The Scary Prospect of Change whether personal, economically, politically, it all boils down to yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery and today is the present!

Personal empowerment through conscious change seems overwhelming but, come on, lets face it, is the past working for you? The world is changing, if you stay in the past, its not possible to enjoy today. And, as we age, change gets more and more difficult so its critical to start personal growth, changing with the times, growing and expanding early in your life. Therefore, change gets to be the norm and you are better able to change with the times, an important facet of survival.

With the election approaching many seniors are afraid Medicare won't be there for them. Medicare was resisted years ago when it was first introduced. Today, the affordable care act is resisted.

Too many in the country are resistant to the change...a Black president. President Obama has been called everything one can think of. Never in my life have I seen a president so disrespected. Over the past 4 years, Mr. Obama has been called many ugly things as well as a liar in public by Joe Wilson of SC.

If you know anything about me, as the author of Paradise Costs, you know my story unfolded in South Carolina. My father was white, elderly, disabled...it didn't matter in South Carolina. It's the most hate filled place I have ever been and it is symbolic of the hate, fear, racism and ignorance that plague our country.....it's very dangerous because when one of us, no matter what the color of our skin, is in danger from hate, ignorance and racism, then every single one of us are.

So, we need change, BIG CHANGE but big change doesn't happen unless the small changes are made incrementally from within each of us. Don't fear it, embrace it. Think back to those who rejected Medicare when it came along and how fearful they were about whether health care would challenge their liberties. Sounds silly now, right. Hindsight is 20/20 however we all know something has to be done about the spiraling costs of medical care.

The Only Constant in Life is Change!
by

Irene A. Masiello

CHANGE. It's a scary word! Take a look around and see how much people are freighted by it. Many have the past ingrained so deeply that anything that is new is immediately a threat.

Witness the healthcare debate. Many don’t want to government running healthcare and yet it’s been doing a pretty good job in Medicare. However, change anything and the country is freaking out.

There is only one constant in the world: CHANGE!

If you want to be a better person, a better parent, employee, friend, spouse…there are some simple changes that can improve yours and everyone else’s way of life.

1: Be happy
It’s not about money, looks or professional success. Being genuinely grateful for what you have and looking forward to the dawn of each day can make you feel a kind of deep happiness that is contagious. Think back to your childhood….doesn’t that yield some wonderful simple moments
that make you feel warm?

2: Be honest
Honesty is a way of life. It means you don't steal, you don't cheat on your taxes and you are faithful to your spouse. Here's a quick test to determine your level of honesty: You give a cashier $10 for a magazine, candy and soft drink. The tab comes to $8.15. Instead of giving you $1.85 in change, she gives you $10.85. That is, instead of a $1 bill, you get a $10 bill. You notice it immediately. What do you do?

3. Be respectful of others
When you treat others as you would like to be treated, you are showing the ultimate kind of respect.

4. Be easygoing and fun
As the old saying goes, "Live, laugh, love." Slow down from life's frantic pace and have fun--whether it's an unscheduled day playing hooky from your responsibilities or just a few minutes respite from the grind.

5. Be confident
Once you accept there is always someone out there who is better than you, you can realize your own abilities. Be confident in what you can--and cannot--do.

6. Be emotionally open
Be open and honest with those you love. Express your opinions and listen to theirs without criticizing.

7. Be disciplined
No one is watching over your shoulder when you slack off--except you. Self-discipline means you have a finely tuned sense of ethics, of what is right and what is wrong, and you act accordingly. You are strong enough to say no to life's many temptations, from food to drugs to illicit sex.

8. Take pride in yourself
While too much pride can be seen as sinful, we all need to feel some pride in who we are, where we live and what we do. That kind of pride helps define who you are in your world.

9. Be compassionate
Being empathic to the needs of others and doing good deeds to ease others' suffering is one of the most basic acts of kindness and goodness we accomplish as human beings.

10. Have a sense of humor
You have to be able to laugh, especially at yourself. There is humor in almost every situation. You just have to find it. And laughing is almost always better than crying.

(c) Copyright 2007-August 2012 Irene A. Masiello, all rights reserved, please do not reprint without permission from the author. Thanks

This article orginally appeared in NYC's HealthWise Magazine in my column called SPIRITWISE in 2007

please share info on Elder Financial Abuse ASAP...late notice but important!

This is another step in an endless process in pointing out the failures of our system. Any organization, corporation, program that so obfiscates its rules and regulations, terms of service, etc needs to simplify their materials, contracts, etc. and, if neccessary, needs the government to make that mandatory. 

I have become cynical as I have seen how difficult tasks like completing forms, understand complex material like legal documents, etc, are so challenging that they, by nature, exploit the diminishing capacity of senior citizens. And corporations use this to gain financially.

We need laws to protect preditory and greedy corporations from exploiting the vulnerablities of old age. I have written about my experiences here about corporations such as Home Depot and Verizon and how difficult it is to do business with them, how they mislead everyone and especially seniors simply because seniors often lack the ability to understand terms and service especially written so they cannot be understood as often this results in corporations win....seniors lose....where have I heard this before?

I am not going to apologize for sticking it to greedy corporations who consider government penalties as the price of doing business while they triple their profits.

Be careful out there...the Ryan budget, Mitt Romney's taxes... this is a war on senior citizens too so lets stand with women, labor, the poor and middle class and defeat this...we are a generation that can defeat this anti-humanistic campaign simple by the sheer number of us.

Baby boomers...we can do this alone....a vote for the poor is a vote for yourself as certainly after retirement many of you will find yourself among the very people who need food stamps, medical coverage, etc. Yes, change is difficult but it is the one constant in life. The GOP vision of America is Anti-American.

Please pay attention in the months that follow and make an informed choice about the future, a future that holds your life in the balance.

