A study published in JAMA Neurology indicates that mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) can raise the risk of developing dementia in veterans, reports the Los Angeles Times . The researchers analyzed the medical records of more than 350,000 U.S. soldiers serving in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and found those who experienced at least one mild TBI were more than twice as likely as their uninjured counterparts to develop dementia after retirement. The team sifted through government databases to identify everyone treated by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) who was diagnosed with any kind of TBI between 2001 and 2014; 178,779 individuals were identified. For 10 percent of these veterans, the most severe instance of TBI was a mild TBI without any loss of consciousness. Another 13 percent had a mild TBI that made them lose consciousness for no more than half an hour, while almost 31 percent were diagnosed with mild TBI, but their medical records did not note whether they had lost consciousness as a result. The remaining 46 percent had a TBI rated moderate or severe. These veterans were matched with another 178,779 controls without a TBI; 2.6 percent of them were eventually diagnosed with dementia, as were 6.1 percent of veterans with a history of TBI. The odds of developing dementia were 2.51 times greater for veterans with mild TBI who lost consciousness for a short period of time, and 3.19 times greater for veterans with mild TBI whose records did not indicate whether they had lost consciousness or not. Veterans with moderate to severe TBI were almost four times more likely than their uninjured peers to develop dementia during the study period.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has signed an emergency contract agreement with West Publishing Corp. to ensure its new Medicare ID cards are assigned to the right beneficiaries, reports Modern Healthcare . CMS is mailing the cards with randomly generated beneficiary identifiers instead of Social Security numbers, and about 60 million beneficiaries will receive the new cards by next April. However, CMS learned via simulation that a data vulnerability could cause the wrong beneficiaries to receive some of the cards, as some of the address information the agency has may be inaccurate. "To mitigate this risk, CMS requires a contractor to perform a validation of Medicare beneficiary address information in advance of the Medicare Card mailing project," says the agency. West Publishing will get $5.5 million to ensure the cards go to the right beneficiaries. "The agency's need to have a contractor perform the beneficiary address validation services is of such an unusual and compelling urgency that the government would be subject to serious financial injury if this contract was delayed and Medicare cards were mailed prior to the addresses being validated," CMS noted. West Publishing bid against two unnamed competitors, and CMS determined it had the best private-sector database to track down beneficiaries.

The new federal budget law lets Medicare cover telemedicine services for people who have had a stroke and those who receive kidney dialysis, while also allowing Medicare Advantage plans to offer telemedicine as a covered benefit, reports the Washington Post . Meanwhile, as of Jan. 1, Medicare began permitting doctors to bill the government for monitoring certain individuals remotely using telemedicine tools. Some telehealth e-visits are covered by private health plans, Medicare, state Medicaid programs, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, while more health centers and hospitals are rolling out virtual health centers and websites offering virtual "doctor-on-demand" services are spreading. However, physicians worry that they may receive less remuneration if insurance reimbursement is lower for e-visits than for in-person appointments, or that e-visits could reduce face time. In addition, health economists are concerned that e-visits could increase costs. Most telehealth e-visits are for primary care or follow-up services, although a growing number are for people with chronic conditions who are being monitored at home. Overall, e-visits are less expensive than a trip to the doctor, but care beneficiaries may not see the difference if their insurance covers both with only a small co-pay or no co-pay. For people with large deductibles, an e-visit may mean they pay less out-of-pocket for that session.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has scheduled two hearings in May to consider 57 pieces of legislation relating to the opioid epidemic, reports the Washington Examiner . The panel intends to hold a markup for legislation on May 9 and another on May 17. Committee leaders have stated they want to get the bills through the House by the Memorial Day recess, while the Senate is working on its own legislation. Some proposals seek to give law enforcement more tools to combat shipments of illegal copies of fentanyl, while others aim to revise Medicare and Medicaid, and some are designed to broaden treatment options such as expanding the use of telehealth to help addicts in rural communities. It remains uncertain whether six bills that were not considered during a subcommittee markup in April will be considered at the full committee markup.

The National Institutes of Health's (NIH) All of Us Research Program will start national enrollment on May 6, inviting people ages 18 and older to participate in the advancement of individualized prevention, treatment, and care for people of all backgrounds, reports the National Institute on Aging . All of Us is expected to be the largest and most diverse longitudinal health research program ever developed. Participants will be requested to exchange health and lifestyle information, including via online polls and electronic health records, and they will have access to study information and data about themselves, with options about how much or little they want to receive. The collected data will be accessible to researchers of all types, including citizen scientists, to support thousands of studies across broad health topics. By sharing the data, NIH hopes to discover how to more precisely prevent and treat health conditions. Knowledge gained from this research could help scientists improve health for generations to come. Enrollment is available here and is open to all eligible adults who live in the United States.

