A recent article in The New York Times by Jonathan Alpert  a New York psychotherapist and the author of “Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days.” discusses the issues and explores the problem of it sometimes being ineffective.  ”Therapy can — and should — focus on goals and outcomes, and people should be able to graduate from it. In my practice, the people who spent years in therapy before coming to me were able to face their fears, calm their anxieties and reach life goals quickly — often within weeks.”

Also see how the face of therapy is changing (see Talk Doesn’t Pay, So Psychiatry Turns Instead to Drug Therapy)

Even if you have health insurance, if you don’t look under the covers you may be surprised that not only does your hospital of choice not participate as an “in network provider” but that the charges for your procedure can be all over the place. 

That’s what RONI CARYN RABIN reported in her recent NYT article “The Confusion of Hospital Pricing“. The subject of her article is probably not unlike most people faced with hospitalization. His was an emergency and he sought care close to home.

For his appendectomy, he was charged over $59,000 while charges in his region of the country ranged from a low of $1,500 to as high (due to extenuating circumstances of almost $183,000. It turned out that the hospital he chose did not have a contract with his insurance carrier.

We assume too much perhaps and without adequate research, fall into situations like this. With more and more responsibility being placed upon the patient to be proactive in their care, the financial burden for not doing that can be mind boggling.

Understanding the system a little better is certainly helpful, and Ms. Rabin provides some tips as to what we should do and helpful links to resources. Keeping in mind that his was an emergency, may have made advance preparation a little difficult, however how better for others to learn from someone else’s experience.

Becoming true empty nesters may be more a dream than a reality. As baby boomers move toward what should be retirement and slowing down, responsibility for caring for school age children, aging parents or boomerang children may stifle or at least slow that process. As an early baby boomer and caregiver to seven aging relatives and two growing children, my wife and I sense defined what it is to be a member of the “Sandwich Generation”.

Balancing a stressful lifestyle and the finances that are part of that can be daunting. Growing older than previous generations along with a severe recession, it’s no doubt that older folks feel stressed about their finances. If they’re stressed, their children who may have the responsibility of making certain those funds carry their parents to the end comfortably are doubly stressed.

It’s interesting how all of a sudden, these baby boomers who thought they had covered the bases in terms of planning for their future now find those plans sidetracked.

Kiplinger recently published an article “Surviving the ‘Sandwich’ Generation”. In it they discuss some of the issues uncovered in the Sun Trust Retirement Re-Set Study conducted along with Age Wave. Key is the need to assemble a team to help. An estate planner, accountant and banker can take a lot of the angst out of the process.

Anyone applying for SSI after May 1 , 2011 will receive their payments electronically. For those who still receive their checks by mail will need to take action and make one of several elections to insure uninterrupted payments. Payments can be received either by direct deposit or funds can be credited to a debit card. As reported in a US News March 12, 2012 article (Social Security to Go Paperless in 2013) The debit card has a number of fees that the recipent should be aware of. (see US News link below) http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/planning-to-retire/2012/03/16/social-security-to-go-paperless-in-2013

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10073.html”>

Regency – Part1-Grace Flight

PALLIATIVE CARE
When someone is faced with what could be a life threatening illness, hospice is not the only alternative. PALLIATIVE CARE of which hospice is a subset is available to ease and treat the symptoms while still treating the disease. Little known or misunderstood by many we spoke with Sue Cottle RN who has spent years as administrator of hospice and palliative care services in the southwestern Connecticut area.

102211 Paul Green – Broadcast Segment 1

102211 Paul Green – Broadcast Segment 2

102211 Palliative Care – Broadcast Segment 3

102211 Palliative Care – Broadcast Segment 4

Link to Nevah Surrendah website

US researchers warned Tuesday of an alarming link between vitamin E supplements and a 17 percent increased risk of prostate cancer, describing the findings as an “important public health concern.

Vitamin E boosts prostate cancer risk

An Aging Disability Resource Center, contrary to the name is not a place but is a resource that exists under the banner of the Area Agency on Aging around the US. It is designed as a one stop location for seniors and their families to get information and access to services that enable seniors to remain independent in their own. According to the Administration on Aging – ” The Aging and Disability Resource Center Program (ADRC), a collaborative effort of AoA and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is designed to streamline access to long-term care. The ADRC program provides states with an opportunity to effectively integrate the full range of long-term supports and services into a single, coordinated system. By simplifying access to long-term care systems, ADRCs and other single point of entry (SEP) systems are serving as the cornerstone for long-term care reform in many states.”

Marie Allen – Executive Director of the Southwestern Area Agency on Aging in Bridgeport, CT discusses the Resource Center- What, How, Where and Why.

MEDICARE PERSCRIPTION DRUG PLAN – PART D This year as before there are significant changes that need to be known by those eligible or becoming eligible for Medicare. Perhaps most significant is the Enrollment and Plan Change Dates which are now OCT 15th to Dec 7th.

Lisa Alhabal Communications Specialist for the Area Agency on Aging offers timely and useful information that will make navigating this sometimes complex Medicare benefit a bit easier

100911 Marie Allen-Aging Disab Res Ctr- Segment 1

100911 Marie Allen-Aging Disab Res Ctr- Segment 2

100911 Lisa Alhabal – Medicare Part D – Segment 3

100911 Lisa Alhabal – Medicare Part D – Segment 4