Blessings,

Irene

Irene A. Masiello

Author of Paradise Costs-A Victim's Daughter Fights Back against Elder abuse

Afterword: Bennett Blum, MD, co-author of "suicide by cop"

=========================

CFPB Seeks Information on Elder Financial Abuse, Financial Advisors for Seniors

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Request for Information on Senior Financial Exploitation (RFI) is now in the Federal Register. The request seeks information on elder financial abuse and exploitation as well as certifications or designations of financial advisors who serve seniors. The Bureau is seeking as robust a response as possible. If you have regular membership calls or email communications (such as a listserv) and if you think it is appropriate to let your membership know about the RFI, please encourage comment submissions. There is a sixty (calendar) day window for responses. The last day for responses is August 17^th.

Here is the link to the Request https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/06/19/2012-14854/request-for-information-regarding-senior-financial-exploitation

Please share your story asap !

Senior discounts? With some checking accounts, it's a senior penalty

By Bob Sullivan

Senior citizens are used to getting good deals. Tell the truth: if you're aren't of AARP age, there have been times you wish you were -- when buying mass transit tickets, for example, or visiting America's national parks (one $10 fee gets you into any park, all year). Plenty of restaurants and other retailers offer "senior days" and other deals.

But take checking accounts off the senior discount list. A new report by the Pew Center on the States warns(.pdf) that so-called senior checking accounts may not be a good deal at all. In fact, in some cases, senior accounts cost much more than a basic checking account.

---

At Bank of America, for instance, a senior account is far more expensive than a basic account. Here are the facts, from Bank of America's website. The bank's “Advantage for Seniors” account costs $25 per month vs. a basic checking account fee of $14 per month. In both cases, consumers can earn a fee waiver, but here again, the senior account comes up short. Direct deposit of paychecks is one way, but that's often not available to seniors, Pew points out in its report. Basic checking users can also avoid fees by maintaining a $1,500 balance in their account; but seniors have to keep at least $5,000 in their account. Fall below $5,000 for even one day, and that's a $25 fee.

"If you have $5,000, and are happy to have it sit in this account, this can be a fine deal," said Susan Urhan, director of Pew's Center on the States. "But the question is: Is the consumer in an account that best suits their needs? The point of this (research) is that consumers need to understand the terms of their accounts."

 

Seniors who could comfortably park $2,000 or $3,000 -- but not more – in their checking accounts would save $300 apiece annually by steering clear of the senior account at Bank of America. And those with balances below $1,500 would still save $132 by picking a standard, basic account instead of the senior account.

The Advantage for Seniors account does offer a few perks, such as fee-free mini-statements from ATMs (they normally cost $1), but Pew concludes in its report that such perks aren’t worth the extra fees.

 

"Essentially, accounts of this type are a luxury account tailored for seniors, not necessarily an improvement on the basic checking package," Pew concluded.

Bank of America spokeswoman Betty Riess said that seniors have a variety of low-cost choices at Bank of America, including its MyAccess product, which provides a fee waiver with any monthly direct deposit of $250 or more, including Social Security payments.

“The Advantage interest-bearing account is designed for customers who have higher balances with us, and the vast majority of seniors in that account do not pay a monthly maintenance fee on the account,” she said. She added that the Advantage account offers one benefit that is quite handy for seniors – an early CD withdrawal without a penalty.

Senior accounts at other banks also offer some tricky choices, but not quite as tricky. At TD Bank, the "60 Plus" account costs $10 monthly(.pdf), more than the $3.99 basic checking account costs, the report found. But it only takes a $250 balance to earn a fee waiver in the TD senior account, a much more manageable threshold.

At BB&T, senior accounts cost $8 per month, and a $1,000 balance earns a fee waiver, a genuine discount compared to the $10 per month the firm charges for its basic "BB&T Bright Banking" account, which requires $1,500 for a fee waiver.

Of course, if your eyes have begun to glaze over at these various numbers, then you've heard the main lesson of the Pew report -- it's not easy to pick the right checking account under even the best of circumstances. Add in a new set of variables, such as those associated with senior accounts, and you’ve got even more confusion. But seniors aren’t the only ones struggling with specialized checking account questions. A related Pew report released the same day looked at student/college checking accounts and found similar problems; some student accounts are inferior to basic accounts, and comparison shopping can be a real challenge.

"We looked at all these disclosures from banks, and 69 pages was the median length," Urhan said. "We're worried this is confusing for people ... for students, for seniors."

Pew is trying to get banks to adopt a simple disclosure format -- similar to nutrition labels on food items -- so consumers could more easily comparison shop and pick the account that's best for them.
Already, TD Bank, Chase and Citibank (since July 17) have voluntarily adopted Pew's fee box, she said. The nonprofit research group also is urging the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to make fee disclosure boxes mandatory.

“It would have the same effect as a nutrition label,” she said. “But until we get that kind of transparency ... it will be hard to make the right choice.”
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health care reform - preparing for the changes brought about by the new law

Okay, why should I shut up at this late date? I've worked in doctor's offices from 1985-1990 and our healthcare system did not work then, it doesn't work now and so...if we keep doing what we've always done, we are always going to get what we have gotten.

Change is difficult for many people however...healthcare must change and if Americans want to call it socialized medicine, call it whatever you want.

You want democracy? Well, democracy doesn't work for everyone because of the underlying financial system... capitalism. Any system based on greed does not belong running any social service agency. Greed the likes of which we have in American today, is a deadly sin and people die by the millions because of it.

Woe to anyone who talks about change...I will accept socialized medicine if it means seniors, the poor and kids can get the care they need.

Associate Press reports that primary care doctors are a big winner in the new laws and since they provide the lion's share of healthcare, lets recognize that this may mean better care because doctors are adequately compensated for the time that's needed to bring back a more established form of doctor-patient relationship.

Baby boomers, remember when physicians were like members of the family? That's when they were less pressured by the high cost of practing medicine in America. The truth is every facet of our lives is now pressured by the corruption in politics, business, banking, etc.

Baby boomers, you have the future of the country in your hands because you are the single most largest population in America. It's time to think about the future...seems to me the Republicans didn't worry about the financial future of our country until they lost the White House. They dug us into 2 unfunded wars and brought about the collapse of the banking industry. They want less regulation.
I want more. At this stage, I trust big government more than I trust big business.

It's so interesting how the GOP wants less oversight yet they want to peer into the uterus of pregnant women with their smaller government. I get it. Rich people want poor people to always provide los cost labor and therefore the rich become very interested in the next generation of poverty level births,
the want more interest in developmental deprived youth as ignorance yields compliant people.

