What Japan Can Teach Us About Long-Term Care...

Here’s a sobering calculation: The odds that Americans turning 65 today will eventually need assistance with bathing, dressing and other personal activities are about 50/50. And those who’ll need long-term care can expect to incur costs of $138,000, on average, estimate Melissa Favreault of the Urban Institute and Judith Dey of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Yet people age 55 to 64 with retirement savings accounts have a median balance of $104,000 in them, according to the National Institute on Retirement Security, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. See the problem? America’s Broken Long-Term Care System Sad to say, America’s system for financing long-term care is badly broken. If we take a few ideas from Japan, though, we could help avoid a long-term care catastrophe. Japan has the highest proportion of people 65+ in the world. And 20 years ago, its long-term care approach looked much like the current failed U.S. system. But Japan took a few key initiatives in 2000 that are widely admired among long-term care policy experts. Before I explain what they did, first let me offer a brief look at the U.S. situation. Long-Term Care Financing in the U.S. America’s private long-term care insurance market is contracting and its policies are expensive. Only about a dozen companies now sell coverage, compared with about 100 more than a decade ago, according to Marc Cohen, chief research and development officer at LifePlans, a firm that helps health- and long-term care insurers manage risk. Tom McInerney, chief executive officer at Genworth, the nation’s largest long-term care insurer, estimates that between half and two-thirds of Americans can’t afford to buy in the traditional long-term care insurance market. A 60-year-old married couple would pay $3,930 per year, on...

Your Doctor Will Skype You Now...

Your employer may soon let you have virtual medical visits, but should you? If you work for a big company, odds are you’ll soon be offered a new health benefit (if you haven’t been already): Telemedicine, sometimes called telehealth. It’s the ability to see a doctor on a video call or confer through text, email or by phone, rather than an in-person visit. The question is: Should you? I was floored to see in the National Business Group on Health’s Large Employers’ 2016 Health Plan Design Survey how much this benefit has grown lately and is expected to balloon. Soaring Growth for Telehealth In last year’s survey, 48 percent of employers made telehealth options available to employees in states where it was legal (more on that last part shortly), up from 28 percent the year before. But a stunning 74 percent of employers will offer telehealth in 2016, according to the new survey of 140 employers — mostly with 10,000 employees or more. Often, the firms contract out with telemedicine firms such as Teladoc, Doctor on Demand, MDLive, NowClinic and American Well. “Small and medium-sized employers are offering telemedicine, too,” said Brian Marcotte, president and CEO of the National Business Group on Health. “What you’re seeing is employers continuing to look for ways to engage employees and move to a consumer-centric model.” If employers expect employees to ask questions as medical consumers, Marcotte added, they need to offer more consumer services. “Telehealth neatly fits into that,” he said. And these days, “consumers are starting to ask for it,” said Jon Linkous, president of the American Telemedicine Association. “Health care is a late adopter of technology, but once it’s proven, it’s a permanent change.” Right now, there’s growing buzz over...

The Best Exercises for Introverts and Extroverts...

Where do you get your energy? See which workout styles fit for you The ability to stick with an exercise program largely lies in finding an activity you enjoy. Extroverts and introverts each find happiness in different approaches. Forcing yourself into a workout that makes you uncomfortable isn’t likely to lead to success. “An extrovert gains energy from the outside,” says Elizabeth Lombardo, Ph.D., author of Better than Perfect: 7 Strategies to Crush Your Inner Critic and Create a Life You Love. “Think team sports or high-fives in aerobics class. Conversely, an introvert gets energized from within. Yoga may be a better fit.” Keep in mind that although one modality may be a better fit than another, Lombardo notes the benefits of experimenting outside your comfort zone. “While introverts may prefer working out on their own and shy away from classes, a cycling class, where everyone does their own thing on a bike, may be a great addition to their workout.” Even a situation involving a group can be good for those who prefer to keep to themselves if they can run on their own outside of the group if desired. Extroverts may also find balance in an introverted workout such as yoga or martial arts, Lombardo adds. Check out these expert tips to find the best approach for your personality. Best Extrovert Workouts Free weights You’ll likely find many extroverts in the free weight area (dumbbells, barbells, etc.), says Pete McCall, senior advisor for the American Council on Exercise (ACE). “They will be the ones lifting heavy and walking around to make sure everyone sees them lifting heavy. The free weight area allows the opportunity to stand out and demonstrate one’s strength or skill level in technical lifts.” People tend...

You’re Not As Active As You Think You Are...

Most people overestimate their exercise level, studies show If I were to ask you how active you are, what would you say? Do you consider yourself to be active and productive on most days of the week? Do you meet the recommended minimum of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week? Would you go so far as to say that you exercise frequently? Each month, the polling institution, Gallup, tracks survey data from individuals about their exercise and activity habits. One question Gallup asks is: “In the last seven days, on how many days did you exercise for 30 or more minutes?” If a respondent did so on three or more days out of the past seven, he or she is considered a frequent exerciser. Another question asks individuals to rate, on a scale from 1 to 5, how strongly they agree with the statement: “In the last seven days, you have felt active and productive every day.” A score of 4 or 5 counts them among the “Active and Productive” group for the survey. For the month of August 2015, 47 percent of respondents reported exercising frequently, while 67 percent said they felt active and productive. What’s the True Picture? Unfortunately, objectively measured data tells quite a different story. In a 2013 study published by the American College of Sports Medicine, researchers asked 1,751 adults aged 19 to 84 to complete the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), indicating their active and sedentary time, and breaking down their active time according to level of intensity (vigorous, moderate and “walking”). The researchers had the participants wear an accelerometer for seven continuous days to measure actual minutes of activity and sedentary time, as well as intensity of active minutes. The...

