Wealth and Honor

Helping Families Navigate the Financial Challenges of Age Transitions

Category: Medical Issues (Page 2 of 3)

Most People Are Confused by Medicare

August 17, 2022 /

Financial Planners are failing big time to educate their age 65 or over clients about one of the most significant financial decisions they will make. Medicare applicants are confused about which health plan is right for them. Many seniors do not know enough about plan components, are bombarded by Medicare advertising, and lack the knowledge to choose a plan that meets their needs.

These are the conclusions of a newly released study by Sage Growth Partners, a national health care consultancy. Key findings in the study include:

  • Only 20% of Medicare-eligible individuals have a good understanding of Original Medicare; only 31% have a good understanding of Medicare Advantage.
  • 63% are “overwhelmed” by Medicare advertising; only 31% of respondents “strongly agree” that they can make effective selection decisions.
  • More than half (58%) stay in their current Medicare plan each year rather than reviewing their plan options and enrolling in the best plan for their evolving needs.
  • 33% have a financial advisor, but only 2% use that advisor to help with plan selection.

Source: New Report Reveals Significant Gaps in Medicare Knowledge Among Older Adults

Regarding their experience with working with Medicare as an institution, respondents to the survey rated their experience with Medicare as “poor to terrible.”

Respondents who were newly eligible for Medicare (those aged 64) give
their experience the lowest possible score (-50). The only age group to give it a positive score were those aged 76 and older. By comparison, cable TV providers, notorious for low customer approval, have an average NPS (Net Promotor Score) score of +2.

Check out our 2022 Flipbook Guide to Medicare for a comprehensive explanation of Medicare Parts A, B, C, & D as well as the Medicare Supplemental policy options.

Most Have No Plan for Long Term Care

August 15, 2022 /

HGC, an Aging-In-Place research and product development company based in Connecticut partnered with non-profit Arctos Foundation to survey Americans’ preparedness for long term care.

Key findings:

  • 70% of respondents have no advance directive in place, and just one in ten have long-term care insurance.
  • Most respondents have not spoken with a family member or loved one about wishes for Long Term Care.
  • Those with a spouse or partner are more likely to expect a need for long-term care services and supports, but are no more likely to have long-term care insurance in place.

Source: Independent Research | HCG Secure

To help families understand and discuss the issues surrounding planning for long term care, we have two excellent flipbooks on the topic of Essential Estate Planning, and Understanding Long Term Care.

Social Isolation Affects Heart Health, Cognition

August 8, 2022 /

Two new studies show the effects that social isolation and loneliness can have on cardiovascular health and cognitive decline.

The two studies provided several compelling links between social engagement and mental or physiological health. Some of the findings include:

  • Social isolation and loneliness are common but are under-recognized as contributing to cardiovascular and brain health.
  • The lack of social connection is associated with an increased risk of premature death from all causes, especially among men.
  • People who experience social isolation or loneliness are more likely to experience chronic stress and depression. Depression can also lead to social isolation.

Source: Social Isolation Affects Heart Health, Cognition

What Seniors Can Expect When COVID Vaccines Begin to Roll Out | Kaiser Health News

December 18, 2020 /

Seniors in nursing homes and assisted living centers will be among the first Americans vaccinated, following recommendations last week by a federal advisory panel. Older adults living at home will need to wait a while longer.Many uncertainties remain. Among them: What side effects can older adults anticipate and how often will these occur? Will the vaccines offer meaningful protection to seniors who are frail or have multiple chronic illnesses?Here’s a look at what’s known, what’s not and what lies ahead.

Source: What Seniors Can Expect When COVID Vaccines Begin to Roll Out | Kaiser Health News

How Covid-19 Will Change Aging and Retirement – WSJ

December 16, 2020 /

As the pandemic wreaks havoc on our mental and physical health, it is also quietly reshaping how Americans will face retirement and old age in the years to come.The virus is bringing sweeping change, mainly by “accelerating developments already under way,” says physician and entrepreneur Bill Thomas. For example, “isolation of older people has long been a problem, but Covid is focusing attention on the issue and adding urgency” to address it.