Baby boomers, we were the rebels, we marched for Civil Rights, we marched to end the war in Viet Nam...we are a proactive generation. Please get all the information you can about the Affordable Care act and become a resource for yourself and others.

thanks


========================================

Start planning now for the new health care legislation

From the Chicago Tribune

Now that the Affordable Care Act has been given a green light by the Supreme Court, when will you have to pay for so-called Obamacare?

For high-income taxpayers, you will start feeling it in 2013, when you begin paying a higher Medicare tax to help cover some of the costs.

For people who would rather not buy health insurance, 2014 is when you must start making the purchase. No one will show up in 2014 and say, "Buy now or else." But you will feel the "or else" when you work on your 2014 tax return sometime in early 2015.

"The government can't force you to buy insurance, but it can tax you for not buying it," said John Roth, senior tax analyst with CCH Group.

As you do your 2014 taxes you are likely to see, for the first time, a line on your tax return asking for proof that you have obeyed the government's mandate and purchased health insurance. The details are yet to be worked out by the IRS; they were pending the Supreme Court's decision. But Roth said you will probably be prompted by a line on your 2014 tax return to identify the insurance policy you've purchased with an account number, or perhaps you will need to attach a copy.

If you fail to do so, the government has the right to penalize you. But under the Affordable Care Act, the IRS doesn't have the muscle it has if a person fails to pay student loans or child support, Roth said. The IRS doesn't have the right to put a lien on your house. But it still does have some power.

If you complete your tax return and are due a refund, Roth notes that the IRS can confiscate some of the refund as the penalty for not buying health insurance. If you are due some type of credit such as the earned income tax credit, Roth figures the government can dip into that. For single people, penalties start at $95 or 1 percent of income, depending on which is highest. By 2016, it rises to $695 and can be higher based on family size and income.

The rationale is to urge people to get health insurance, so they don't inflict uncovered costs on the system when accidents or emergencies occur and they end up in hospitals. In addition, to keep insurance costs from rising sharply for riskier and sicker patients, health policy analysts claim healthy young people must buy insurance to subsidize those who are less healthy.

Also, to help pay for costs associated with health care changes, high-income people are going to be required to pay higher taxes. Next year, singles with incomes over $200,000 and couples with incomes over $250,000 will have to pay an extra 0.9 percent on earned income and a 3.8 percent Medicare tax on investment gains.

People with incomes over $200,000 will see the extra income tax removed from paychecks. Some will owe more at tax time because employers don't know when an employee is in a two-income family earning more than the $250,000 threshold.

The 3.8 percent tax on investment income applies to interest, dividends, capital gains, rental income and annuity income. In addition, starting in 2013, the current 15 percent tax on long-term capital gains is set to go up to 20 percent.

In the case of a married couple with a joint income of $225,000 and $25,000 in capital gains, there would be no extra 3.8 percent tax. But if they had $35,000 in capital gains, their $260,000 in income would meet the threshold and $10,000 would be subject to the extra tax, said Tim Steffen, Robert W. Baird & Co.'s director of financial planning..

With the Supreme Court decision lending more certainty to the beginning of the tax, Steffen said financial advisers will start working with clients on ways to take gains in 2012 rather than 2013, when they will be taxed more heavily.

For example, small business owners thinking of selling a business next year might be better off selling in 2012, Steffen said. People planning for higher taxes might sell stock or real estate and exercise stock options earlier than planned.

"Still, people should avoid doing crazy things to avoid the tax," Steffen added. Business and investment decisions should come before tax decisions.

Apart from investments, individuals should also be thinking now about timing costly medical care where there's leeway — perhaps moving Lasik surgery or eyeglass purchases from 2013 to 2012. Starting in 2013, medical costs must total 10 percent of your adjusted gross income to be deducted, and it's difficult to amass costs that high in a single year. In 2012, the threshold is lower — 7.5 percent. So clustering them this year might give you a shot at a deduction you won't be able to meet in the future.

gmarksjarvis@tribune.com

Medicare patients & their doctors get a win in the upholding of the Affordable Care Act upheld by the Supreme Court yesterday

finally some good news for seniors and their doctors. Medicare patients and their physicians

will get better reimbursement for healthcare....good news for seniors, finally!

Please do NOT believe the death panels stuff. Please do not believe the hate-filled rhetoric.

Give change a chance.

Winners and losers in high court health law ruling
MARK SHERMAN and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — By a single vote, President Barack Obama's health care overhaul survived a painstaking Supreme Court review that consumed thousands of pages in legal filings and an extraordinary six hours-plus of oral argument time back in March.
In the end, the court upheld the law, with a minor change, and dashed Republican hopes of bringing down what conservatives deride as "Obamacare" on constitutional grounds. The outcome surprised many who thought tough questions from the conservative justices during the arguments foreshadowed the demise of the far-reaching legislation.

The decision leaves a trail of winners and losers, from Main Street, USA, to the very steps of the Supreme Court. For some, it's a mixed bag. Here's a look:

WINNERS
Casey Quinlan, a 59-year-old breast cancer survivor who lives near Richmond, Va., and millions of other uninsured people. Starting in October 2013, the uninsured will be able to sign up for taxpayer subsidized coverage either through private insurance plans or the Medicaid health care program. Coverage commences on Jan. 1, 2014. The law eventually is expected to provide health insurance to about 30 million of the estimated 50 million uninsured Americans. Insurers will not be able to turn away people with a history or medical problems, or charge them more. "What's at stake is whether or not the insurance market will be encouraged to recognize our presence and create products that are affordable for people with pre-existing conditions," Quinlan said.

Hospitals. Their stock zoomed Thursday after the Supreme Court ruling
guaranteed them millions more paying customers. Some analysts expect the law to reduce uncompensated care losses borne by hospitals by about half. Currently about one-fourth of the care provided by hospitals is never paid for, either because debts can't be collected or the patient is uninsured. Stocks of big laboratories also rose. But insurance companies had a see-saw day, down sharply at first but recovering some lost ground. They'll get millions of new customers also, but they face new federal regulation and taxes they fear will drive up costs.

