On Wednesday, Roll Call reports, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved by a 20-3 vote legislation aimed at lowering health care costs. Senators, though, intimated that more changes are likely before the floor debate in July. Next month's vote will almost certainly set up a flurry of lobbying and debate among Capitol Hill legislators over changes to it. The three committee members who voted against the bill were Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Surprise medical bills remain a frustration for consumers and have emerged as a growing political issue. The legislation looks to create a benchmark rate for insurers to pay providers in certain cases when a patient unintentionally receives out-of-network care or does so in an emergency, which is one key area where the bill could change prior to reaching the Senate floor. Several committee members have petitioned for payers and providers to be permitted to use arbitration if they are unable to reach an agreement on their own.

A Reader's Digest/Choices Matter survey of 1,239 adults 50 and older characterized their choices and attitudes to opioids, reports Forbes . Nearly 60 percent of respondents expressed concerns that taking opioids can lead to addiction and dependence, yet nearly 50 percent thought Americans 20 to 39 years old are the most at-risk demographic. Meanwhile, about 82 percent agreed older adults and doctors need more access to non-opioid options, but some of their actions may actually boost opioid-related risks. For instance, roughly one-third of respondents prescribed opioids admitted to keeping unused pills in their homes. Participants also confessed to misuse, with almost 40 percent taking leftover opioids for conditions the medications were not initially prescribed to treat. "While there may be situations where opioids are still prescribed, having a conversation beforehand ensures that all parties are aware of the risks that come with taking opioids," recommended Shariff K. Bishai with Associated Orthopaedists of Detroit in Michigan.

A study in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine found seniors who come to U.S. emergency departments often cannot afford drugs, reports Physician's Weekly . Ninety-nine percent of study participants 65 and older had some kind of health insurance, but 14 percent of urban participants and 26 percent of rural participants said they did not always adhere to doctors' instructions for taking medications due to costs. Seniors with high out-of-pocket costs for medicine are especially vulnerable, and less likely to purchase prescribed drugs or use them properly. Pharmacy discount programs, spending less on staples like food and heat, borrowing money, skipping doses of drugs to save money, higher credit card debt, and asking a relative to buy medications are some of the common methods seniors are using to pay for drugs. Both urban and rural subjects who had difficulty paying for medicine were more likely to be taking multiple drugs, have been hospitalized recently, have trouble with daily living activities, suffer from depression or dementia, and lack social support. The researchers cited the value of social workers in helping seniors access drugs at reduced cost.

A study by Pennsylvania State University College of Information Sciences and Technology researchers found older adults can use their hobbies and pastimes to advance innovation throughout the entire community, reports Penn State News . "The idea behind the project is how we can reframe old age as a time when people can contribute and have capacity and are valuable and creative," said Penn State Professor John Carroll. "It is very different from the traditional way of looking at aging, which is to see people as they age as requiring custodial care, becoming things that we need to take care of." The researchers learned that not only do older adults teach traditional innovation skills, but the end products are often contributed to the community. Study participants employed technology as tools for everyday innovation in contrast to stereotypical notions of technology-averse seniors. According to Penn State's Xiying Wang, technology firms can help facilitate innovation among older adults by making websites and tools more user-friendly for older demographics. "We see aging as an innovative process as long as we can support older adults in generating and improving innovation based on what they're interested in," he said. "They become more active in life and also more active in the activities that they do."

Ageism is rampant in the U.S. medical profession, which puts older adults in harm's way, reports NBC News . Medication-related problems often attributed to physicians' ageism are estimated to be one of the top five causes of death in people 65 and older. This ageism is rooted in the failure to adequately prepare providers to meet the needs of the senior population, requiring the values, training, and attitudes of the mainstream healthcare community to be overhauled. A study from the American Society on Aging determined ageism "permeates the attitudes of medical providers, the mindset of older adults, and the structure of the healthcare system, having a potentially profound influence on the type and amount of care offered, requested, and received." Moreover, a report in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found one in five adults older than 50 experiences age-related discrimination in healthcare settings, with one in 17 encountering it frequently. Both physicians and seniors often mistakenly assume that pain, fatigue, depression, and dependency are "normal" to aging, and medical schools routinely exclude geriatrics as a specialty that students are regularly exposed to. This amps up the urgency for the medical profession to understand the value older adults offer practitioners in areas that include managing complexity, patience, listening, inclusivity, and providing care to all people with dignity and respect.

