Is the AARP Being Honest about Health Care?

In case you missed it, last week there was some very interesting information regarding the AARP and the massive health care reform bill. The AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) is well known among seniors. It is a massive senior group that offers just about every senior service you can think of, not the least of which is insurance. They do tax preparation, a host of senior education classes and opportunities, they work with seniors in driving, they put out tons of information online and in print form, and (most importantly), they do insurance. Needless to say, they are a massive lobbying power in Washington.

In the past two years, the AARP has raised their voices in the political debate like never before. The health care reform bill, which passed through Congress last March, was a vicious, visceral debate on capital hill and around the country, and the AARP made no bones about where it stood on the issue: They were firmly and unequivocally for the bill. Their publicity was considered over the top by many, many seniors, who promptly ended their relationship with the group. Thousands were disenchanted. Why? Because the group has claimed to be non-partisan. John McCain was especially miffed by them, and urged seniors across the country to take out the AARP membership cards, cut them up, and send them back.

So fast forward to the present. Last week, a congressional report was released. It revealed that the AARP stands to gain more than $1 billion from the health care reform bill. This, of course, looks strikingly suspicious to many observers.

This video makes the case in stark terms:

Now, some members of congress are asking for an IRS inquiry into the AARP. But the AARP has shot back, defending themselves and the fact that they take such royalties. In an open letter, Lee Hammond, AARP President said this:

“Until that day comes, the royalties we receive from lending our name to products and services make it possible for us to advocate for the entire 50-plus population…”

This controversy is only beginning. With the massive budget battles that are already taking place around the country, and with the population aging so much already, senior services such as Medicare and Medicaid will be discussed all over the place. And you can be sure that the recent controversies with other subsidized non-profits such as NPR and Planned Parenthood, there will be a magnifying glass on the AARP to see whether or not there is any shady accounting going on, and to discover their motivations for supporting the legislation they do.

We will keep looking at this issue, and continue to talk about elder care services that affect the lives of seniors all around the country.

Parkinson’s Awareness Month: A Personal Story

As of last year, April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month. My Dad passed away 3 & 1/2 years ago after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease, and I am keenly aware of the effects of Parkinson’s on an individual and family. Parkinson’s is a chronic and progressive neurological disease with no known cure, but thankfully more and more attention has been turned toward early diagnosis, affective treatment and management of symptoms. As more attention is shown and more research is funded, everyone hopes to find a cure for this debilitating disease.

I believe my dad was possibly showing early signs of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) as early as 10 years before he was finally diagnosed. In hindsight, I remembered he experienced sleep disturbances, lack of muscle control and balance, fatigue that lasted weeks at a time, and one hand would start to shake while at rest. My dad hated going to the doctor any time for any reason, but when PD symptoms started affecting every day activities like dressing, sleeping, talking, driving, and cognitive processing, even he couldn’t deny something was definitely wrong.

I lived almost 1,000 miles away, so I wasn’t there to see his early serious decline, but I during one phone call I was convinced. He was having trouble speaking clearly, and putting thoughts together. I was alarmed and immediately implored him to go get checked out by a doctor. He gave the same “I’m just getting old” line, but I knew it was no time to back down. As soon as we could make the trip, I called a face-to-face intervention with my brothers and mom to have a sit down and really convince him that now was time to face the facts: he needed a doctor’s help.

When I saw him after being gone for over a year, I was shocked at how quickly his symptoms had worsened. In 12 months, he had gone from being the outdoorsy, fisherman, hunter, gardner dad I remembered to…an old man. He shuffled when he walked, his hands shook, his facial expressions froze, his voice had weakened considerably, and he just looked utterly exhausted. But, he was of course, still my dad.

We had the “sit down.” We laid out the facts of what we saw as gently, lovingly, yet urgently as we could, and I begged him to see the doctor. I think he knew he had Parkinson’s already and just didn’t want to hear it said out loud. His mother had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s and mistakenly overdosed by the hospital just before being released and sent home. She died on the way back to the hospital.

My dad did the tough thing. He faced the thing he feared, and the thing he feared became his reality, but he and my mother found a lot of support along the way. The doctor quickly put him on PD management medications, adjusting the dose and schedule until the found the levels and timing that gave my dad optimal functioning when he most needed it. He began physical therapy and occupational therapy soon after. The therapists came into my parents home and showed my mom and dad strengthening exercises which really helped. A nutritionist also was on hand to offer dietary advice, and my parents made many changes with positive results. The specialists who came and went were very positive and encouraging while gently making my parents aware of the progressiveness of Parkinson’s. This awareness of what was to come was excruciatingly hard for my dad to bear, but really underscored the importance of being consistent in all of the things the specialists were teaching them to do. This awareness of impending struggles also drove my mother to seek a Parkinson’s support group.