Family practice doctors. The law provides a pay boost for those treating Medicare patients, and takes other steps that could make general practitioners the new gatekeepers of a more efficient health care system.

Democrats. President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi devoted a vast amount of his first term to passing a health care law that has divided the nation. Democrats lost the House in the 2010 midterm elections partly on public displeasure with Medicare cuts embedded in the health care overhaul. By winning at the court, Obama and his party preserve historic legislation that liberals have been pining for over more than 50 years.

Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr. Obama's top Supreme Court lawyer was maligned for his performance in both the health care and Arizona immigration cases. His argument in defense of the insurance requirement got off to a bad start when Verrilli appeared to choke on his words and had to take a drink of water. Turns out, he largely prevailed in both cases, in which he also was in charge of producing the administration's written legal briefs. That's perhaps just the latest indication one shouldn't hang too much on oral arguments.

Chief Justice John Roberts — The darling of conservatives, Roberts finds himself in the unusual position of being praised by the left and criticized by the right following the health care ruling, and to a lesser extent, the Arizona immigration case in which he also sided with the court's liberals. On one level, these demonstrations of a willingness to break with conservatives could burnish Roberts' reputation as the neutral umpire he told his confirmation hearings he sought to be. On the other hand, the conservative Roberts may be very much in evidence when the court takes up affirmative action in the fall.

LOSERS
The National Federation of Independent Business. The powerhouse small business lobbying group played a pivotal role in derailing former President Bill Clinton's health care bill and was lead plaintiff in the case against Obama's overhaul. NFIB President Dan Danner said Thursday the group will continue to push for repeal, but odds of completely overturning the law seem slimmer now. The law imposes fines on employers that do not offer coverage, but companies with fewer than 50 workers are exempt, and that means most small businesses will not have to worry about the mandate. Moreover, most companies with 50 or more employees already provide coverage. Nonetheless, business groups generally see the health care law as an encroachment.

Republicans. From presidential candidate Mitt Romney, to congressional leaders like House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., it will get harder for Republicans to argue that the law should be wiped from the books. However, Republicans could regain the upper hand by targeting unpopular provisions for repeal, like tax increases on industry, cost controls and cuts to service providers.

States that didn't prepare. About half the states now find themselves in the position of the little piggy that built his house out of straw. Many Republican-led states held back on carrying out the law's plan to set up new insurance markets, confident the Supreme Court would toss out the whole thing. They're now in the position of watching Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' federal bureaucrats come in and run the markets for them. Sebelius says she wants to play nice and will partner with any interested states. But you can bet it will be on her terms.

Justice Antonin Scalia. He sat glumly and silently as other justices read their takes on the health care law. Scalia was more vocal than any justice in his distaste for the law when the court heard arguments in March.
___
Associated Press writers Sam Hananel and Daniel Wagner contributed to this report.

06/29/2012 3:41 © Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Vitamin D lack restricts seniors mobility

People....this is really IMPORTANT...I had vitamin D defciency and I was in pain, my cognitive skills diminished, my driving went down hilll. I was really compromised. Please talk to your doctor about running a vit. D test. Most of us are deficient! Stay healthy, Irene

Irene A. Masiello, author Paradise Costs-A Victim's Daughter Fights Back against Elder Abuse

www.ParadiseCosts.com

Vitamin D lack restricts senior mobility

from Health News

Published: May 30, 2012 at 12:59 AM

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., May 30 (UPI) -- A lack of vitamin D may be put seniors at increased risk of developing mobility limitations and disability, U.S. researchers found.
Lead author Denise Houston of the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and colleagues analyzed vitamin D and the onset of mobility limitation and disability over a six-year period.
They used data from the National Institute on Aging Health, Aging and Body Composition study. Mobility limitation and disability were defined as any difficulty or inability to walk several blocks or climb a flight of stairs.
The study involved 3,075 men and women ages 70-79. Vitamin D levels were measured in the blood at the beginning of the study.
"We observed about a 30 percent increased risk of mobility
limitations for those older adults who had low levels of vitamin D,
and almost a two-fold higher risk of mobility disability,"
Houston said in a statement. Vitamin D plays an important
role in muscle function, so it is plausible that low levels of
 the vitamin could result in the onset of decreased lower
muscle strength and physical performance, Houston said.
People get vitamin D when it is naturally produced in the
skin by sun exposure, by eating foods with vitamin D --
such as fortified milk, juice and cereals -- and by taking
vitamin D supplements, Houston said.
The findings were published in the Journal of Gerontology:
Medical Sciences.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2012/05/30/Vitamin-D-lack-restricts-senior-mobility/UPI-82511338353963/#ixzz1wM3SRmUB

Baby boomers, seniors, veterans, elder care workers, nurses, doctors, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Queens, NY...Half the vets need disability says AP....this effects the election and it effects seniors as well...we'll need more medical resources not less favoring the election of a humanitarian president not a capitalist president...please think about this:

Baby boomers, seniors, healthcare workers, nurses, doctors, physician's assistants, elder care workers, etc, this is for you. You are on the front lines of the real inside story about the 2012 election.

 

I am listening to the Sunday morning talk shows and thinking about the election. My brother was a Viet Nam vet with post traumatic stress syndrome before the diagnosis was established.

I am wondering how the Veteran's Administration is going to handle the demand for medical care for the veterans of these last 2 wars that bankrupted this country. The GOP wants to scale back Medicare...will they want to scale back veteran's benefits as well?

 

Obama wanted to give us healthcare reform but is meeting with resistance. Basically, the resistance is resistance to change. The only thing in life that is steadfast is change. Those people who don't change with the times are doomed.

 

Please read this article below and understand that these troops served the country in a more enlightened time than the Nam vets did. My brother was emotionally scared beyond belief by what happened in Nam. Our country turned its back on guys like him and his comrades.

 

So, here we baby boomers stand needing Medicare to be whole, needing healthcare reform, remembering those guys and gals we grew up with who didn't come back from Viet Nam

and now facing the GOP agenda of cutting social programs.

 

Are we going to let this happen?

