Statistics Reveal Highest Rates of Parkinson’s Disease by Geography

Categories: Medicare, Parkinsons Disease

Where you live may make it more or less likely that you will develop Parkinson’s disease.

The largest epidemiological study of Parkinson’s disease in the U. S. studied data from 36 million Medicare recipients. The research was conducted by researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, with results appearing in the journal Neuroepidemiology.

The study revealed that Parkinson’s is more prevalent in the Midwest and the Northeast. It also found that whites and Hispanics are twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease as blacks and Asians.

A neurodegenerative condition, Parkinson’s disease causes tremors, stiffness, slowness, mood and behavioral disorders and sleep problems. The disease is characterized by loss of dopamine, a compound involved in communication between brain cells.

Genetic factors explain only a small number of cases of Parkinson’s disease. Researchers continue to evaluate environmental factors as likely common contributors. Risk factors may include exposure to herbicides and insecticides used in farming or to metals such as copper, manganese and lead.

Researchers note that the Northeast and Midwest are the two regions of the country with the highest concentration of metal processing and agriculture, and chemicals used in these fields represent are the strongest potential environmental identified as potential risk factors for Parkinson’s disease.

New Evidence on Avoiding Dementia

Categories: Caring For Elderly, Dementia, Prevention

Taking a walk, savoring a cup of tea with a friend and stubbing out the smokes for good may be important factors in keeping you sharp as you age.

A new study published in the journal Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, reports on a study done at the University of California, San Francisco. Scientists there followed 2,500 people between the ages of 70 and 79. The study lasted for eight years, and in that time, the elders were tested several times.

The study concluded that older people who exercise at least once a week, have at least a high school education and a ninth grade literacy level, are not smokers and are more socially active are more likely to maintain their cognitive skills.

Many of the participants did demonstrate a drop in thinking and processing abilities. 53% showed normal age-related decline and 16% showed major cognitive decline. However, 30% of the participants had no change or actually improved on the tests over the years.

That prompted the researchers to look at factors that differentiated people who stayed sharp. Those maintaining cognitive skills were most likely to participate in regular physical activity, have higher levels of education and literacy, and were more likely to volunteer, work or have regular social connections.

What do you do to keep yourself active and your mind motivated?

NEW PREDICTORS OF ALZHEIMERS ON THE HORIZON

Categories: Alzheimer's, Dementia

Anyone who has watched helplessly while a loved one lives with a memory-robbing disease has asked themselves a profound and disquieting question: Will that happen to me?

Now a breakthrough technique might, in the future, provide an answer to such questions.

The Wall Street Journal reports that medical imaging companies are working to develop chemical agents that could detect Alzheimer’s disease from brain scans. That might make it possible to pinpoint those who will suffer from the ailment before symptoms begin to show up.

Right now, Alzheimer’s disease can be only be conclusively diagnosed after a patient has died. Pathologists analyze samples of brain tissue after an autopsy and seek signs of sticky substances called amyloid plaques. One theory suggests that the presence of such plaque between brain cells contributes to the disease.

Under the new technique, imaging compounds could be injected into a patient. The compounds contain molecules with radioactive markers attached, designed to bind to amyloid plauqes. The brain could then be scanned to see if and where the compounds adhered, indicating, presumably, the presence of the conclusive Alzheimer’s marker.

Such imaging would provide for an earlier detection for Alzheimer’s patients.

President Obama’s C-Span Speech: Overview on Healthcare Law and Seniors

Categories: Health Care Reform, Medicare, Medicare Part D, Resources

As I listened to President Obama define some of the changes created by the Affordable Care Act, my heart sang for the seniors I have worked with and currently work with who cannot afford their medications, who too often choose between food or their prescriptions.  While there are many provisions that will aid our elders in obtaining quality care – annual preventive screenings and exams being another – closing the donut hole of the Part D Prescription coverage is pivotal to affordable healthcare for millions.

Important points I heard:

• Benefits begin this month, the same year the bill was passed into law, to begin closing the coverage gap.  Not next year or in two years, but in June of 2010!  The rebate checks will be sent beginning June 18^th!

• The unspoken fact is that if a senior has dropped into the donut hole in June, this person has seriously high prescription drug costs.  Many of the people I work with hit the coverage gap late in the year.  For 2010 that coverage begins when prescription drug costs paid by you and your drug plan reach $2,830.01.  According to CMS’ Medicare & You for 2010 (page 65), your yearly deductible ($310 for 2010), your coinsurance or copayments, and what you pay in the coverage gap all count toward this out-of-pocket limit.  The limit does not include the drug plan’s premium or what you pay for drugs that are not on your plan’s formulary.