Fiftysomething Diet: 4 Tips to Help You Age Well...

How you can fine-tune your eating habits to live longer and healthier   A bowl of oatmeal every morning, a handful of nuts, five servings of fruits and vegetables a day — researchers seem to be slowly compiling a grocery list of foods that can extend your lifespan. At the same time, there are quite a few 95- to 100-year-olds in The Longevity Genes Project, a large ongoing study at Albert Einstein College in New York, who haven’t made healthful lifestyle changes. They smoke. They don’t eat a lot of vegetables. They don’t pay much attention to diet at all. Longevity: Diet Vs. Genes That raises a question: How much does diet influence longevity and how much is due to genes? Right now, scientists offer no definitive answer. Estimates are that genes might roughly influence 20 to 35 percent of lifespan length. And some fiftysomethings probably have genes strong enough to override negative lifestyle and eating habits, although they’re likely a small group. For the majority of us, the way we eat and live is likely going to play a huge role in the length, and perhaps more importantly, the quality of our lifespan. Rather than piece together a grocery list of specific anti-aging foods, it looks as if the best way to tap into these dietary longevity benefits is by gradually shaping and fine-tuning eating habits to make them healthier. The Mediterranean diet is one good plan. So is the Okinawan diet. So is the U.S. government’s DASH diet. But we think the following four little culinary rules, based on current research, are a good place to start: Rule No. 1: Drink wine like a Mediterranean; sip moderate amounts with meals Italian researchers suggest that part of the health...

Why Boomers Need to Get Tested for Hepatitis C...

People over 50 make up the majority of those with the deadly disease Most of the people who get hepatitis C today are intravenous drug users who share needles. That may be the image that comes to mind when you think of the disease. But decades ago, before widespread screening of the blood supply began in 1992, individuals who received blood transfusions or organ transplants were at risk of coming in contact with the virus. Transmission was common this way, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Once in the body, hepatitis C stays there for about 70 percent of sufferers, according to Dr. John Ward, director of the CDC’s Division of Viral Hepatitis. Boomers Are Unaware And many boomers — who make up 80 percent of the approximately 3 million who have the disease — do not know they are infected. Yet all it takes to find out is a simple blood test. “It sets up a home in the liver and then silently, with very few symptoms, it begins to cause inflammation in the liver,” Ward said. “Over years that leads to cirrhosis, severe scarring of the liver.” It can also result in liver cancer. There was a high incidence of hepatitis C years ago, when the boomers were young, Ward said. They may have shared needles just once or twice (the virus is highly transmissible) or gotten a childhood blood transfusion. “They didn’t know about it, they never got tested for it, and all of a sudden they start getting sick,” Ward said. CDC to Boomers: Get the Test The CDC has actively worked to alert those born between 1945 and 1965 of the need to get the blood test. But Ward said it’s...

7 Things You Should Be Doing for Your Bones Now...

Half of us over 50 will have weak bones by 2020 unless we make changes When registered dietitian Toby Smithson gave presentations on bone health, she’d bring three bags of flour, each with a different amount.One bag represented osteoporosis. Another bag represented osteopenia, or bone whose density is lower than normal but not enough to be classified as osteoporosis. The third bag represented normal bone. “You could see the flour and feel the heaviness and density,” said Smithson, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Osteoporosis was the lightest bag.” It was a powerful visual reminder of why it is so important to invest in your bone health now, before it becomes a problem. Consider this sobering thought: The U.S. Surgeon General has said that by 2020, half of Americans over 50 will have weak bones — unless we change our diets and lifestyle habits. Having weak bones puts us at risk of developing broken bones and osteoporosis. “People need to understand that this is preventable for the most part,” says Dr. Steven Hawkins, a spokesperson for the American College of Sports Medicine and a professor of exercise science at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, Calif. “But you have to take responsibility.” Bone Health Basics Our bones give structure to our bodies. They allow us to move. They protect our heart, lungs and other organs. They anchor our muscles. “Bone from an engineering perspective is kind of a marvel,” Hawkins says. Our bodies continually break down and rebuild bone. Children and teenagers form bone faster than they lose bone, but after age 20, we start losing bone faster than we rebuild it. Over time, our bones can become less dense and more prone to breaking. Most...

Walking 20 Minutes a Day Might Save Your Life...

A brisk walk could cut your risk of early death, even if you’re obese There’s now more encouraging evidence that you don’t have to run marathons to make a difference in your health. A brisk 20-minute walk each day could be enough to cut your risk of early death – even if you are obese, according to new research published Jan. 14, 2015. The study of more than 334,000 European men and women found that twice as many deaths may be attributable to lack of physical activity than to obesity. And a modest boost in activity could make a big difference, the study concluded. Small Change = Big Reward “This is a simple message: just a small amount of physical activity each day could have substantial health benefits for people who are physically inactive,” said Ulf Ekelund, of the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, England, who led the study. He added, however, that we should really aim for more than that. “Physical activity has many proven health benefits and should be an important part of our daily life,” noted Ekelund. The study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Exercise. Deadly Effects of Inactivity Inactivity puts you at increased risk of heart disease, cancer and early death, studies show. It can contribute to increased body mass index (BMI) and obesity, though the association with early death is independent of your BMI , the researchers said. In the Cambridge study, researchers found that the greatest reduction in risk of premature death occurred in the comparison between inactive and moderately-inactive groups. Subjects were categorized based on their level of work activity (such as being a desk worker vs. a nurse) and how active they were outside of...