A 27-year-long global study of diet and health has led to some eye-opening conclusions, according to this article that was recently carried on CNN. “Which risk factor is responsible for more deaths around the world than any other?” asks the article. “Not smoking. Not even high blood pressure. It’s a poor diet.” Avoiding a Poor…
About a million Americans will have knee replacement surgery this year, and roughly 600,000 will have their hip joints replaced. For years the consensus in the medical community has been that the best place to undergo post-surgical rehabilitation is in a rehab center, typically a short-stay skilled nursing facility. But new research suggests otherwise: there’s…
About a year ago here on the AgingOptions blog, we told readers about a small program, started in Little Rock, Arkansas, that is now providing care to about 1,000 veterans, at a fraction of the cost of nursing care. Besides saving the Department of Veterans Affairs millions in care costs annually, this initiative, called the…
These days you can get practically anything online, and that includes do-it-yourself wills and other estate planning documents. These services (and there are thousands of them) promise to let you create legally sound estate planning documents at a fraction of the cost of having them prepared by an attorney. But unless you know what you…
About a month ago we told you about this featured report on National Public Radio concerning screening for dementia. Why, the report asked, is testing for cognitive impairment not being administered to everyone age 65 and older? We thought about the NPR report a few days ago when we discovered this related story on the…
Imagine this scenario. You call the office of your new primary care physician and schedule your annual checkup, assuming Medicare will cover the cost. The appointment goes well and the exam seems thorough. Then to your surprise, a few days after the appointment you get a bill for $400. Assuming it’s a billing mistake, you…
If you’re like most retirees, a significant portion of your retirement savings is in pre-tax accounts such as a 401(k), 403(b) or IRA. And like most retirees you’re probably concerned about how best to cover any future long-term care costs that might arise. According to this recent article from Kiplinger, if you were counting on…
Are you interested in a more secure retirement? Who wouldn’t be? These days, when so many things are uncertain, retirement security would seem to be a goal anyone can embrace. But after reading this just-published article from the USNews website, we at AgingOptions are reminded once again that most people still seem to equate “retirement…
Most marriage ceremonies include the phrase, “in sickness and in health” – usually just after “for better, for worse.” This recent article on the website Considerable.com has opened our eyes to the fact that, for about 3.7 million men and women who are caregivers for their spouses, both those statements are being put to the…
It’s a financial burden that in other countries would be “unfathomable,” say the health care policy experts. Millions of Americans, even many with insurance, are finding themselves with “crippling amounts of medical debt.” Those are some of the sobering phrases we found in this just-published article from The Atlantic. It reveals that simply getting sick,…