 

Please vote and remember change happens with or without your permission. Be a part of the change you want to see. This is a call to "arms" so to speak to my fellow baby boomers...

please be a part of a not so silent generation for progress and change.

 

Thank you,

Irene A. Masiello

Author: Paradise Costs-A Victim's Daughter Fights Back against Elder Abuse

Afterword: Bennett Blum, MD

====

 

AP IMPACT: Almost half of new vets seek disability
MARILYNN MARCHIONE
AP Chief Medical Writer

America's newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen.

A staggering 45 percent of the 1.6 million veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now seeking compensation for injuries they say are service-related. That is more than double the estimate of 21 percent who filed such claims after the Gulf War in the early 1990s, top government officials told The Associated Press.

What's more, these new veterans are claiming eight to nine ailments on average, and the most recent ones over the last year are claiming 11 to 14. By comparison, Vietnam veterans are currently receiving compensation for fewer than four, on average, and those from World War II and Korea, just two.

It's unclear how much worse off these new veterans are than their predecessors. Many factors are driving the dramatic increase in claims — the weak economy, more troops surviving wounds, and more awareness of problems such as concussions and PTSD. Almost one-third have been granted disability so far.

Government officials and some veterans' advocates say that veterans who might have been able to work with certain disabilities may be more inclined to seek benefits now because they lost jobs or can't find any. Aggressive outreach and advocacy efforts also have brought more veterans into the system, which must evaluate each claim to see if it is war-related. Payments range from $127 a month for a 10 percent disability to $2,769 for a full one.

As the nation commemorates the more than 6,400 troops who died in post-9/11 wars, the problems of those who survived also draw attention. These new veterans are seeking a level of help the government did not anticipate, and for which there is no special fund set aside to pay.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is mired in backlogged claims, but "our mission is to take care of whatever the population is," said Allison Hickey, the VA's undersecretary for benefits. "We want them to have what their entitlement is."

The 21 percent who filed claims in previous wars is Hickey's estimate of an average for Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield. The VA has details only on the current disability claims being paid to veterans of each war.

The AP spent three months reviewing records and talking with doctors, government officials and former troops to take stock of the new veterans. They are different in many ways from those who fought before them.

More are from the Reserves and National Guard — 28 percent of those filing disability claims — rather than career military. Reserves and National Guard made up a greater percentage of troops in these wars than they did in previous ones. About 31 percent of Guard/Reserve new veterans have filed claims compared to 56 percent of career military ones.

More of the new veterans are women, accounting for 12 percent of those who have sought care through the VA. Women also served in greater numbers in these wars than in the past. Some female veterans are claiming PTSD due to military sexual trauma — a new challenge from a disability rating standpoint, Hickey said.

The new veterans have different types of injuries than previous veterans did. That's partly because improvised bombs have been the main weapon and because body armor and improved battlefield care allowed many of them to survive wounds that in past wars proved fatal.

"They're being kept alive at unprecedented rates," said Dr. David Cifu, the VA's medical rehabilitation chief. More than 95 percent of troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan have survived.
Larry Bailey II is an example. After tripping a rooftop bomb in Afghanistan last June, the 26-year-old Marine remembers flying into the air, then fellow troops attending to him.

"I pretty much knew that my legs were gone. My left hand, from what I remember I still had three fingers on it," although they didn't seem right, Bailey said. "I looked a few times but then they told me to stop looking." Bailey, who is from Zion, Ill., north of Chicago, ended up a triple amputee and expects to get a hand transplant this summer.

He is still transitioning from active duty and is not yet a veteran. Just over half of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans eligible for VA care have used it so far.

Of those who have sought VA care:
—More than 1,600 of them lost a limb; many others lost fingers or toes.
—At least 156 are blind, and thousands of others have impaired vision.
—More than 177,000 have hearing loss, and more than 350,000 report tinnitus — noise or ringing in the ears.
—Thousands are disfigured, as many as 200 of them so badly that they may need face transplants. One-quarter of battlefield injuries requiring evacuation included wounds to the face or jaw, one study found.

"The numbers are pretty staggering," said Dr. Bohdan Pomahac, a surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston who has done four face transplants on non-military patients and expects to start doing them soon on veterans.

Others have invisible wounds. More than 400,000 of these new veterans have been treated by the VA for a mental health problem, most commonly, PTSD.

Tens of thousands of veterans suffered traumatic brain injury, or TBI — mostly mild concussions from bomb blasts — and doctors don't know what's in store for them long-term. Cifu, of the VA, said that roughly 20 percent of active duty troops suffered concussions, but only one-third of them have symptoms lasting beyond a few months.

That's still a big number, and "it's very rare that someone has just a single concussion," said David Hovda, director of the UCLA Brain Injury Research Center. Suffering multiple concussions, or one soon after another, raises the risk of long-term problems. A brain injury also makes the brain more susceptible to PTSD, he said.

On a more mundane level, many new veterans have back, shoulder and knee problems, aggravated by carrying heavy packs and wearing the body armor that helped keep them alive. One recent study found that 19 percent required orthopedic surgery consultations and 4 percent needed surgery after returning from combat.

All of this adds up to more disability claims, which for years have been coming in faster than the government can handle them. The average wait to get a new one processed grows longer each month and is now about eight months — time that a frustrated, injured veteran might spend with no income.
More than 560,000 veterans from all wars currently have claims that are backlogged — older than 125 days.

The VA's benefits chief, Hickey, gave these reasons:

—Sheer volume. Disability claims from all veterans soared from 888,000 in 2008 to 1.3 million in 2011. Last year's included more than 230,000 new claims from Vietnam veterans and their survivors because of a change in what conditions can be considered related to Agent Orange exposure. Those complex, 50-year-old cases took more than a third of available staff, she said.

—High number of ailments per claim. When a veteran claims 11 to 14 problems, each one requires "due diligence" — a medical evaluation and proof that it is service-related, Hickey said.
—A new mandate to handle the oldest cases first. Because these tend to be the most complex, they have monopolized staff and pushed up average processing time on new claims, she said.
—Outmoded systems. The VA is streamlining and going to electronic records, but for now, "We have 4.4 million case files sitting around 56 regional offices that we have to work with; that slows us down significantly," Hickey said.

