The U.S House Rules Committee announced this week that it will hold the first congressional hearing on "Medicare for All" on April 30, reports Politico Pro . The session will concentrate on legislation authored by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who has spearheaded House progressives' efforts to acquire hearings and drum up support for the single-payer bill. "It's a serious proposal that deserves serious consideration on Capitol Hill as we work toward universal coverage," said committee Chairman and bill co-sponsor Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.). House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) vowed in January to allow Medicare for All hearings in the rules and budget committees this year, although Democratic leaders have downplayed the likelihood of bringing the measure to the floor, due to ideological disagreement within the caucus over the path forward on healthcare.

A Place for Mom, a national senior living referral service, has released a new study explaining that families looking to relocate to a senior care community can save money and find greater value compared to two years ago, reports USA Today . Rates for all kinds of communities have held steady compared to general inflation and real estate value. The construction of new communities also led to lower occupancy rates and stable pricing for operators, according to A Place for Mom's Sue Johansen. She notes communities are striving to draw residents with better deals and options as competition intensifies. "It's still a very good real estate market for most of the country, and many seniors who move into senior living are liquidating real estate to do that," Johansen says. "So you're selling at a high time, but getting in at a time when rates are pretty stable and promotional activity is aggressive. All of those factors combine to create the perfect storm in terms of timing for families to make that decision." Nationwide rates for independent living increased 2.6 percent from 2017 to 2018, bringing the monthly average cost to $2,552 last year. Assisted living expanded 2.4 percent during that time span, averaging a monthly rate of $3,942.

Just as single-income families started to vanish in the last century, many of the country's seniors are now forgoing retirement for the same reason, reports the Duluth News Tribune (April 22). They simply don't have enough money. Such factors as inadequate retirement savings, soaring health-care costs, and uncertain social safety nets have together made the concept of leaving the workforce something to be more feared than desired. According to a new report from money manager United Income, the participation rate in the labor force of retirement-age workers has surpassed the 20 percent mark for the first time in 57 years. As of February 2019, the ranks of men and women age 65 or older who are either working or seeking paid work doubled from a 10 percent low back in 1985's first quarter. "The biggest spike in employment has gone to college-educated older workers," notes the newspaper. "The share of all employees age 65 or older with at least an undergraduate degree is now 53 percent, up from 25 percent in 1985."

A study observed a steep decline in net migration of families with children to Wisconsin, which could imperil attempts to sustain the state's aging workforce, reports the Associated Press . The Wisconsin Counties Association's Forward Analytics research branch asserts that the state lacks sufficient young people to take over jobs from baby boomers who are retiring or who will be retiring in the next 10 to 15 years. Former Gov. Scott Walker launched a marketing campaign in 2018 to try to entice millennials to Wisconsin, but Forward Analytics Research Director Dale Knapp advises the state to refocus on families that might want to settle there, citing quality schools, safe neighborhoods, and recreation as incentives. According to Knapp, U.S. states are confronted with an aging population and declining birth rates. "So we have to figure out what makes us different, what makes us more attractive than Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, or Minnesota," he says. "Our long-term economy really depends on it."

Emergency rooms (ERs) expressly designed for seniors are being set up across the United States, reports the Wall Street Journal . The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that ER visits by people older than 65 increased by more than 27 percent from 2005 to 2015. "There's a growing awareness that the traditional design of emergency-department care isn't well suited to frail, older adults," notes Kevin J. Biese, director of the Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation Board of the American College of Emergency Physicians. He says seniors in ERs tend to present with complications from conditions like diabetes and heart failure, and injuries from falls. Geriatric ERs also consider the context of the emergency, with a key goal being to prevent older adults from being hospitalized, where they face a greater risk for hospital-acquired complications. To avoid this, geriatric ER staff might direct a social worker to evaluate a senior's home for problems like rugs that can cause falls. Physicians might prescribe a visiting-nurse service so the subject can receive intravenous antibiotics at home, or go to a rehabilitation center. Biese says more than 50 geriatric emergency departments have so far earned the Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation, and more than 100 are in the process of getting accredited nationally.