RENTCafé analysis of U.S. Census data in the 250 largest American cities found expanding baby boomer populations in both southern and western regions, reports Forbes . Sixteen of the 30 most populous cities saw a more than 40 percent increase in the age 60-plus renter household share between 2007 and 2017. Austin, Texas, is the top spot with its boomer segment increasing 113 percent, just ahead of Phoenix's 112 percent gain. Las Vegas' 89138 zip code holds the lead in top 20 zip codes with the highest net influx of boomers in five years. Census data indicated that this area experienced growth of nearly 2,000 seniors. Austin's 78754 zip code made second place, with a 74 percent boomer increase marked by about 2,800 new residents. Texas also owns the largest number of zip codes with the highest increase in boomers. The 85212 zip code in Mesa, Ariz., was ranked third, with a 66 percent increase in boomers, for an additional headcount of 4,000 people.

Americans' increasing longevity has implications for those caring for the growing senior population once they can no longer look after themselves, reports Politico . State initiatives offer innovations that could inform a national approach, with Washington state a notable example. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee recently signed a bill to help underwrite long-term care needs of all state residents, which could serve as a model for other states, and possibly the federal government. Washington's policy differs from the failed voluntary funding framework, in which benefits are paid only to those who opt into a payroll tax to finance them. The state's Long-Term Care Trust Act supports social insurance, collecting funds from a wide populace to cover the future needs of those who need assistance. Workers will pay a mandatory payroll tax of only 58 cents per month for every $100 in income starting in 2022, or $18 annually for the average wage earner. These contributions will go into a trust fund, and when fully implemented, employees would be able to access their benefits once they have paid into the program for a decade and meet the medical system's requirements for long-term care. The decision of how to spend this money will be left up to recipients, for the most part.

A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) warns volunteers helping seniors in rural regions are declining as more baby boomers enter the senior population, according to Forbes . Compounding the problem is existing volunteers are often older themselves, and have limited ability to do manual tasks. Rural Area on Aging officials in California, North Dakota, and New Mexico informed the GAO that boomers are contributing less of their time to help seniors compared to previous generations — a trend possibly driven by boomers' need to work longer, other obligations, or less interest in senior center engagements. "Working-age adults move out of rural areas to find more employment opportunities and that some older adults move to rural areas to retire," the report authors noted. Rural seniors' needs also tend to be harder to address than their urban counterparts, due to the distances they must travel to get services. They also tend to experience multiple chronic health problems. To cope with the rural volunteer shortage, aging offices have launched unique solutions. One strategy deployed in North Dakota and Pennsylvania is having refrigerated meals delivered through FedEx.

A study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism determined women with high exposure to the chemical triclosan were more likely to develop osteoporosis, reports the New York Post . Older women with higher concentrations of triclosan in their urine also had a higher risk of lower bone mineral density. Triclosan is commonly used in household items like soap, mouthwash, toothpaste, and hand sanitizers. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned triclosan from over-the-counter soaps in 2016, after animal studies revealed that it disrupted hormones and contributed to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This past April, the agency also barred the chemical's use in hand sanitizers in the United States.

As an increasing number of older adults adopt smartphones, application developers have endeavored to meet their unique needs and challenges, reports KSL.com . Notable apps include SuperVision + Magnifier, which helps seniors who misplace their glasses, using the smartphone camera to zoom in on books, images, and more and stabilize images if the user's hand shakes. The free Be My Eyes app lets volunteers help vision-impaired individuals navigate the world, with users able to live video chat with one of two million volunteers and request help reading menus, using public transit, and shopping. Memory aid apps include Follow My Car, which calculates where a car is located, as well as the shortest path to the vehicle. Another memory aid is LastPass, a password manager that saves and shares passwords across devices and browsers. Medical apps include WebMD, a companion app to the popular website that features a symptom checker, information about prescription drugs, and more.