A new decade dawns: Urgency builds for leadership on aging issues
When 2010 dawned, most of us were eager to turn the page, put the recession behind us, and look forward to a brighter decade. But, the reality is: Tough times remain, and there’s hard work to be done.
How to save millions in wasted health care spending
By Al Norman
Elected officials are clamoring for ways to cut costs in our health care system. Yet Massachusetts is wasting hundreds of millions of...
Long-term care scorecard shows progress: More needed for caregivers
By Michael E. Festa
Massachusetts ranks 18th nationwide for meeting the long-term care needs of older residents, but more must be done, at a greatly...
Oh, no, it’s Sweet Little Alice!
It was the saddest song I had ever heard.
“My Sweet Little Alice-Blue Gown,” always sung by a woman, told the story of a lovely blue silk dress “with little forget-me-nots placed here and there.” Wearing that gown made the wearer feel as if she were “walking on air.” But here’s the sad part: That dress was now wilted, worn out, in short, gone.
Federal program aims to end elder hunger
By Linda F. Fitzgerald
The growing problem of elder hunger in the United States, including right here in Massachusetts, is disgraceful. And, it can be...
HHS Medicare savings stats mislead seniors
By Dennis Byron
Fellow senior citizens, you might have seen news releases recently from the Obama administration’s Health and Human Services (HHS) department and its...
Stop Congress from driving doctors out of Medicare
By Deborah E. Banda
Today, more than one million Massachusetts seniors rely on Medicare. They have earned their Medicare, and the security of knowing they...
Seniors need a better Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment
By Al Norman
For the second year in a row, millions of Social Security beneficiaries feel they got short-changed by the recently announced zero percent...
Boomers will be spending billions to counter aging
Anti-aging enthusiasts contend that life spans can be prolonged through interventions such as hormone replacement therapy and dietary supplements. Critics, including much of the medical establishment, say many anti-aging interventions are ineffective or harmful.
The conveyor belt to nursing facilities
A friend of mine recently took himself to the emergency room of a local hospital. He is a 70-year-old diabetic, and his temperature was 103 degrees. He has learned to react quickly to medical problems out of fear of his diabetes complications.