U.S. Sens Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), the chair and ranking member of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care, are continuing their bipartisan work to improve care for patients with Alzheimer's disease. Following their subcommittee hearing titled "Alzheimer's Awareness: Barriers to Diagnosis, Treatment, and Care Coordination," Toomey and Stabenow are seeking input from providers, researchers, patients, patient advocacy groups, and other stakeholders to inform the development of future legislation. In a joint notice to stakeholders, the two legislators stated: "In 2019, Alzheimer's disease and related memory disorders cost an estimated $290 billion in health care, long-term care, and hospice expenses, two-thirds of which will be borne by Medicare and Medicaid. As the number of Americans living with Alzheimer's disease grows to nearly 14 million by 2050, annual health care expenditures attributable to the disease will balloon to $1.1 trillion."

A study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that seniors on traditional Medicare were more likely to be in families that have difficulties paying medical bills compared to Medicare Advantage (MA) beneficiaries, reports FierceHealthcare . However, MA beneficiaries also were more likely to struggle with medical bills than those covered by private insurance. The CDC estimated that the percentage of people in families that had a problem paying a medical bill declined from nearly 20 percent in 2011 to 14 percent in 2018. Among adults 65 and over, the numbers of people in families with problems paying a medical bill in the past year were 12.4 percent in Medicare only and 12.3 percent for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees. Yet 8.3 percent of people on MA and 5.6 percent on private coverage were in families that had trouble paying medical bills. The gap between private coverage and people on Medicare or MA widened among adults 75 and older, of whom 10 percent in traditional Medicare were in families with problems paying their medical bills — while 7.2 percent were MA beneficiaries. However, just 4.2 percent of those with private coverage reported the same. MA advocates claimed the study proves that the program yields cost savings.

The Oak Street Health primary care senior clinic company plans to open three new health clinics for persons on Medicare in Detroit this spring, reports Crain's Detroit Business . Five other Oak Street clinics currently operate in Southeast Michigan, in addition to two in the city of Flint. The clinics offer holistic healthcare along with physical, behavioral, pharmacy, and podiatry services. "We are deeply committed to providing integrated, preventive care that helps seniors live their best lives, and our planned growth for early 2020 reflects this commitment," said Oak Street Chief Growth Officer Tamara Jurgenson. The two Flint-based outpatient centers serve local seniors, and Oak Street contracts with Health Alliance Plan of Michigan as an in-network provider in addition to other Medicare plans. Oak Street care personnel usually spend 20 to 40 minutes each day consulting with visitors — twice the industry average — and offer a round-the-clock support line, along with free transportation to and from appointments.

A new program held twice weekly at the North Cobb Regional Library in Kennesaw, Ga., connects seniors with technology-savvy high school seniors, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution . The Senior to Senior Technology Help program offers one-on-one half hour sessions with a Kennesaw Mountain High School STEM Magnet senior from 1 to 3 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. The program will be held through April. The teens will help attendees work out how to get the most out of devices, software, e-mail, and apps, as well as downloading eBooks and audiobooks.

The tightening U.S. labor market is creating new opportunities for workers older than 50, with signs that ageism may be on the decline, according to Axios . The older population will become increasingly vital to global economic growth as both workers and consumers, and AARP estimates that 50-plus-year-olds in the United States constitute $8 trillion of consumer demand. "There's a lot of discrimination to overcome, but with a tight labor market and fewer younger workers, it's beginning to change," says London Business School economist Andrew Scott. For example, Quartz reports that U.S. employment has risen by 22 million since 1998, with workers over 55 accounting for 90 percent of that gain. On the other hand, Scott admits that many workers at the lower end of the skill spectrum continue working because they cannot afford to retire. "We've ignored how aging is changing," he says. "People are aging better than in the past, on average, and that's a fantastic opportunity." Still, Rutgers University Professor Carl Van Horn notes that "a lot of American businesses have not adjusted themselves to how to take advantage of this as opposed to looking at it as a negative."

A study published in the Journal of Personality suggests an optimistic partner could help people live healthier lives and ward off dementia, reports Yahoo! News . The researchers considered nearly 4,457 retired heterosexual couples over 50 years old who had their optimism assessed at the start, and their cognition measured every two years. The investigators observed a modest but positive link between participants' own optimism and their cognitive functioning, as well as an association between their partner's optimism and their own cognition. Being part of a couple with an optimistic person seemed to help block the onset of cognitive decline. Optimistic people could help improve their partner's health by encouraging healthy behavior like exercise or quitting smoking, which may lower the risk factors leading to Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and cognitive decline as they age together. "Maintaining a healthy weight and physical activity are large predictors of cognitive performance," said Michigan State University Professor William Chopik. "There are some physiological markers as well. It looks like people who are married to optimists tend to score better on all of those metrics."

A feasibility study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine suggests engaging in tai chi can protect against developing chronic low back pain in old age, reports MENAFN . The researchers assessed the martial art's effects on 65-year-olds with chronic low back pain compared to the impact of health education and usual care. Participants were randomly assigned to 12 weeks in one of those three regimes. Sixty-two percent of tai chi participants attended at least 70 percent of the classes during the intervention period. At 52 weeks, 70 percent of those participants reported having practiced the week before, with a median of three days weekly and 15 minutes per session. Participation and perception of helpfulness were reduced in the health education cohort. "Though more research is needed on treatments for chronic low back pain in older adults, our study showed that it's feasible to do a clinical trial of tai chi for this condition," said Washington University's Karen Sherman.

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2020 found shingles increases a person's risk of stroke, which can be reduced in people over 50 years old by taking a vaccine, reports Healthline . Participants who received the vaccine Zostavax cut the risk of both ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, with those 66 to 79 years old receiving the strongest protection. Zostavax can prevent about 50 percent of shingles cases. However, effectiveness declines with age, from 64 percent among those 60 to 69 to about 41 percent for those 70 to 79 to roughly 18 percent for those 80 and older. The vaccine reduced the risk of stroke by nearly 20 percent in people younger than 80 and by about 10 percent in those older than 80. Getting the vaccine generally lowered the risk of stroke by about 16 percent, including reducing the risk of ischemic stroke by about 18 percent and the risk of hemorrhagic stroke by approximately 12 percent.

A preliminary study to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2020 found that golfing at least once a month can lower the risk of death among older adults, reports ScienceDaily . The authors examined data from the Cardiovascular Health Study, comparing death rates among golfers and non-golfers, which were 15.1 percent and 24.6 percent, respectively. "Regular exercise, exposure to a less polluted environment, and social interactions provided by golf are all positive for health," said University of Missouri Professor Adnan Qureshi. "Another positive is that older adults can continue to play golf, unlike other more strenuous sports such as football, boxing, and tennis. Additional positive aspects are stress relief and relaxation, which golf appears better suited for than other sports."

As part of the annual Older Kansas day celebration, seniors from across the state of Kansas attended a recent event with lawmakers at the state house in Topeka, reports WIBW 13 . The event included a meal where attendees could talk with legislators about pressing issues, including Medicaid expansion and funding for the Senior Care Act. Among those in attendance was North Central-Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging CEO Julie Govert-Walter. She wants elected officials to continue to understand how vital community-based services are for older residents. "The program that area agencies throughout the state that agencies provide are all focused on community-based services, low-cost services that enhance the well being and dignity of older Kansans and caregivers and people living with disabilities," she said.