Barry Jesinoski, executive director of Disabled American Veterans, called Hickey's efforts "commendable," but said: "The VA has a long way to go" to meet veterans' needs. Even before the surge in Agent Orange cases, VA officials "were already at a place that was unacceptable" on backlogged claims, he said.

He and VA officials agree that the economy is motivating some claims. His group helps veterans file them, and he said that sometimes when veterans come in, "We'll say, 'Is your back worse?' and they'll say, 'No, I just lost my job.'"

Jesinoski does believe these veterans have more mental problems, especially from multiple deployments.

"You just can't keep sending people into war five, six or seven times and expect that they're going to come home just fine," he said.

For taxpayers, the ordeal is just beginning. With any war, the cost of caring for veterans rises for several decades and peaks 30 to 40 years later, when diseases of aging are more common, said Harvard economist Linda Bilmes. She estimates the health care and disability costs of the recent wars at $600 billion to $900 billion.

"This is a huge number and there's no money set aside," she said. "Unless we take steps now into some kind of fund that will grow over time, it's very plausible many people will feel we can't afford these benefits we overpromised."

How would that play to these veterans, who all volunteered and now expect the government to keep its end of the bargain?

"The deal was, if you get wounded, we're going to supply this level of support," Bilmes said. Right now, "there's a lot of sympathy and a lot of people want to help. But memories are short and times change."
___
Online:
VA's Home Page http://www.va.gov/
VA budget, performance: http://www.va.gov/budget/report/
IOM Coming Home report: http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12812
Costs of war: http://bit.ly/y5cLsH
Veterans quick facts: http://www.va.gov/vetdata/Quick_Facts.asp
War casualty reports: http://www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf
Brain Injury Center: http://www.dvbic.org/
___
Follow Marilynn Marchione's coverage on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MMarchioneAP

05/27/2012 13:39 © Copyright The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

10 Tips for Keeping your Aging Parents Safer-updated 5/24/12-the toll of proposed cuts in essential services for seniors

10 Tips for Keeping your Aging Parents Safer

~ A Guest Post by Irene A. Masiello

note: I wrote this in 2008 and it applied then and, of course, it applies now. There is an unfortunate caveat or two. The economy makes targeting seniors more likely and I would like to caution seniors and their adult children to keep a very close eye on corporate America. Items like Terms of Service, contracts, poor customer service, complex rules, etc make doing business in America now in 2012 a very different "animal" than it was prior. I, personally, have experienced a stunning amount of abuse from stores and business like Home Depot, Verizon, etc as they take advantage of everyone in every way to keep their profits up at the expense of their customers. Of course, this will effect seniors more as it becomes more difficult to cognitively process complex information made complex for what may be a reason. The next election has many issues and one that needs looking into now  is whether there will be cuts to social services, education, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. I want to caution everyone that cuts to social services will place seniors at deeper risk. We have about 1/3rd of the baby boomers already experiencing elder abuse, neglect or  exploitation. That's roughly 25 million people in what are old numbers. We need more government oversight not less as corporate America has demonstrated a lack of care and compassion towards every citizen in this country with seniors and kids being the most vulnerable. Thank you, Irene A. Masiello

1. Have Realistic Expectations: America’s health care system is extremely overburdened; we must be proactive in all aspects of healthcare. Assist your parent by keeping a close tab on prescription & over-the-counter medications.

2. Recognize & Adjust for Diminishing Vision, Hearing or Thinking: Any lessening in faculties or infirmities like diabetes or circulatory disorders may impair mood or mental cognition.

3. Hire Health Aides with Caution: Check your state’s requirements regarding criminal background checks, finger printing, random drug-testing, licensing and whether the company providing aides has litigation against it; call the Better Business Bureau. Hiring privately requires additional legwork.

4. Understand Exploitation Is A Crime: If your parent signs any document they can neither explain nor comprehend the consequences of, they may have been exploited. Report it immediately to law enforcement.

5. Keeping A Watchful Eye: Forensic testing of hair, aide cams, drop-in company, monitoring credit cards and reports, reviewing bank statements by looking for handwriting changes on checks (someone else fills in payee and/or amount) and examining check number sequences are ways some issues can be detected early.

6. Sudden Relationships May be Dangerous: Be weary of anyone who steps over healthy interpersonal boundaries or takes an intense interest in the health, wellness or finances of your parent.

7. Face Multigenerational Family Dynamic Issues: Substance abuse (alcohol or drugs) and dysfunctional families are huge risk factors for the elderly.

8. Be Realistic about Your Parent’s Personality: Seniors with complicated or difficult dispositions are unlikely to develop coping skills as they age and grow infirm.

9. “Do Not Call” List: Unscrupulous telemarketers solicit at-home seniors. Place your parents’ phone numbers on your state’s “do not call list.”

10. Avoid Caregiver Burnout: Most elder abuse takes place in families. It’s crucial that caregivers take frequent respites to avoid stress and fatigue.

Irene A. Masiello is the author of “Paradise Costs-A Victim’s Daughter Fights Back Against Elder Abuse" Afterword by the author of "suicide by cop" Bennett Blum, MD. This provocative and proactive book contains an actual forensic report to drive home a chilling reality. It offers helpful lists of common elder abuses, exploitative tactics and common characteristics of victims and abusers.
It also contains Dr. Blum's incredibly easy to understand and pioneering work in identifying high risk seniors through his acronyms IDEAL & PARADISE 2. See more at www.ParadiseCosts.com.
(c) Copyright, 2012, Irene A. Masiello-all rights reserved. Do not reprint without permission. Thank you

writing a unpositive, but write an absolutely true review for Home Depots service and products never make it to the review area on the site....you can't do it as they reject the truth and say the truth is unacceptable...they routinely false advertise, their poducts are not pictures and the service is terrible...boomers, avoid the Depot especially online where the specials they tell you about are not specials but are available in stores at the exact same price

writing a non-positive, but write an absolutely true review for Home Depots service and products never make it to the review area on the site....you can't do it as they reject the truth and say the truth is unacceptable...they routinely false advertise, their poducts are not pictured and the service is terrible...boomers, avoid the Depot especially online where the specials they tell you about are not specials but are available in stores at the exact same price

here's the reply from HOME DEPOT...the reviews are read and HOME DEPOT decides which ones  the public sees.... the ones who cast the Depot in the best light and have nothing to do with reality of the way stores deceives the public.

