AARP is opposing proposed Department of Labor regulations and legislation that would significantly increase the benefits of short-term health insurance plans for younger Americans, while eliminating the protections and premium caps currently protecting Americans 50 and older, reports Financial Advisor. "The ultimate concern is we return to a market where all the things that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) prohibited, like pricing older Americans out of the market, are allowed again," says AARP's Megan O'Reilly. Under the proposal, the short-term health insurance market would transition from 90-day "skinny" policies to 364-day policies, while being able to hike premiums based on age and deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and asthma. The Urban Institute calculates that the proposed regulatory changes will boost premiums between 16.6 percent and 20 percent, or more than $2,000 in 2019. AARP claims premium increases could reach $4,000 or higher annually for 60-year-olds who purchase a silver plan in the ACA marketplace if the short-term marketplace is permitted to expand. "We know we have 6 million 50-64-year-olds in the ACA market," O'Reilly says. "They could be refused coverage in the short-term market. Another big point with these plans is that 40 percent of 50- to 64-year-olds have pre-existing conditions, so they could be denied coverage for any of these."

The Alzheimer's Association's 2018 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report estimates that payments to care for people living with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia will top $250 billion for the second year in a row, according to U.S. News & World Report . The forecast $277 billion total marks a nearly $20 billion year-over-year increase, while costs are expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2050. The association says about 5.7 million Americans currently have Alzheimer's, and approximately 14 million people will be diagnosed with the disorder by 2050. However, the study theorizes that early identification of the disease during the mild cognitive impairment phase could save the U.S. up to $7.9 trillion over the lifetimes of those living with it. "We must continue to attack Alzheimer's through a multidimensional approach that advances research while also improving support for people with the disease and their caregivers," says the Alzheimer's Association's Keith Fargo. He notes although scientific advances lead to fewer deaths from heart disease or cancer, similar breakthroughs in Alzheimer's or dementia research are lacking, and can only come about from national prioritization.

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that about 18 percent of adults in the United States have some form of mental illness, while the Analysis Group says the economic burden of major depression in the United States amounts to about $210.5 billion annually, reports Inc.com . One way to combat depression at work is to build employee well-being into company culture, and counter its stigma. Offering unpaid leave for mental health crises also can be helpful, says Grants Plus President Lauren Steiner. Another strategy is to implement comprehensive mental health coverage. Horizon Benefit Services' Carrie Espinosa encourages employers to offer a number of such plans and have their employees contact her directly for advice on benefits packages. Supplementing standard mental health coverage with employee-assistance programs (EAPs) also is suggested, and they can be added to insurance policies or purchased singly. If an EAP is unaffordable, employers can get together with other businesses to purchase one as a group and then make employees aware of it, notes University of Maryland Professor Jodi Jacobson Frey. "Employees need to see the leaders of the company acknowledge the importance of engaging with mental health professionals when it's needed," says Avalere Health's Dan Mendelson.

Amazon has for the past three years been meeting with the AARP to discuss potential collaborations and share research, with interest in designing products for aging populations, reports CNBC . "Something ... we've been building for some period of time and we deeply care about ... relates to what happens to older people," said Amazon Vice President Babak Parviz at a recent event. "We have looked at the older population in the context of health ... and we know this group has a lot of issues and unmet needs." Parviz also noted in spite of "exponential growth" in connected, computational devices, seniors' sense of isolation is increasing. "As part of our mission to be everyday innovators in aging, we meet regularly with other innovators that may be able to improve the lives of older Americans," said the AARP. A source familiar with the AARP/Amazon discussions noted Parviz's team made queries about the size of the market, whether senior populations and their adult caregivers trusted Amazon over other vendors, and the technology needs of this demographic. Amazon also might leverage the knowledge-base of its growing pool of third-party health developers that are putting Alexa skills into the market, including some aimed at aging populations with complex medical conditions.

A study published in the American Journal of Surgery found although a growing number of people in their 90s are experiencing falls, they may be faring slightly better than previously, reports Reuters . The researchers examined people older than 90 hospitalized at single trauma center after falls, and estimated a 100 percent increase in their numbers over two decades. Death rates in the hospital held steady while length of hospital stay decreased by about a day, which could indicate better care. Previous research has found that about 30 percent of people over age 65 and half of individuals 90 and older fall each year, and in 2010 more than 40 million people in the U.S. were over age 65 and 2.2 million were in their 90s. Out of 1,697 people, nearly all had suffered blunt trauma from falls. In the first decade, the most frequent injuries were to the arms and spine, and in the second the most common injuries were to lower extremities as well as rib and pelvic fractures. In-hospital death rates were 5.6 percent in the first decade and 4.2 percent in the second, but that difference was too insignificant to exclude the possibility it could be due to chance. In spite of serious injuries, most subjects were eventually released from the hospital, which could be because more physical therapists, social workers, and ancillary staff are helping them.