In this Wall Street Journal Article, writer Anne Tergesen reports on some of the effects that the COVID virus could have on aging and society. Among her findings:

  1. More will age at home.
  2. Older people will benefit from a technology boom.
  3. Lifespans will decline. (Though perhaps only for the short term)
  4. We will have a better handle on what we want to do with our time.
  5. We will plan for death.
  6. We will embrace healthier lifestyles.
  7. We need to save more to retire.
  8. The 401(k) will morph into a multipurpose account.
  9. We will work longer.
  10. Our views on aging will change.

Source: How Covid-19 Will Change Aging and Retirement – WSJ

Alzheimer’s Researchers Study a Rare Brain – The New York Times

December 15, 2020 /

Aliria Rosa Piedrahita de Villegas carried a rare genetic mutation that had all but guaranteed she would develop Alzheimer’s disease in her 40s. But only at age 72 did she experience the first symptoms of it.

Now researchers are studying Aliria’s donated brain to try and unlock the genetic secrets that may have delayed the disease’s onset.

Source: Alzheimer’s Researchers Study a Rare Brain – The New York Times

American Bankers Association Releases the “Mind Your Loved Ones” App

May 5, 2020 /

Few things sound as bad as being in the hospital alone. Healthcare workers have become surrogate mothers, fathers, friends, and children, in this new-normal of self-sequestered living. To exacerbate matters, hospitals are often in need of critical medical documents such as emergency contacts, healthcare directives, DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) Orders and the like.

To help with the latter problem, the American Bankers Association (ABA) has released its Mind On Your Loved Ones App that allows family members to store this critical information on their smart phone or tablet, and share it with medical professionals and hospitals if they cannot be present.

Having this information in the hands of those we’ve entrusted to carry out our wishes if we’re unable to speak for ourselves is important. Even more so now that we cannot be assured that our loved ones will be at our side if current events prevent it.

Mind Your Loved Ones, known as MYLO, is a mobile app that gives individuals the ability to store their own and their loved one’s critical medical information, health care directives, and other related data on their Apple or Android phones, iPads® or tablets. ABA members can download the app at a discounted price.

Source: MYLO – Mind Your Loved Ones

The Financial Impact of Dementia

April 23, 2020 /

In the video below, Robert Powell, editor of The Street’s Retirement Daily, and Angie O’Leary, head of wealth management with RBC Wealth Management, talked about the need to plan ahead for the possibility of dementia and the type of plans to put in place.

According to O’Leary, the plan should include having key legal documents – a power of attorney, healthcare directive, and will – in place as well as having assets properly titled and beneficiary designations current. Consider too, she said, the benefits of a trust and professional executor services, as well as supplemental insurance, including long-term care options.

O’Leary also noted the need to understand early warning signs and, after a diagnosis, acting swiftly to protect the family from financial missteps, abuse and liability.

 

Having a plan is essential, and key legal documents—a power of attorney, healthcare directive, and will—should be in place.

Source: The Financial Impact of Dementia – TheStreet

If you are struggling through the financial transitions of aging, Wealth and Honor is here to provide you with resources to help you and your family through it.

Sweethearts Forever. Then came Alzheimer’s and a tragic ending to their love story.

February 14, 2020 /

It’s a suitable Valentine story that is as saccharine sweet as it is painfully tragic. Richard and Alma Shaver were childhood friends and high school sweethearts who eloped at eighteen. They were described as soulmates who were madly in love with one another. Richard became an engineer, they raised three daughters, Alma led Girl Scout troops and became the go-to person in the neighborhood for emergency contact.

The symbol for Alzheimer’s

A few years back, Alma was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and the silent thief lay siege to Alma’s mind. She went from forgetting recently completed tasks to not recognizing her children, and ultimately not recognizing Richard. It was more than he could take.

On a warm day last June, while Alma was sleeping, Richard went upstairs to their bedroom and shot his beloved wife dead. Then he lay down beside her and shot himself.

It was not the ending that his family had hoped for, but they console themselves that they are not having to endure a murder trial. They held a memorial service and celebrated the happier lives that they had known with their parents. Perhaps this family’s tragedy and other less-tragic but equally painful deaths caused by this disease will lead to more open discussions on death with dignity laws.

On this day for lovers, embrace your partner, and tell him or her that you will be there for them if they are visited by the silent thief, but that you will not participate in a tragic end to their life or yours. It only perpetuates the pain for those we may leave behind.

Source

Nytimes.com. (2020). Sweethearts Forever. Then Came Alzheimer’s, Murder and Suicide.. [online] Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/29/nyregion/alzheimers-murder-suicide.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share.

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