Companies trying to rectify a legacy of discrimination are finding that some tactics are backfiring and sparking new grievances. For example, The Wing, a women's shared-office space and networking club, has drawn such ire. Its no-men-allowed membership policy for collaboration spaces in trendy New York neighborhoods is designed to attract like-minded women professionals who want to encourage and invest in one another. In March, the New York City Human Rights Commission launched an investigation into the Wing's practices, which include workshops on political organization and panels reserved for members featuring celebrities and U.S. legislators. The inquiry is one of the latest examples of how female-only initiatives and other diversity efforts are drawing objections from those who feel left out or challenge the idea that people in historically underrepresented groups need targeted resources to help them accelerate in their careers and are raising concerns that the programs unfairly exclude other people, reports the Wall Street Journal .

An annual well-being survey from the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) and Fidelity Investments found more than 90 percent of employers are raising their investment in employee emotional health and financial wellness programs, reports FierceHealthcare . Concurrently, 77 percent plan to boost stress management training, 72 percent intend to increase community involvement and volunteerism activities, and 60 percent plan to add programs to encourage social connectedness for their workers. "More employers are viewing holistic well-being as an integral part of their overall workforce strategy," says NBGH CEO Brian Marcotte. "The goal is to create a competitive advantage by deploying the healthiest, most productive, engaged, and competitive workforce possible to boost business performance and empower great people and communities." Almost 90 percent of survey respondents noted they offer financial incentives, up from 74 percent in the last annual survey. In addition, the average employee incentive amount rose to $784 for 2018, up nearly 6 percent from $742 last year, and 50 percent from the average of $521 in 2013. Almost three out of 10 employers plan to continue increasing financial incentives over the next three to five years. These results mirror a shift in employers' focus of wellness programs outside their interest in impacting physical health and health costs to supporting cultural changes in the workplace, largely on account of research which shows getting a clear return on investment in wellness is difficult.

A team of scientists is using a game designed by Cornell University's Human Computation Institute to make a public search for a cure for Alzheimer's entertaining, reports the Washington Post . "Stall Catchers" has players watch short movies made with a multiphoton microscope showing the flow of blood through the brains of living mice. Participants work on a dataset of thousands of images to find "stalls," regions of reduced blood flow caused by white blood cells accruing on the sides of the vessels. Players obtain points for "catching" stalls and can participate in challenges and marathons, forming or joining teams and leagues and competing to find the most stalls. Thus far, participants have been correct about stalls more than 99 percent of the time. It is believed that reduced blood flow in the brain is at least a partial cause of Alzheimer's symptoms. In mice with the disease, as much as 2 percent of brain capillaries can be stalled. Given the deep interconnectivity of vessels in the brain, these stalls can restrict overall brain blood flow by up to 30 percent. Reduced blood flow also has been detected in the brains of humans with Alzheimer's. The prevention of stall occurrence in mice has been shown to eliminate some Alzheimer's symptoms. The Cornell researchers must gather more information about stalls to determine if a similar treatment would work for people, but it could take decades to learn enough to develop an effective and safe medication.

About 5 million older Americans are financially exploited each year, with one financial services firm estimating that they lose up to $36.5 billion annually, reports Financial Advisor . Yet a 2016 study by New York State's Office of Children and Family Services said this is likely a conservative figure. Weill Cornell Medicine's Mark Lachs says senior abuse victims die three times faster than those who have not been abused, calling it a "public health crisis." Experts say in many cases of senior financial abuse it appears the victim gave consent, but it is frequently based on manipulation or deception. Victims often "have some level of cognitive impairment, which makes it really difficult for them to figure out the truth of what's going on," says Seattle prosecutor Page Ulrey. Practitioners and public officials also note the federal government's response has been severely lacking. "The big story is the dearth, the complete nonexistence, the shameful scandalous absence of any credible prevention or intervention research," says former Justice Department attorney Therese Connolly. Still, in February, the Justice Department announced "the largest coordinated sweep of senior fraud cases in history," charging more than 250 individuals with schemes that caused 1 million mostly older Americans to lose more than $500 million. Moreover, the National Conference of State Legislatures says 39 states and the District of Columbia addressed senior financial exploitation in 2017's legislative sessions, with more than half enacting legislation or adopting resolutions.

Just over a year ago, Massachusetts Governor Baker signed an executive order establishing the Governor's Council to Address Aging in Massachusetts. According to the Order, "the Council shall be responsible for advising the Governor on the development of governmental policies, community resources, best practices, and informal supports that will promote healthy aging in the Commonwealth. The Council will formulate a plan to achieve the goal of making Massachusetts the most age-friendly state for people of all ages." The Council, which includes Argentum Board of Directors member and Benchmark Chairman and CEO Tom Grape, recently released its initial blueprint outlining opportunities and recommendations to make the Commonwealth the most age-friendly state for all people. The opportunities include improving economic security, ensuring access and affordability of health and supportive services necessary to maintain maximum independence, promoting age-friendly communities, and facilitating connection and engagement. Read more .