It took a while before my dad was willing to attend the Parkinson’s support group with my mother, because as he admitted to her later, he didn’t want to be faced with the dismal picture of his future when meeting more advanced Parkinson’s participants. But he finally did cave, and found the group to be a comfort at some level, just knowing others were going through some of the same things. Being a counsellor by nature and occupation, I think it also helped him to get his focus off his own suffering, and offer comfort and hope to others.

The last time I saw my dad, we had just brought him home after a 6-week hospital stay. We about to move far away again, but we were able to visit with him almost every day while he was in the hospital. We thought he would never make it home. He was weak, having trouble swallowing and breathing on his own, and was put on a ventilator and feeding tube. We brought our three little ones in to sit on grandpa’s bed, sing him songs, and give him kisses and crayon-drawn pictures. I sat in his hospital room day after day and read to him, talked to him, or just held his hand. At one point it hit me: This is my chance to say goodbye. We were able to bring him home, wave goodbye to him as he stood on the front step, and we drove off to find our new home in California. A few months later we got the middle of the night call: my dad had passed away. It’s never easy even when you know it’s coming. I was just thankful we had had som many sweet moments together those few months earlier.

Parkinson’s Disease is a devastating disease, but there are so many more resources out there now than in my grandmother’s day. The medical community has certainly not given up on finding a cure, but in the mean time, it’s not sitting back on it’s laurels. The focus has expanded to include better management and treatment of symptoms, more effective therapies, and improved attention to overall quality of life and physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. That’s a good thing. Parkinson’s Disease is such a hard thing to face, but you no longer have to face it alone.

Stay tuned for more articles this month on Parkinson’s disease, and info on how to find the elder care services you need right here at iCare For Elders.

Betty White & Age Discrimination in Hollywood

Nine years ago, Doris Roberts, the celebrated actress who was then co-starring on the hit sit com “Everybody Loves Raymond” went before a Senate Special Committee on Aging. Her testimony was pointed. She did not mince words when describing what she considered to be a workplace that had no use for women over the age of 40. She talked about how difficult it was for many of her peers, who were incredibly talented actresses, and whose talent had not diminished over the years, but who were now unable to land a job in Hollywood. She said there were four times as many jobs for women under 40 as those over 40. Roberts had been lucky enough to land a role as a grandmother on her show, but most others, she said, were not that lucky. Hollywood, she said, really didn’t care for elders very much.

It was one of the beginning ripples of the Age Discrimination battle that rolled through the first decade of the twenty-first century. It continued all the way through early 2010, when Hollywood writers over forty won a $70 Million class action lawsuit against the studios for age discrimination. This was ironic, especially considering Hollywood’s self-righteous attitude that it is too grown up for such problems. In reality, the film and television industry has perpetuated this problem for decades.

Age discrimination is not a new issue, and it is not over by any means. And it certainly is not confined to Hollywood. When a person becomes a senior citizen especially, they can often have a very hard time holding on to or finding a job. You might remember that airline flight attendants were accused of this years ago, and just about every field as well.

Thankfully, the storm against Hollywood over the past decade might have done its job. Today, people are aware of the issue, and there is a lot of sympathy that comes toward the aging workforce who is so often “easily” replaced by executives looking for a younger image.

One really bright example is Betty White, who, it has just been learned, will host her own prank show on NBC.

White has been a star for decades, even before Golden Girls. But her legend grew even more last year when she starred in what was probably the most popular TV commercial during the Super Bowl, and then become a viral hero. Facebook users across the nation began a campaign to draft White to host an episode of Saturday Night Live. She was 88 years old at the time! And somehow, the internet campaign won over the NBC executives, and she hosted a show in May. The result? Huge ratings. It was said to be the best show of the season.

Since then, Betty has become a hero not only for senior citizens, but for young people who think she is “super cool.” Who would have guessed?

So it’s no surprise that NBC just announced the plans for its new show. White will host it, and it will be a sort of hidden camera practical joke kind of show, but it will feature and star senior citizens. Think of “Punk’d” with older folks. They might be doing all kinds of things, like acting senile to embarrass the younger crowd, etc. This concept has worked well in TV shows in Europe, and NBC is betting that with White’s star power, it can be a hit here as well. I guess we will have to wait and see…

So. Is Betty White’s latest rise a signal that we are beyond the age discrimination problem? Probably not. Just as with racism, sexism, and every other negative trend in our society, there will always be those who will look at a person’s age and attach all sorts of negative characteristics to them on that basis alone. But that is an issue for individual character. Perhaps the issue has been talked about so much that it is officially stigmatized. Or maybe it’s just that America’s population is aging rapidly now, and everybody wants to be sure that they can be included in society well into their later years.

