Only one in 5,000 people in the U.S. reach the age of 100. But, there are places where five to ten times as many people live to 100. Some researchers say that the top predictor for a longer life is...
Diane Archer
What you should know about ayahuasca, a psychedelic drug
Casey Schwartz reports for the New York Times that many Americans, including many older adults, are taking ayahuasca, a psychedelic drug, native to the Amazon, that is illegal in the United States...
Ten ways Medicare Advantage plans differ from traditional...
There is a lot of confusion surrounding Medicare Advantage plans–commercial health insurance for people with Medicare–and the ways Medicare Advantage plans differ from traditional...
Thousands of Americans with medical debt arrested each year
We know that millions of insured Americans live with hundreds or thousands of dollars of medical debt. A Pro Publica story by Lizzie Presser (my daughter) uncovers how Americans with medical debt...
How does Canada’s Medicare health care system work?
At this year’s Single Payer Strategy conference held last weekend in Portland, I had the pleasure of interviewing Monika Dutt about Canada’s Medicare health care system. Dutt is a family...
Medicare telemedicine scams around medical equipment on the rise
Victoria Knight reports for Kaiser Health News that family caregivers of institutionalized older adults are getting calls from scammers about the health care needs of their relatives. Medicare...
Social Security benefits will rise 1.6 percent in 2020
As a result of inflation, people on fixed incomes watch their incomes decline in value over time. Fortunately, Social Security’s benefits are adjusted every year automatically to offset...
Does coffee, tea or chocolate improve your brain’s health
You may have read that the different phytochemicals in fruits can be good for your health, protecting you against cardiovascular disease and tumor growth, among other things. Coffee, tea and...
Corporate health insurers profit by condoning fraud
Here’s another reason to support Medicare for All, a single public health insurance system, as well as to beware of Medicare Advantage plans, corporate health plans that contract with the...
Medicare Open Enrollment in 2019
Medicare Open Enrollment begins on October 15 and runs through December 7. Whether you are enrolled in traditional Medicare and have a Part D prescription drug plan or you are in a commercial...