This is how Americans would like to die | Market Watch
When it comes to getting older, many Americans are on their own. A majority of people in Japan (55%), Italy (78%) and Brazil (82%) all believe their government is responsible for financing the aging population, according to the study by The Economist and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit, private foundation based in Menlo Park, Calif. The one exception? The U.S. Only 42% of American respondents felt the same. “These views are largely divided by party identification, as views of government responsibility generally are in the U.S., with Democrats more likely to place the responsibility on government and Republicans more likely to place it on families,” it added. A majority in all countries said children should help aging parents.
Scientists are waging a war against human aging. But what happens next? | Vox
We all grow old. We all die. For Aubrey de Grey, a biogerontologist and chief science officer of the SENS Research Foundation, accepting these truths is, well, not good enough. He decided in his late twenties (he’s currently 54) that he “wanted to make a difference to humanity” and that battling age was the best way to do it. His life’s work is now a struggle against physics and biology, the twin collaborators in bodily decay. He calls it a “war on age.” Grey considers aging an engineering problem. The human body is a machine, he told me in the following interview, and like any machine, it can be maintained for as long as we want.
How robots can help us embrace a more human view of disability | Phys.org
When dealing with the otherness of disability, the Victorians in their shame built huge out-of-sight asylums, and their legacy of “them” and “us” continues to this day. Two hundred years later, technologies offer us an alternative view. The digital age is shattering barriers, and what used to the norm is now being challenged. What if we could change the environment, rather than the person? What if a virtual assistant could help a visually impaired person with their online shopping? And what if a robot “buddy” could help a person with autism navigate the nuances of workplace politics? These are just some of the questions that are being asked and which need answers as the digital age challenges our perceptions of normality.
Pilot Program Aims to Help Homeless | Inside Indiana Business
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett says a first-of-its-kind pilot program aims to “move the dial” on homelessness in the city by providing permanent supportive housing to 400 homeless people over the next year. The program, created in partnership with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Partners in Housing and Adult & Child Health, will also provide Medicaid benefits and support services to participants.
Little-Noted Provision of GOP Health Bill Could Alter Employer Plans |The Wall Street Journal
Last-minute amendment would allow states to obtain waivers from certain Affordable Care Act requirements. Many people who obtain health insurance through their employers—about half of the country—could be at risk of losing protections that limit out-of-pocket costs for catastrophic illnesses, due to a little-noticed provision of the House Republican health-care bill to be considered Thursday, health-policy experts say.
Will Your Home Be Ready For Aging In Place? | Forbes
A modest home in the Memphis suburb of Raleigh — a vacant foreclosure — used to be dark inside, an interior that was frankly depressing, recalls David Brown, CEO of Home Matters, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., that’s committed to increasing the country’s affordable and accessible housing. Now, the Raleigh house has been remodeled based on a winning design concept from an AARP competition, Redefining Home: Home Today, Home Tomorrow. Sponsored by Home Matters and others, the aging in place competition took in entries and announced a winner last year.
The 4 Big Changes To Health Care In The Latest GOP Bill | FiveThirtyEight
We’re in full “will they or won’t they?” mode when it comes to a House vote on a Republican bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. And two months after the first draft of the American Health Care Act was made public, various amendments and on-again-off-again promises to vote it through have made it increasingly difficult to keep track of what could happen to Americans’ health insurance coverage.
My Medicaid, My Life | The New York Times
The reality of being a disabled person on Medicaid is far more complex and nuanced. Many people do not even know the difference between Medicaid and Medicare and simply consider them “entitlement programs,” as if tax breaks and corporate subsidies aren’t entitlements by another name. Medicaid is more than a health care program. It is a life-giving program.
How Infrastructure Can Pay Off for an Aging Society | Yahoo! Finance
President Trump’s plan for tax reform is expected to include substantial infrastructure spending, one of the few issues that offers the potential for bipartisan consensus and progress. Many analysts are calling for updates for our 20th century highways, bridges and tunnels, which are necessary to be sure. But we also need to consider a 21st century approach to infrastructure that will address to our era’s megatrend: an aging society The aging of America is certain: By mid-century, we will have more old than young in America.
Older Americans Month – Slashing Funds for Our Seniors is the Wrong Thing to Do | The Hill
May is Older Americans Month, but the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans are putting a serious damper on the celebration. Yes, candidate Trump promised not to touch Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. But his administration has been actively undermining those pledges.
Disability Studies Minor Approved | The Hoya
After about three years of advocacy by the Disability Studies Minor Working Group, Georgetown is set to offer a new minor on disability studies this fall after it was approved by the Georgetown College Executive Council on Monday. With the introduction of the minor, the university is set to join 42 higher-level institutions offering programs in this field in the United States and Canada. Students interested in declaring the 18-credit minor will have to take three core courses: Introduction to Disability Studies and two approved elective courses. The electives will span a range of different departments, including English, Theology and Anthropology.
AHA Brings Latest research on Heart Disease out of the Lab and Into Older American’s Homes
The American Heart Association (AHA) has teamed up with one of the nation’s leading home care providers to bring its life-saving research into the homes of America’s seniors. The AHA is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – the two leading causes of death in the world. Every 90 seconds, another American dies of heart disease – more than all forms of cancer combined, and some 85.6 million Americans live with some form of cardiovascular disease or the after effects of stroke.
Study finds measurable boost for aging brains from exercise
Listing all the benefits of exercise takes a long sheet of paper. They include stronger bones and muscles, better weight control, improved mental health, mood enhancement and less risk for heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and some cancers. Do the benefits also include better cognitive functioning after middle age?
Hurricane Preparedness Week (May 7-13, 2017)
It is Hurricane Preparedness Week! This week, May 7 – 13 is your time to prepare for a potential land-falling tropical storm or hurricane. Visit our friends at the National Weather Service to learn with daily tips and related links. Remember to also plan for your own disabilities issues and challenges and consider what accommodations, medications and tools you may need in a hurricane or the aftermath of a hurricane
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