This will be in small claims court, I promise you and I will use my writing presence on the web to make sure it happens.

BUYER BEWARE.....just another large corporation ripping off the public in the new American mantra...deceive the public, become a fat cat and then don't allow the truth to be heard.

GREED is the mantra of BIG BUSINESS and whether you know it or not there are tons of people
who have nightmarish experiences with companies like Home Depot.

More to come about floor tile that was in the store with the same name as online but the tile in the store was puke green and black instead of light with scattered blue and green. The item is completely different than the one available in the stores. DO NOT BELIEVE a single online special only. It's bunk and a waste of your time and hard work.

Rank Home Depot with Goldman Sacks, Bank of America, Verizon and other greedy companies who exploit we Americans as they place profit before people.

More to follow, see the posts below about how we baby boomers are exploited by companies mentioned above. This is called elder abuse and exploitation and its a well defined social phenomena based on corporate greed.

There will be more posted in detail shortly.

Here's the Home Depot's response to my review which was NOT ACEPTABLE because I told readers about false advertising at the Home Depot, online specials that are NOT online specials but can be purchased in the store at the same price, mistakes made marking tiles online and then mismarking tiles in the store...and like any giant corporation more diligently interested in PROFITS over customers, my review is rejected because I did not perpetuate something that is falsely advertised:

REVIEW NOT POSTED Thank you for your product review submission. Unfortunately, your review did not meet our guidelines for posting on our site for the following reason(s): Your review contained content that was inappropriate or unrelated to the product or service you reviewed. For more information on how to write an acceptable review that will help your fellow homedepot.com customers make informed purchasing decisions, please visit homedepot.com/reviews. If you have specific product or customer service complaints, please contact us at 1-800-HOME-DEPOT so that we can promptly resolve any issues you may have. We also invite you to view weekly specials at your local The Home Depot store by visiting us at homedepot.com. You can find even more incredible values for all your home improvement needs by signing up for The Home Depot email exclusives to start receiving special offers and promotions.

Please do not reply to this email. To contact us, click here to send us a message or call us at 1-800-Home-Depot. Home Depot 2455 Paces Ferry Road NW Atlanta, GA, 30339, USA For all other customer service needs: In the U.S., call: 1-800-Home-Depot (8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Saturday; and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Sunday) In Canada, call: 1-800-Home-Depot (8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Saturday; and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Sunday) NOTE: All offers may not be available in all areas. Products on homedepot.com are currently only available for delivery to street addresses located in the 50 United States. Prices are in U.S. dollars and are subject to change without notice. *FREE standard ground shipping on most online orders of $249 or more (excluding taxes) made at homedepot.com . See product descriptions for free shipping eligibility. This offer cannot be combined with any other offer and is not valid on gift card or prior purchases or certain items containing weight and/or size shipping restrictions (details in item descriptions). We currently ship only to street addresses in the 48 contiguous United States. We cannot ship to P.O. Boxes, Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico. Please allow 5-7 business days for ground delivery. Cash value 1/20th of 1 cent. Void where prohibited. ©2010 Homer TLC, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy & Security Statement

Seniors: beware the Home Depot

As I go through life, I wonder if complex situations demonstrating issues in various places are brought to me simply because I have a skill set and / or a divine mission and an ability to put my hands to the keyboard. And I feel a responsibility to other seniors to make them aware. If I enlighten one person and give words to their life, issues, hassles and that helps them, I feel a sense of accomplishment.

I was born with writing talent...didn't learn it in school. My junior high teachers told my parents I had a gift, God bless them. I loved them all so. Now, as I age, I know that God gives us gifts and our gift back to God is to use our gifts in order to serve those whose voices may be silent simply because they can't write, don't know how to blog, have no one to speak for them........

The latest issue is the Home Depot on Long Island. They are advertising ONLINE SPECIALS...don't you believe it. Go to the store and take a look like I did. I found the same prices online and the same prices in the store. Don't let the Home Depot make you crazy with this. I will be reporting this to the Consumer Affairs division of local gov't.

More to follow....

Get involved and get your meds at a fair price through RX RIGHTS'efforts

http://www.rxrights.org/

Our Mission Statement

RxRights is a coalition concerned about the high cost of U.S. pharmaceuticals. We are dedicated to promoting and protecting American consumer access to sources of safe, affordable prescription drugs.

 Access to safe and affordable pharmaceuticals should be a natural right for all Americans. Yet there are incredible price discrepancies between brand name and generic pharmaceuticals around the globe. On average, Americans pay twice as much for prescription medicine as people in other industrialized countries. Why? Because big pharmaceutical companies engage in underhanded tactics like price fixing and censorship. Pharmaceutical manufacturers have gone to great lengths to protect the high prices of their products in America.

BIG PHARMA...your enemy...here's why:

Some wrote and said they require a medication in the brand form.
This person states that he was started on the brand name drug
when the drug in question came out. It's an anti-inflammatory
medication that's used for back injuries, fibromyalia, arthritis, etc.
The drugs name: VOLTAREN.
It is non narcotic!

When the generics hit the market, the above person was startled that
they did not give relief and spoke to the pharmacist about it. The
drugist said he was running into this quite often as the brand and
the generics were not the same thing.

The person who needed the meds asked about the brand name.
Cost of the brand name $250 per month.
Cost of generic, the drug insurers co-pay, as much as $50.

Cost in Canada $25 w/o incurance
Cost in India $30 w/o insurance
Cost in Argentina $20 w/o insurance

QUESTION: would Novartis sell Voltaren around the world
for $24, $30 or $20 if it weren't STILL making money on it?

ANSWER? NO!!!!!!!!!!

Conclusion: as for we Americans, Norvartis is ALLOWED to
rip off, us, the suffering public, by a government that is for and
by BIG PHARMA...big pharma is a special interest group.

