Apple is discussing distributing Apple Watches to millions of people older than 65 with at least three private Medicare plans, reports CNBC . Experts see this move as reasonable, one that could prevent expensive doctor or hospital visits. "It's the segment of health insurance with the highest dollar revenue and margin per member," notes A2 Strategy Group's Augustin Ruta. He also says Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in private plans often have lower churn rates, which gives insurers a greater incentive to invest in members' long-term health outcomes. Apple previously entered into agreements with Aetna and United Healthcare about subsidizing the cost of the watch. The latest version of the watch, which includes fall detection and an electrocardiogram, sells for a minimum of $399, which many seniors cannot afford. Federal payments offer more flexibility for insurers operating Medicare Advantage plans to invest in new technologies, such as the Apple Watch, if they have a demonstrated benefit. "Avoiding one emergency room visit would more than pay for the device," says Bright Health CEO Bob Sheehy.

A new study published in Neurology found daily exercise or routine physical activity could help older adults retain memory and thinking skills, reports Earth.com . The analysis of 454 older adults — 191 with dementia and 263 normal subjects — over 20 years determined more movement may have helped protect the brain against dementia. "People who moved more had better thinking and memory skills compared to those who didn't move much at all," said Rush University Medical Center's Aron S. Buchman. "We found movement may essentially provide a reserve to help maintain thinking and memory skills when there are signs of dementia present in the brain." Two years before they died, participants were given an accelerometer to record daily movement. Subjects with dementia had an average activity score of 130,000 counts daily, and those without had an average 180,000 counts daily. Boosting physical activity by one single deviation made participants 31 percent less likely to develop dementia. For each increase in motor ability by one standard deviation, participants were 55 percent less likely to develop dementia.

A clinical trial of a vaccine designed to combat Alzheimer's by United Neuroscience has yielded positive results, reports MyStateLine.com . The trial of the UB-311 vaccine demonstrated that 96 percent of 42 participants responded favorably without side effects. The cohort was divided among a control group administered a placebo, and two other groups that received three shots of the vaccine and boosters every three to six months for 18 months. UB-311 stimulates subjects' immune systems to attack amyloid accumulation, slowing the proteins' ability to clump, and possibly reverse damage and restore brain function. "We are doing better than the placebo on all these things," says United Neuroscience CEO Mei Mei Hu. "We can't make any claims yet, but we're pointing in all the right directions."

A new Welltok survey says seniors are more likely to switch their Medicare Advantage (MA) plans this year, reports Healthcare Finance News . Almost 60 percent of surveyed seniors said they would consider switching their current MA plan in the near future, with low out-of-pocket costs, prescription drug coverage, and in-network access to providers listed as likely influencers. Respondents also cited the importance of their insurer offering programs and resources dealing with their total health and wellbeing. Nearly 50 percent felt their current plan does not offer relevant or personalized support. Seniors are embracing a new definition of health that accounts for all aspects of health, including physical, social, emotional, and financial. In addition, respondents are most likely to name financial stability, adequate sleep, and positive relationships as what they value most. Plans also would benefit by accounting for changing communication preferences among seniors. Email was respondents' most popular medium for communicating with health plans, especially among MA members, followed by phone and regular mail.

With adults 50 and older increasingly attending colleges or getting graduate degrees, universities are revamping their policies to be more age-friendly, reports Considerable . Lasell College's Joann Montepare says age-friendly universities (AFUs) are typically led by gerontology programs or a center on aging, which help ensure the accommodation of older adults in all aspects of university programs, disciplines, and policies. The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that almost 700,000 adults 50 and up were enrolled in public or private colleges in 2015 — numbers that are projected to rise as the population continues to age. Forty-five U.S. academic institutions have formally adopted the AFU framework since its import from Ireland four years ago, ranging from UCLA to Washington University in St. Louis. AFU core principles include encouraging older adults' participation in all aspects of university life; promoting personal development and careers for the second half of life; and improving older adults' access to the university's health, wellness, and arts programs.

A WalletHub study of 46 "key indicators of retirement-friendliness" compared all U.S. states in terms of affordability, quality of life, and healthcare and found Florida to be the top state, reports the Sarasota Herald-Tribune . The Sunshine State scored highest for affordability, seventh for quality of life, and 27th for healthcare for an overall rank of 65.6. The state boasted the second-lowest percentage of the workforce population who were 65 and older. South Dakota was ranked second overall and was the ninth most affordable. In third place was Colorado, which scored fifth for healthcare, ninth for affordability, and 22nd for quality of life.The leading states after Florida for highest percentage of population 65 and older were Maine, West Virginia, and Vermont. Montana and Pennsylvania tied for fifth place.

New Jersey state Sen. Troy Singleton (D) has proposed legislation to provide tax credits against corporate business and gross income taxes for companies that provide job training or work education programs for their employees, reports Insider NJ . "By providing businesses tax incentives to train workers for these careers, we are ensuring that both employers and workers get what they need to succeed," he said. The bill stipulates that the amount of the tax credit is 10 percent of the amount paid by the taxpayer for worker investment in a taxable year, up to $2,000 per worker. Eligible businesses would include those with less than $2.5 million in annual gross receipts, that have been operating in New Jersey for less than a decade, and that employ individuals in the state. Employee training should seek to improve the worker's job skills or knowledge, and should lead to the award of an industry-recognized credential to the employee upon successful completion. "Our nation's workforce can no longer simply rely on their existing skill set to succeed in the workplace," Singleton stated. "All workers must be lifelong learners, who are constantly looking to develop new skills over the course of their careers as the nature of work evolves."

A study published in Neurology found belly fat could cause brain shrinkage and elevate the risk of Alzheimer's, reports Newsmax Health . "Our research looked at a large group of people and found that obesity, specifically around the middle, may be linked to brain shrinkage," says Loughborough University's Mark Hamer. The implication is that obesity as measured by body mass index and a high waist-to-hip ratio may be a risk factor for brain shrinkage which can lead to dementia. "Brain gray matter shrinkage seems to be associated with obesity and increased visceral fat," notes Lenox Hill Hospital's Gayatri Devi. "All this goes to show that good general health is also very important for brain health."

Under the Innovative Care in Alzheimer's Research pilot program at the Lambeth House retirement community in New Orleans, 16 memory care unit residents will spend a year having various aspects of their lives measured via remote technology, reports New Orleans City Business . The project will use telehealth to study participants' mortality rate, neuropsychiatric and behavioral symptoms, quality of life, activity engagement, staff and family caregiving burden, clinical health status, and healthcare utilization. Residents will receive iPads and FitBits to monitor sleep and movements. Once every month, they will participate in a remote telehealth visit with Ochsner Health System neuropsychologists on their iPad. "Routine is critically important for persons with dementia and other neurological diseases," says Ochsner's Robert John Sawyer. "Even something as seemingly simple as leaving the community to go to a doctor's appointment can result in unnecessary confusion and stress for a resident. By leveraging telehealth, this partnership enables Ochsner to bring high-quality neurological care to these residents in a familiar setting."

The Denver Art Museum is now hosting a program called Art and About that uses art to help evoke memories for people with Alzheimer's and dementia, reports WPTV 5 . Dan Linseman with the Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging says retrieving memories via art helps people with increasing recall difficulty maintain cognitive neural networks. "Those are probably bona fide memories that are being stimulated by the artwork," he suggests, "that maybe otherwise they wouldn't be able to verbalize." Such programs have demonstrated a potential to improve quality of life and socialization, which can lower the incidence of depression associated with memory loss.