May 2018 is Older Americans Month, and materials, activity ideas, and resources to help participants promote and celebrate this year's theme, Engage at Every Age, are available from the Administration for Community Living (ACL) at oam.acl.gov . Among the resources accessible are logos , posters , Web badges , buttons and banners , sample articles and proclamations , activity ideas , and a resource list . ACL will release more #OAM18 materials, such as Spanish products and shareable social media images at the end of March.

A Brazilian study presented at the Endocrine Society's 100th annual meeting determined the Mediterranean diet appears to have a beneficial effect on older women's bones and muscles, reports News-Medical . The researchers found higher bone mass and muscle mass in postmenopausal women who followed a Mediterranean diet regimen compared to those who did not. The diet entails a high intake of fruits and vegetables, grains, potatoes, olive oil, and seeds, along with moderately high fish intake, as well as low saturated fat, dairy, and red meat consumption. Regular but moderate drinking of red wine also is one of its guidelines. The researchers studied 103 healthy women from southern Brazil, who were 55 years old and had experienced menopause 5.5 years earlier, on average. All women received bone scans to measure their bone mineral density, total body fat, and appendicular lean mass. A higher Mediterranean diet score was linked to higher bone mineral density measured at the lumbar spine and to greater muscle mass, regardless of whether the women used hormone therapy previously, their prior smoking habits, or their current level of physical activity.

A new Bankrate survey estimates Americans between 55 and 64 years old with retirement savings only have a median of $120,000 saved, which is only 12 percent of the $1 million many experts recommend, reports CNBC . Americans age 65 to 74 have a median of $126,000 in retirement accounts, which the poll says "won't last long in the absence of paychecks." Many experts advise Americans to have seven times their annual wage saved by 55. By retirement age at 67, that number rises to 10 times their salary. Just 16 percent of survey respondents note they save more than 15 percent of what they make at all, while 25 percent save between 6 percent and 10 percent of their income and 21 percent say they save 5 percent or less. In addition, 20 percent of respondents say they do not save their income at all. For most employees, contributing to an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan is the easiest way to begin saving for retirement, while those for whom a 401(k) is not an option ought to consider other tax-advantaged retirement funds such as a Roth IRA or traditional IRA.

A study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found 68 percent of families where the head of the household is 55 or older carried debt in 2016, up from 53 percent in 1998, reports Plan Adviser . Meanwhile, 77.1 percent of families with heads aged 55 to 64 held debt in 2016, versus 70 percent of those with heads 65 to 74 and 49.8 percent of those with heads 75 or older. Yet the average total debt fell from $82,968 in 2010 to $76,679 in 2016, and the median debt level also declined from $61,219 to $47,800. EBRI believes housing debt to be the chief driver of debt for families with heads aged 55 or older, while nonhousing debt has been relatively flat since 2001. The median amount of credit card debt with households headed by someone 55 or older was $2,578 in 2013 and $2,500 in 2016. Still, American families just reaching retirement age or newly retired are more likely to carry more debt than previous generations.

The United States remains the only highly industrialized country lacking a national policy offering paid family leave, and although some states have started to propose their own policies, 46 states still leave the decision up to employers, reports Time . Only 15 percent of U.S. employees can access paid family leave through their employers, and about 40 percent lack access to job-protected unpaid leave via the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Millennials also are increasingly called upon to serve as caregivers for aging family members, with an AARP report estimating almost a quarter of the 43 million adult U.S. caregivers are between the ages of 18 and 34. Many millennials face massive student loan debt, uncertain job prospects, and lower salaries than previous generations, yet 86 percent of adults 18 to 29 years old consider themselves responsible for aiding aging parents financially, according to the Pew Research Center. Experts say a Republican-supported tax credit for employers offering paid family leave will make little difference, while Democrats back the FAMILY Act, which would use payroll taxes to offer 12 weeks of paid leave to new parents and other caregivers.