Who knows.

But one thing is for sure: Doris Roberts must be proud.

A Senior Cell Phone Scam

It happened last week to a friend of mine. She got a phone text from her local bank at, get this, nine thirty at night. She didn’t think much about it that night, but in the morning she pay attention to the message. It said that her credit card account was about to be closed, and it would be unless she called back to a different number (a local number given in the text) to verify her account number. The text listed the first 4 numbers of her account.

We realized right away that this was a scam. And it got me thinking about how much more susceptible senior citizens are to scams that involve new technology. We knew what to look for, so we were protected.

There were a couple of dead giveaways that this was a scam. First of all, banks aren’t in the business of text messaging their customers, especially at such odd hours. Secondly, the text came from an out of state phone number. Third, and most significantly by far, my friend did not even have an account with the bank!

My friend called the local police department, feeling a bit silly about it. Most people think they should only eve bother the police in case of an emergency. But they were not irritated in the least. This is a fraud we’re talking about. It could be a big deal. They said they had already received several calls about it. So they were all over it. In the mean time, they suggested she call the bank and let them know exactly what was happening. The bank had received more than a dozen calls about the same scam that morning. This message must have been blasted to hundreds if not thousands of area residents!

How the Scam Worked

It was really simple. The thief had probably gotten ahold of a huge phone list of residents in that area. Most of the recipients would probably not be from that bank, but it didn’t matter. Some of them would. And those customers would notice that the digits listed in the text did not match their account. So they would panic (their account was going to be closed!!!) and call the number given (a number that was probably from out of the country), and tell the person what their real account number was. They would feel better, and the thief would feel good too, since he has a new credit card number!

Simple, isn’t it? And probably obvious to most people. But if even one person in a hundred obeyed the instructions, the thief will have made out with big bucks.

Scams that Prey on Seniors with Technology

There are many scams that simply play on a senior’s lack of understanding. This one involved technology, but it wasn’t about how the technology worked. It was about societal norms involving technology. Lots seniors know how to text message nowadays. But do they understand how texts are used in the business world? That is an altogether different question.

When it comes to scams involving technology, seniors need to understand how things are generally done in the business world. For instance:

• Banks will usually call a customer if they need to verify accounts
• When a bank or company needs confirmation on an account number, they will read it to YOU.
• If there is any kind of requests regarding financial transactions from a bank or credit card company, those requests will come in an official manner: a personal phone call, a letter on bank letterhead. If they send an email, it will come directly from the bank’s address (with the company’s URL given, and an invitation for you to Log In.)
• Text Messages are still, for the most part, a very informal method of communication. They are not a medium for sensitive information.

The best rule of thumb is this: if a senior is nervous about when it is safe to give information over the phone or some other modern communication method, then they just shouldn’t. Period. They should get someone else’s opinion first. That way they won’t get burned. And it really is okay to call the police and ask them questions about scams. They understand how they work better than anyone else.

Education really is the best way to protect yourself. Not just in working devices, but in understanding how people communicate on those devices. Let’s help care for elders in our lives so they stay financially safe.

Helping Seniors Start a New Chapter

Our philosophy on elder care is simple: we don’t just think it’s enough to just care for elders’ health and housing needs. We think they ought to be treasured. They have inherent value. Always have. And the fact that they cannot “contribute” to society at the same level they used to is of no concern of ours whatsoever. A person’s value is not measured by their contributions. It is built it, and it cannot be taken away.

That is why this idea makes me so happy. Recently, the Marquis Home Health company began something called the “New Chapters Program.” It seems to be rooted in this value system. Seniors should not simply be taken care of, they should be listened to. They still have hopes and dreams. They have things they are passionate about. And far too often, they believe that all of these are out of reach. The New Chapter Program sets this notion straight.

This program is initiated by the employees of Marquis Home Health. Employees listen to their patients, trying to understand what makes them tick. And when they are able, they try to step in and help them “turn a page” in their life. To start a new chapter in their life.

For instance, there was one man who used to love skiing. It was a major part of of his growing up. But today, he lives in an Oregon assisted living community, and he has multiple sclerosis. So obvkously, skiing is out of the question, right?

Wrong.

The good folks at Marquis Home Health helped him take to the slopes again, even in his condition. Here is a picture:

This particular story can be found here at an Oregon news site.

Another woman wanted to turn a page in her life by getting into the digital age. Marquis bought her a laptop. She was overjoyed!

Don’t mistake this program for a version of the “Make a Wish” program. These residents aren’t dying. They simply want to begin a new phase of life. And the program validates their wishes. And by doing this, they show how much they value these seniors.

We think that’s awesome.

Next Page »