With the spread of legalized gambling across the United States has come a major uptick in older Americans gambling, with a recent study estimating that 69 percent of adults 61 and older said they gambled in the past year, reports Next Avenue . Most older adults who gamble do so with no negative consequences, but National Council on Problem Gambling Executive Director Keith Whyte says gambling addiction presents specific risks to this age group, and it can be difficult for older adults to see it as a problem. "They have the lowest rates of seeing gambling as a treatable disorder and the highest rates of viewing it as immoral or bad behavior," he notes. Whyte warns that gambling's availability to nearly any adult is a key factor. "There's been a fundamental, massive shift in the availability and accessibility of legalized gambling, right when older adults are entering the prime of their life, where they've got the money and time to be able to spend on leisure pursuits," he notes, explaining that "They can blow their nest egg in a matter of months." Gambling becomes problematic when the gambler is unable to set a limit of money and time spent. The Mayo Clinic cites other symptoms of compulsive gambling, such as a preoccupation with gambling, lying to others to hide your gambling, trying to make up losses by continuing to gamble, jeopardizing relationships because of gambling, gambling to avoid depression or anxiety, and stealing to get gambling money.

More large companies have been increasing parental leave benefits to hourly or part-time employees, reports the Washington Post . Advocacy organizations and human resources experts note a tighter labor market, competitive pressure, demands from other workers, and greater participation by CEOs on social issues are driving these changes. "The train keeps speeding up the track, so it's almost like keeping up with the Joneses now," says Willis Towers Watson's Mary Tavarozzi. "It's not enough to just offer a lengthy paid leave to both salaried mothers and fathers, you have to also make sure that you're covering your hourly workers." However, experts caution that such expansions often exclude part-time workers, sometimes pay out at lower levels that especially affect low-wage employees, and often arrive amid cultures where such amenities have traditionally been unavailable and where workers may not be encouraged to use them. Rent the Runway co-founder Jennifer Hyman says only 14 percent of civilian workers in the United States can access paid family leave, and the U.S. is the only high-income nation in the world that does not make maternity leave a national mandate. Several firms that have recently introduced or expanded paid leave benefits for hourly employees linked the changes to the new tax law, although Tavarozzi says the shift is more likely being impelled by the push by a number of states and municipalities to require paid family leave.

A Willis Towers Watson study published by Globe Newswire says U.S. employees are more focused on retirement benefits than on healthcare benefits, with 66 percent of nearly 5,000 surveyed employees willing to have more taken from their paychecks every month to support improved retirement benefits, reports the Washington Post . Just 38 percent of respondents said they were willing to pay more each month for better healthcare benefits. "Employees, who continue to see their healthcare costs increase annually, are basically saying 'enough is enough' as far fewer are willing to pay more each month for more generous health benefits and more predictable costs," says a Willis Towers Watson economist. The poll appears to imply that most employers are providing decent health and retirement plans at a reasonable cost for workers, with 66 percent of respondents saying their health plan meets their needs, and 59 percent said the same about their retirement plans. Still, if offered a choice, most employees would rather cede more of their salary for a better retirement plan than healthcare benefits. Employers aware of this trend can better customize their benefit packages to draw and retain good workers. More than 50 percent of polled employees who believe they have good benefits were found to be "highly engaged" in their jobs.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Administration for Community Living (ACL), along with the National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging, will host a live-streamed webcast of the inaugural National Older Adult Mental Health Awareness Day on May 18. The event intends to raise public awareness about the mental health of older Americans and encourage action to address their needs. Experts will talk about evidence-based strategies to mental health and substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery supports for older adults. The panel will showcase the work of the Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee and offer guidance for people seeking treatment and services. It is estimated that about 75 million Americans older than 65 will be present by 2030, while the population of older adults needing treatment for serious mental illness and substance use disorders also will increase. Depression, anxiety, and the inappropriate mixing of medication and alcohol are linked with higher healthcare use and reduced quality of life. ACL Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging Lance Robertson will be a featured speaker at the event, seats for which can be reserved here .

