The U.S. Treasury Department has reversed course and announced that Social Security beneficiaries and other Americans who have not filed income taxes for the past two years will not have to take any extra steps to get one-time checks of up to $1,200 under a new program designed to help the economy rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, reports USA Today . This is in response to criticism following the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) online notice that people who usually do not file taxes would need to file a simple tax return to receive one of the payments. Forty-one senators sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin claiming that this would place "a significant burden" on retired seniors and people with disabilities. Mnuchin responded that the IRS will now use Social Security data to generate payments to Social Security recipients who did not file tax returns in 2018 or 2019 as paper checks or direct deposits. "One of the reasons Treasury officials may have wanted to require a simple tax form from those who haven't paid taxes in the past two years is to make sure they are sending checks to the most up-to-date address," said American Enterprise Institute economist Kyle Pomerleau. Electronic Transactions Association CEO Jodie Kelley said the industry has offered to assist Treasury "to quickly and securely deliver stimulus money to American consumers."

Many older Americans who prefer visiting their doctor for regular check-ins and other appointments are unable to do so because of edicts for isolation during the coronavirus pandemic, reports Today . Physicians are concerned that they will become "medically isolated" and even more at risk from COVID-19 infection. To avoid this, doctors nationwide are adjusting, with many offering virtual sessions by phone or video. Medicare beneficiaries will be covered for those appointments under a new law that expanded telehealth benefits "on a temporary and emergency basis." Experts recommend seniors considering such an option first check with their healthcare provider, provider system, or hospital app for a telemedicine portal, then download it and follow the prompts. Yale Medicine's Leo Cooney Jr. says older persons are "comfortable doing it over the phone. They want to see me at some point, but they're very well aware these are extraordinary times. Telemedicine is a reasonable approach in these difficult times and it manages a lot of problems fairly well." Some physicians have been willing to see patients in the practice's parking lot, with patients remaining in their car while providers approach and evaluate them in protective gear.

AdventHealth Orlando geriatrician Rosemary Laird said routine is critical for people suffering from memory loss and dementia, particularly during the coronavirus epidemic, reports the Orlando Sentinel . She emphasized that social distancing practices are especially important for people with dementia, who are often older and frail due to other health conditions that could make them more vulnerable to the coronavirus. Laird added that caregivers also can suffer from depleted immune systems from the stress of caring for a loved one. To this end, the Alzheimer's Association and other groups are offering virtual caregiver support groups. Laird suggested keeping regular meal and exercise times, as well as whiteboards to write down routines visible to everyone in the household. Above all, Laird recommended against dwelling on when the social restrictions will end.

A November 2019 study in Obesity found that older adults with a healthy weight but a large waistline could be at higher risk of developing dementia, reports Harvard Men's Health Watch . The researchers looked at 473,000 people 65 and older who were part of a national health screening exam in South Korea. After 6.5 years, 13 percent of participants had been newly diagnosed with dementia. Dementia rates rose consistently along with waist sizes of 35.5 inches and larger among the men with a healthy body-mass index (BMI). The researchers implied that waist size may be better than BMI as an indicator of excess fat among older adults, because older people tend to lose muscle and gain fat without changing weight. A larger waist size also is a sign of excess visceral fat which also has been associated with health issues like heart disease and diabetes.

With holidays like Easter and Passover approaching, maintaining communication with older relatives isolated by the coronavirus lockdown is essential, and video calling services can help fill the void, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer . Video calling could be a more effective way to prevent their feelings of isolation, and to check to see how they are faring, than just a phone call. The Philadelphia Corporation for Aging's Kerith Gabriel emphasizes that video calls should be the first way that caregivers get in touch, and older adults who can make video calls also can participate in virtual events, online book clubs, video lunch dates, and other activities to stay connected. The Philadelphia-based Generations on Line nonprofit cites access, skill, and intimidation as the three biggest impediments to persuading older adults to use video calling. Access problems include forgotten passwords and difficulties with initial setup, and the solution is to choose the most user-friendly solution available, or help loved ones set up a new account. To overcome a lack of skill, relatives should be patient, proceed gradually, and avoid frustration. To address intimidation, Generations on Line CEO Tobey Gordon Dichter recommends changing older adults' "perception that this is not as intimidating and complex as you might think." Appropriate video calling options include FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, and WhatsApp — and Dichter recommends a full-sized iPad or Android tablet if at all possible.

