easy to see why: it goes against societal norms and even the work of people who work in suicide prevention.

The idea of rational suicide is not to end your life because you are miserable, but to prevent yourself from slowly declining into misery due to age-related conditions.

The idea is particularly popular among the Baby Boomer generation because they value autonomy and self-determination. While modern medicine is keeping their bodies alive longer, it’s still struggling to keep the minds healthy longer.

A Kaiser Health News investigation found that at least a few hundred older Americans are killing themselves while living in or transitioning into long-term care. While many of the cases involved depression or mental illness, it’s unknown how many involved clear-minded people making a “rational” choice.

While a lot of people see suicide as a tragedy, these seniors interested in “rational” suicide see it as a way out.

Many people cared for their aging parents and watched them decline due to a variety of conditions. Many say that they would rather end their life than go through that or put their family through it. While they keep quiet about it, discussing this idea is rather popular among those in long term care.

One school of thought is this idea is similar to a person ending their dialysis care, which usually means they will pass away within weeks. The problem other people have with this thought is that if you don’t have a terminal illness, wouldn’t that person be throwing their life away?

Doctors Are Unsure How to Handle It

Doctors have little to no training on how to handle a talk like this. It’s important to acknowledge this as a possibility for seniors that are considering this path. This way they can talk to a professional. Dr. Yeates Conwell, who is a psychiatrist and leading expert in elderly suicide, wants to have these conversations with seniors. Conwell says,

“The balance between the wish to die and the wish to live is a dynamic one that shifts frequently, moment to moment, week to week.”

If you or someone you love are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or use the online Lifeline Crisis Chat. Both of these options are available 24/7.

Read more about this subject here.

Adult Day Center Opens in Center Conway

Date: October 14, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
Adult Day Center Opens in Center Conway

It can be hard to get care in Northern New Hampshire, but the Mount Washington Valley Adult Day Center in Center Conway is changing that. It’s a safe haven for both seniors with memory loss or chronic health illnesses and their caregivers.

Adult Day Center Opens in Center Conway

Adult Day Center Opens in Center Conway

 

The Center has areas for social interactions and artistic endeavors. There’s also a cafe, a library, outdoor gardens, a spa, and a big-screen TV for watching. There will be different kinds of classes that people can take and even music and dance performances. There are indoor and outdoor walkways that are circular for easy walking. There are 1,400 plants of over 300 species throughout the garden.

The designers took bits and pieces from other similar centers around the country. The idea is the center gives a more relaxed vacation vibe instead of healthcare.

“The model is a hospitality model, not a hospital model. The folks who come here are the guests. We’re doing anything we can to break that institutional feel.”  Norman Cloutier

It can have up to sixty people for five-hour blocks. It’s open from 7:30 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday. It costs seventy-five dollars.

The Center is working on finalizing insurance coverage. People can pay through private pay, long term care insurance, VA benefits, and Medicaid options. Subsidies could be available through the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services’ Choices for Independence. The department gives respite grants for NH people who live at home and are eligible for nursing-home care.

Read more here.

Being a Paid Caregiver Can Change Family Dynamics

Date: October 14, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
How NH Will Handle Healthcare Worker Shortage

Getting paid while caring for an aging parent sounds like the perfect solution to balance your life. After all, being a caregiver can get costly, as shown in our article Ways to Keep Long Term Care from Bankrupting You. Though being a paid caregiver can change family dynamics in frustrating ways.

Being a Paid Caregiver Can Change Family Dynamics

Being a Paid Caregiver Can Change Family Dynamics

 

Many states let people who need care hire people who are close to them to be their caregiver. This is to help family members who’ve had to either cut back or quit their job to support their family member.

Though no one is getting rich from this salary.

Spreading the responsibility of caring for a family member is hard on a good day. Siblings can feel like they are doing more work than someone else.

Adding money into the mix can raise the tension immensely. People can feel like someone is taking advantage of the situation to make some extra money.

The person getting paid can feel like all the work is put on them because it’s their “job.”

How You Can Stop Conflict Before It Starts

 

Is there a way that you and your family can avoid this type of conflict? In fact, there is, AARP has a few suggestions that can help you.

Demonstrate Transparency

You were taught to keep your finances private. You aren’t supposed to talk about what you make or how much you spend. You even keep this sort of stuff away from your family.

Throw that idea out the window.

Caregiving is a family matter, and you should disclose any financial transactions that involved your family member. This is especially important to whoever is earning money.

Let your family know they could also earn a wage being a caregiver. Share what you make if you are earning money.

If anyone has a problem, explain what you do and how it can offset other costs, like medication copays, the price of gas to take them out, and other things.

Try to Think About What Others Think is Fair

While you think it’s fair to earn money for all the things you do, there can be family members who think they are making sacrifices too, and want to be compensated as well. They probably are, but maybe not as many as you.

For them, it’s not fair that you get all the glory while they don’t.

You have to remember to not scoff at their feelings. You need to empathize with them instead. Make sure that they know you appreciate their help.