With mental health care a pressing problem among seniors, advocates are pushing for bringing psychiatry back into the realm of primary care to boost physical as well as psychological well-being, reports Big Think . The collaborative care model is seen as an important step. The arrangement entails a behavioral healthcare manager and a psychiatrist being added to primary care, with the former acting as a consultant for the primary care physician. The behavioral healthcare manager could be a psychologist or a nurse skilled in managing mental health. The primary care provider would have some education in screening persons for mental health problems, who can then refer them to the behavioral healthcare manager. One study testing this model on subjects with depression determined over 12 months, half of participants reported an at least 50 percent reduction in their symptoms. Moreover, the research found that for each dollar spent on implementing the collaborative care model, hospitals get $7 back over four years.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) are conducting a three-year study focusing on the benefits of cochlear implants for older adults, reports UNCG Now . A key element of the project is to provide students with clinical training in working with adults with late-onset deafness and cochlear implants. In partnership with area otolaryngologists and audiologists, the researchers have identified qualifying persons, between 40 and 80 years old, with cochlear implants worn less than three years. The study includes a 10-week biopsychosocial aural rehabilitation therapy program that meets once weekly for 60-minute group therapy and 30-minute individual sessions. The Cochlear Implant Connections project aims to offer subjects support, instruction, and structured listening activities. "Part of our aim . . . is to move forward incorporating evidence-based practice, and we believe strongly that this is a good way to do that," says UNCG Professor Christopher Atkins. The initiative's goals include helping older adults understand the technology and use of the cochlear implant, as well as how to communicate with the new device. Another high priority is to adopt a holistic approach to rehabilitation, with participants' lifestyle, family, and friends considered in addition to their impairment.

Princeton Medical Institute is the first study site in the United States to participate in a clinical trial for a new drug designed to slow cognitive decline and restore memory in individuals with mild to moderate Alzheimer's, reports NJ.com . The compound is an epigenetic drug, which focuses on altering genes to reverse disease symptoms. The Institute is currently seeking adults in New Jersey between the ages of 50 and 85 who might qualify for the study, which will test both the safety and effectiveness of the medication. The drug is designed to enable certain genes to better shield against Alzheimer's, reducing inflammation and boosting neural pathways. The drug is being developed by Spain-based Oryzon. "We feel this is something very special," says Princeton Medical Institute founder Jeffrey Apter. "The early Phase I data is very positive." The Phase II clinical trial entails having 150 participants take the drug orally for 24 weeks.

A study published in Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences suggests older adults may feel younger than their age on days when they feel most in control of their lives, reports Reuters Health . Overall, individuals who think they can influence the outcomes and events in their daily lives feel a greater sense of control than those who feel more helpless. Researchers had 116 older adults, aged 60 to 90, and 107 younger adults, 18 to 36, fill out daily surveys for eight straight days. They were queried about their daily stresses, physical health, sense of control over their daily lives, and how old they "felt." Feeling in more control on any given day did not appear to make younger subjects feel younger, although they did report feeling younger than their chronological age at times when they had low levels of stress and few or no health complaints. Older adults typically felt about two to four years younger on days when they felt more in control than usual. "I think it is possible that when older adults feel in control of their lives they may not feel as though their daily lives align with negative stereotypes about growing old, thus they may report feeling younger than their chronological age," said Friedrich Schiller University's Jennifer Bellingtier.

According to Politico Pro , the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded $350 million in grants late last week to institutions in four states — Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio — hit hard by the addiction crisis. The grants are part of an effort to reduce overdose deaths in targeted communities by 40 percent over the next three years. The pilot program seeks to fold addiction prevention and treatment into primary care settings, mental health services, and the criminal justice system. "We believe this effort will show truly dramatic reductions in overdose deaths are possible," states HHS Secretary Alex Azar. The program is part of the National Institutes of Health's Helping to End Addiction Long-Term (or HEAL) initiative.