• The coverage gap will close completely by 2020.

• Guaranteed Medicare benefits you earned through employment will not change nor will eligibility requirements.

• The law provides for expanded efforts to reduce by half waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicare system.  We all have a role to play in this effort but few of us take the time to review our Medicare Summary Notices or to question what is being charged for services.

• Reimbursement for the right services; quality instead of quantity; defining where are we getting value for our money and where are we not.

• Working toward prevention of healthcare crisis through paying for proactive measures such as consultations with professionals who can help us manage our personal health issues.

• Incentivizing more medical students to pursue becoming primary care physicians through loan forgiveness programs and increases reimbursements.

• Subsidizing COBRA premium payments during this time of high unemployment.

As a nation, our government is given the responsibility of creating the greatest good for the greatest number of Americans.  No one bill can cover every unique situation yet this bill has tackled some of the very large, costly healthcare issues.  I am hopeful that through the Affordable Care Act, we have started to turn the tide of one of our nation’s biggest problems.

Tele-Town Hall Meeting on CSPAN: The Affordable Care Act!

Categories: Aging Advocacy, Health Care Reform, Medicare, Medicare Part D

Watch and listen (live streaming) to President Barack Obama and the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as they speak with seniors on health care reform through a presentation and question and answer session telecast live from a senior center in suburban Washington, DC.

On: CSPAN
Date: Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 P.M.

The following information was taken from CMS brochure (Product N. 11467) recently mailed to Medicare recipients.

Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health & Human Services writes:

“The Affordable Care Act passed by Congress and signed by President Obama this year will provide you and your family greater savings and increased quality health care.  It will also ensure accountability throughout the health care system so that you, your family, and your doctor – not insurance companies – have greater control over your care.”

What Stays the Same

The guaranteed Medicare benefits currently received by thousands of Americans will remain the same.  During open enrollment this fall, beneficiaries will have a choice between Original Medicare and a Medicare Advantage plan.

Improvements Beneficiaries Will See Right Away

Prescription Drugs (Part D Coverage):

• If you enter the “donut hole” in 2010, you will receive a one-time, $250 rebate check.
  • You must not be eligible for Medicare Extra Help
  • The first checks will be mailed in mid-June 2010
  • While you are in the donut hole, you will continue to receive a $250 rebate check in 2010

• In 2011 if you reach the donut hole, you will receive a 50% discount when buying Part D-covered brand-name prescription drugs.  (Please note that generic drugs are not included in this benefit.)

• Over the next ten years, you will receive additional savings until the coverage gap (donut hole) is closed in 2020.

What Will Change – Important New Benefits in 2011

• In 2011 you can get free preventive care services like colorectal cancer screening and mammograms.

• You can get a free annual physical to develop and update your personal prevention plan based on your current health needs.

The new law preserves and strengthens Medicare through fighting fraud, reducing payment errors, waste and abuse.  Savings from these efforts will be returned to the Medicare Trust Fund to strengthen Medicare for years to come.  Whether you are a Medicare beneficiary or oversee a loved one who receives Medicare benefits, take the time to review each Medicare Summary Notice.  If you suspect an overpayment for any reason, notify Medicare or your State Health Insurance Assistance Program.  It is important to the future of Medicare that these funds are recovered.

For more information about the new health care law, visit www.medicare.gov, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) or your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP).

Finding Health Care Professionals for Medicare Recipients

Categories: Caring For Elderly, Medicare, Resources

As a Medicare recipient, you have many choices in your community for your health care providers, both in the ranks of physicians and other professionals in the health care field.

Medicare is a part of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services. It has a website that is easy to navigate and can help you research and locate the providers who participate in Medicare.

Upon logging on to the website, look for the “find a doctor” tab on the front page or you can access it here. A quick click will take you to a list of physicians, including both those who participate in Medicare and those who do not.

There are a number of simple ways for you to find a participating doctor–you can begin a search based on your zip code, the doctor’s name, the doctor’s specialty, etc. The website provides the doctor’s address and allows you to access a map to the office. The website also provides other information, including the doctor’s gender, education, residency, languages other than English (if any), and hospital affiliations when available.

The same website will also help you connect to many other health care professionals who are not physicians. The website provides a list, and lets you know which of these professionals participate in Medicare.

Some of the other specialists include nurse practitioners, physician assistants, social workers, psychologists, and physical therapists.

You can also find audiologists, psychologists, nutritionists, social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, geriatric care managers and others.