A survey from the Senior Citizens League estimates that American retirees use up to half of their Social Security benefits to finance healthcare costs and are against cuts to Medicare, reports Think Advisor . More than half of respondents said they spend 25 percent to 50 percent of their Social Security payments on healthcare. "The majority of people close to retirement age don't understand the significant portion of Social Security benefits they can expect to spend on medical costs," says League Medicare policy analyst Mary Johnson. Last year the U.S. House attempted to slash $127 billion from Medicare over 10 years while the Senate tried to cut about four times that much. Johnson says retirees remain "highly concerned that Congress may try to cut Medicare again. Medicare and keeping healthcare costs affordable are key issues for older voters. They are a red flag for every member of the U.S. House going into the midterm elections." The League also determined that 86 percent of respondents support Medicare negotiating prescription drug prices and 63 percent back setting out-of-pocket caps on their prescription drug spending at $250 a month, adjusted for inflation. Meanwhile, 46 percent are against turning Medicare into a private plan system with vouchers or subsidies for beneficiaries.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has approved 25 bills to address the opioid crisis by connecting overdose victims with treatment services before leaving the emergency room, letting hospice workers eliminate unused drugs, and spurring the National Institutes of Health to find non-addictive pain relievers, reports the Washington Times . If enacted, the proposals would expand the use of "mail-back pouches" to destroy unused pain medication and help the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduce the rates of HIV/AIDS and other diseases linked to intravenous drug use. In addition, Medicare policy changes would mandate that doctors electronically transmit prescriptions for potentially addictive drugs to lower the incidence of fraudulent or manipulated scripts, while enrollees would learn about the potential dangers of opioid use. The House panel will mark up additional measures next week as Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) pushes to get opioid legislation on the floor by Memorial Day. "We know there is no silver bullet, no one-size-fits-all approach that will remedy the catastrophic effects of this crisis over the last decade," he says. "But much can be done to help vulnerable persons get the treatment they want and need, and to ensure these powerful drugs are not getting into the wrong hands."

A report from the Puerto Rico Department of Public Health estimates that the island's suicide rate rose 29 percent last year, especially following Hurricane Maria as older storm survivors succumbed to loneliness and despair, reports Kaiser Health News . Psychologists and social workers note seniors are particularly vulnerable when their daily routines are disrupted for prolonged periods. "Before, they used to watch television, they would watch their novellas, hear the radio," says social worker Lisel Vargas. Such predictable routines gave their lives meaning and order. "Because they feel depressed, they don't have that desire to keep that routine of sharing in the community," Vargas notes. Adrian Gonzalez, chief operating officer at Castañer General Hospital, laments that many older Puerto Ricans "live alone, with no power, no water and very little food." He says the loss of routine has created widespread anxiety among this demographic. "We have two in-house psychologists and right now their schedules are packed," Gonzalez notes. Dr. Angel Munoz believes people who care for older adults need to be trained to identify the warning signs of suicide. "Many of these ... people either live alone or are being taken care of by neighbors," he says. "They are not even relatives."

The House Small Business Committee has passed the Main Street Employee Ownership Act of 2018, which would allocate $500 million in support for employee stock ownership plans as well as for updating the Small Business Administration's lending practices so the agency can better help employee groups buy out their companies, reports the Washington Post . Meanwhile, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) this week introduced a Senate version of the bill, according to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise . "Supporting employee-owned businesses constitutes a great jobs policy," said ESOP Association President J. Michael Keeling. "These companies are 7.3 times more likely to retain workers than conventionally-owned firms."

A study published in Neurology has found a possible link between depression in older adults and memory problems, while older people with more pronounced symptoms may have structural differences in the brain versus asymptomatic people, reports ScienceDaily . The researchers studied 1,111 stroke-free people, average age 71. All underwent brain imaging scans, a psychological test, and assessments for memory and thinking skills that were repeated about five years later. At the start, 22 percent of participants had greater symptoms of depression, which were associated with worse episodic memory. In addition, those with greater symptoms of depression exhibited smaller brain volume and 55 percent higher odds of small vascular lesions in the brain. No evidence of a relationship between greater symptoms of depression and changes in thinking skills over five years were observed.

A study published in the Journal of Technology in Human Services has demonstrated that a Facebook app developed by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis researchers could be used to provide support to unpaid caregivers of people with Alzheimer's, reports EurekAlert . The team developed the app as part of a peer support group intervention in which emotional and informational issues that cropped up in the support group were pushed to the caregiver's Facebook friends as questions. The Facebook friends then had the opportunity to recruit as a member of a support network by answering the questions. The researchers say when those questions were answered, the caregivers experienced a feeling of increased support. "Given the recent problems of social media, our study provides evidence of the social good that can be obtained with social media using telehealth innovations like friendsourcing, which we developed for supporting Alzheimer's caregiving," says IU Professor David Wilkerson.