Don’t feel that you have to give them the money you earned. Sometimes appreciation is all they need.

Keep your Parent-Child Relationship

People who need care can become demanding over time. When there is money involved, there can be a tendency to treat anyone close to them like an employee.

They may have a shorter temper or bark orders at you.

You should do what you have to do, but let your family member know that you are there to help them, not make money. You want to be treated like the family you are, not like a stranger.

Money isn’t going to change your relationship.

Is it Worth it?

Sometimes earning money isn’t worth it. If it’s causing constant fighting and upset, is it worth it?

Decide for yourself whether you can handle that along with caregiving. If you can’t, then stop. If it is, keep trying to talk through the issues with your family.

10 Common Health Issues for Seniors

Date: October 7, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
10 Common Health Issues for Seniors

There’s lots of different health issues that come with aging. Luckily, some of them are easy to manage with proper preparation. Here are 10 common health issues for seniors.

10 Common Health Issues for Seniors

10 Common Health Issues for Seniors

 

1. Chronic Illness

It’s very common for seniors to have at least one or more chronic illnesses. Heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes are the most common to have.

2. Cognitive Health

Alzheimer’s and dementia are pervasive diseases. They are so much more than simply forgetting, they can cause problems with motor skills, personality changes, and confusion are major symptoms of both of these diseases. Alzheimer’s is also fatal.

3. Mental Health

Many seniors suffer from depression because of so many life changes that happen later in life. As we’ve written about before, it’s hard to diagnose mental illness in seniors.

Older adults are around 18 percent of suicide deaths in America.

4. Falls

Falls are the number one cause for emergency visits. Falls cause all kinds of bone fractures due to bones weakening with age.

5. Sexually Transmitted Diseases

In 2013, the CDC found that 21 percent of AIDs cases were in people over 50 in the US. Seniors are less likely to use protection, and their weaker immune system makes them more vulnerable to HIV.

6. Malnutrition

It’s easy for seniors to develop malnutrition for a number of reasons. Cognitive impairments may cause them to forget to eat, dietary restrictions, limited income, and more can cause problems with getting proper nutrition.

7. Sensory Impairments

Vision and hearing loss are common in Americans over the age of 70.

8. Oral Health

Around 25 percent of people over 65 don’t have any natural teeth left. Cavities and tooth decay can lead to unhealthy diets, low self-esteem, and other health problems.

9. Substance Abuse

Addiction is more of a problem among seniors than most people realize. Older adults with substance abuse problems are expected to reach five million by 2020.

10. Bladder Control and Constipation

These symptoms can either be due to age or be symptoms of a poor diet or medication.

Read more here.

New Database Gives Stats on Aging in New Hampshire

Date: October 7, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
New Database Gives Stats on Aging in NH

It’s no secret that New Hampshire is considered a gray state, meaning that there is a large aging population. A new database has been created to give stats on aging in New Hampshire. The Tufts Health Plan Foundation funds it.

New Database Gives Stats on Aging in NH

New Database Gives Stats on Aging in New Hampshire

 

The database has 244 Community Profiles, one for every city and town in NH. Each profile has 166 indicators of health and state averages.

People can look up stats on Alzheimer’s, different heart conditions, and how many people have more than one chronic illness. People can look at access to care and the cost of living too.

Having access to this database means that anyone from senior communities to the average person can access this information to help them know what’s best for their aging relatives. It may even point them in a direction when deciding what the next move should be, maybe moving to a new town is best for them. It’s also an excellent tool for creating policies to help our aging communities in those specific areas of need.

There are significant differences in health by zip code, gender, and type of town a person lives in.

The database is made of around 40,000 pieces of data. The top three sources include the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Federal Census Bureau, and the FBI.

UK Seniors Go a Whole Week Without Talking to Anyone

Date: September 28, 2019
Author: Erynn
Categories: Stories & Tips
UK Seniors Go a Whole Week Without Talking to Anyone

Loneliness is a major problem for seniors. They slow down, and their social circles slowly diminish until they spend all their time alone. A new survey of UK seniors reveals that they usually go a week without talking to someone.

UK Seniors Go a Whole Week Without Talking to Anyone

UK Seniors Go a Whole Week Without Talking to Anyone

 

The survey of 1,896 seniors showed that twenty-two percent would have a conversation with three or fewer people each week. Why is this a big deal?

This means that 2.6 million seniors don’t have daily human contact and 225,000 don’t talk to people at all.

The survey also showed that thirty-eight percent of seniors feel lonely as they’ve gotten older. The loneliness has gotten so bad for some that twelve percent said loneliness kept them from leaving their home.

Forty percent of seniors would feel more confident in leaving the house if they knew their neighbors. Fifty-four percent of seniors said that even a short conversation with a neighbor or acquaintance would brighten their day.

Read more about how loneliness can affect your health in our article, Loneliness Can Be Deadly for Elders; Friends Are the Antidote.

Read more about the UK survey here.