New River Investments portfolio manager Conor Sen writes in Bloomberg that the U.S. economy may not bounce back to pre-coronavirus levels if baby boomers do not return to work. "The risk is that this temporary phase of economic disruption will turn into permanent disruption for older workers," he warns. Recent jobless claims data reflects Congress' sluggish fiscal aid, with U.S. companies firing 3.28 million workers in just one week. Sen says employees age 55 and over comprise almost a quarter of the American workforce, and "if 7 million workers get laid off or furloughed as a result of this crisis and the impact is evenly distributed by age, that's 1.75 million displaced senior workers." He says it is imperative that older workers be allowed to retire on their own terms rather than be forced into it by pandemics or other crises. Furthermore, the potential absence of hundreds of thousands of workers once the current crisis passes drastically lowers the odds of an effective economic rebound. "For smaller businesses, in particular, missing a few key veteran people may be the difference between survival and failure," Sen stresses. He concludes that it behooves Congress to consider "incentives to keep older workers on the job or efforts to rehire them once this crisis passes."

An experimental treatment for the coronavirus hyped by President Trump uses the anti-malarial drug chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine, which is causing a nationwide shortage for people who the drug is typically administered to in the United States, reports WUSA9 . Trump announced on March 20 that he thought chloroquine could be a short-term solution to treating people with COVID-19 until a cure can be developed, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Sunday issued an emergency authorization for the experimental use of chloroquine to treat the pathogen. The Department of Health and Human Services also added chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to the roster of necessary medical resources subject to federal hoarding prevention measures. People with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are usually prescribed chloroquine, and sufferers say the drug is essential for maintaining their quality of life. However, researchers cite a lack of conclusive clinical evidence of the drug's broad effectiveness against COVID-19. "We've never done a clinical trial, so we have to be careful," said National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci.

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate gave final approval to a five-year renewal of the programs and services of the Older Americans Act (OAA), reports MarketWatch . The new legislation will provide new initiatives — and continue existing ones — that aid people with early-onset Alzheimer's disease and assist low-income older Americans. In addition to the renewal, the bill allocates a 35 percent increase in funding over five years and reaffirms that the OAA addresses both social determinants of health and social isolation and loneliness. The law's congregate nutrition program addresses social isolation and is legally bound to provide participants with meals, nutrition education, and socialization opportunities. The law's reauthorization also would fortify efforts in this field by directing the Assistant Secretary for Aging to devise a long-term plan for supporting state and local efforts to counter social isolation. Meanwhile, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act recently passed by Congress and signed into law included $250 million in emergency funds for the OAA's senior nutrition programs.

Uniper-Care Technologies has announced a new cross-platform service that allows older adults and at-risk individuals in isolation to connect and interact with healthcare professionals, access live health and wellness programs, and communicate with family and friends, reports HIT Consultant . The service aims to help the at-risk, older adult population and healthcare systems deal with social isolation measures imposed due to the coronavirus. Uniper's service is now accessible by any TV, tablet, mobile device, desktop, or laptop. Healthcare delivery systems, facilities, insurance payers, and senior care providers can enroll to partner with Uniper and offer accessible service to members or clients. "We want to help our health partners keep their members physically, mentally, and socially healthy by connecting them to family, community members, and healthcare professionals," said Uniper co-founder Avi Price. "We proved that we can dramatically decrease anxiety, loneliness, and depression."

The nonprofit Compassion & Choices advocacy has released new tools to help people think about what they would consider quality of life if they had dementia, and to share their wishes with loved ones and healthcare providers, reports Next Avenue . Among end-of-life wishes that Compassion & Choices has lobbied for is the option of medical assistance in dying. But laws permitting this are determined by a person being of sound mind, which is unavailable to people with dementia. The organization has developed a free online questionnaire called the Dementia Values and Priorities Tool. After someone answers its questions and fills in their personal data and information for their proxy, the tool generates a dementia healthcare directive addendum for medical providers and family — which can be downloaded and e-mailed. Also from Compassion & Choices is a free Dementia Provision form for adding to an advance directive. "The tools have the potential to empower caregivers to make sure they're focusing on quality of life and asking questions to cause us to pause," said Compassion & Choices' Matt Whitaker. "What are we doing in this moment and what are we doing it for? And that has the potential to be transformative — not just for how we die with dementia, but how we care for and how people live with this diagnosis."