WE NEED CHANGE

Big pharma is shortening the lives of baby boomers for their profit.
Another example?

LASIX...don't you folks who need this drug to keep your lungs
from filling with water from congestive heart failure believe
that GENERIC LASIX and BRAND NAME LASIX are
the same. I have taken both and they do not work the same.

If your life depends on Lasix (fortunately, mine does not)
...........find a way to get the BRAND

WE NEED CHANGE

Docs: Antipsychotics often prescribed for 'problems of living' (see uses in nursing homes, please)

by Sandra G. Boodman
Kaiser Health News

Adriane Fugh-Berman was stunned by the question: Two graduate students who had no symptoms of mental illness wondered if she thought they should take a powerful schizophrenia drug each had been prescribed to treat insomnia.

"It's a total outrage," said Fugh-Berman, a physician who is an associate professor of pharmacology at Georgetown University. "These kids needed some basic sleep [advice], like reducing their intake of caffeine and alcohol, not a highly sedating drug."

Those Georgetown students exemplify a trend that alarms medical experts, policymakers and patient advocates: the skyrocketing increase in the off-label use of an expensive class of drugs called atypical antipsychotics. Until the past decade these 11 drugs, most approved in the 1990s, had been reserved for the approximately 3 percent of Americans with the most disabling mental illnesses, chiefly schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; more recently a few have been approved to treat severe depression.

But these days atypical antipsychotics -- the most popular are Seroquel, Zyprexa and Abilify -- are being prescribed by psychiatrists and primary-care doctors to treat a panoply of conditions for which they have not been approved, including anxiety, attention-deficit disorder, sleep difficulties, behavioral problems in toddlers and dementia. These new drugs account for more than 90 percent of the market and have eclipsed an older generation of antipsychotics. Two recent reports found that children and adolescents in foster care, some less than a year old, are taking more psychotropic drugs than other children, including those with the severest forms of mental illness.

In 2010 antipsychotic drugs racked up more than $16 billion in sales, according to IMS Health, a firm that tracks drug trends for the health-care industry. For the past three years they have ranked near or at the top of the best-selling classes of drugs, outstripping antidepressants and sometimes cholesterol medicines. A study published last year found that off-label antipsychotic prescriptions doubled between 1995 and 2008, from 4.4 million to 9 million. And a recent report by pharmacy benefits manager Medco estimated that the prevalence of the drugs' use among adults ballooned more than 169 percent between 2001 and 2010.

Critics say the popularity of atypical antipsychotics reflects a combination of hype that the expensive medicines, which can cost $500 per month, are safer than the earlier generation of drugs; hope that they will work for a variety of ailments when other treatments have not; and aggressive marketing by drug companies to doctors and patients.

"Antipsychotics are overused, overpriced and oversold," said Allen Frances, former chair of psychiatry at Duke University School of Medicine, who headed the task force that wrote the DSM-IV, psychiatry's diagnostic bible. While judicious off-label use may be appropriate for those who have not responded to other treatments for, say, severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, Frances said the drugs, which are designed to calm patients and to moderate the hallucinations and delusions of psychosis, are being used "promiscuously, recklessly," often to control behavior and with little regard for their serious side effects. These include major, rapid weight gain -- 40 pounds is not uncommon -- Type 2 diabetes, breast development in boys, irreversible facial tics and, among the elderly, an increased risk of death.

The Latest Fad?

Doctors are allowed to prescribe drugs for unapproved uses, but companies are forbidden to promote them for such purposes. In the past few years major drugmakers have paid more than $2 billion to settle lawsuits brought by states and the federal government alleging illegal marketing; some cases are still being litigated, as are thousands of claims by patients. In 2009 Eli Lilly and Co. paid the federal government a record $1.4 billion to settle charges that it illegally marketed Zyprexa through, among other things, a "5 at 5 campaign" that urged nursing homes to administer 5 milligrams of the drug at 5 p.m. to induce sleep.

Wayne Blackmon, a psychiatrist and lawyer who teaches at George Washington University Law School, said he commonly sees patients taking more than one antipsychotic, which raises the risk of side effects. Blackmon regards them as the "drugs du jour," too often prescribed for "problems of living. Somehow doctors have gotten it into their heads that this is an acceptable use." Physicians, he said, have a financial incentive to prescribe drugs, widely regarded as a much quicker fix than a time-intensive evaluation and nondrug treatments such as behavior therapy, which might not be covered by insurance.

In a series in the New York Review of Books last year, Marcia Angell, former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, argued that the apparent "raging epidemic of mental illness" partly reflects diagnosis creep: the expansion of the elastic boundaries that define mental illnesses to include more people, which enlarges the market for psychiatric drugs.

"You can't push a drug if people don't think they have a disease," said Fugh-Berman, who directs PharmedOut, a Georgetown program that educates doctors about drug marketing and promotion. "How do you normalize the use of antipsychotics? By using key opinion leaders to emphasize their use and through CMEs (continuing medical education) and ghost-written articles in medical journals," which, she said "affect the whole information stream."

James H. Scully Jr., medical director of the American Psychiatric Association, sees the situation differently. He agrees that misuse of the drugs is a problem and says that off-label prescribing should be based on some evidence of effectiveness. But Scully suggests that a key factor driving use of the drugs, in addition to "intense marketing and some effectiveness," is the growing number of non-psychiatrists prescribing them. Many lack the expertise and experience necessary to properly diagnose and treat mental health problems, he said.

Among psychiatrists, use of antipsychotics is rooted in a desire to heal, according to Scully. "All of the meds we use have their limits. If you're trying to help somebody, you think, 'What else might I be able to do for them?' "

Since 2005, antipsychotics have carried a black-box warning, the strongest possible, cautioning against their use in elderly patients with dementia, because the drugs increase the risk of death. In 2008 the Food and Drug Administration reiterated its earlier warning, noting that "antipsychotics are not indicated for the treatment of dementia-related psychosis." But experts say such use remains widespread.

In one Northern California nursing home in 2006 and 2007, 22 residents, many suffering from dementia, were given antipsychotics for the convenience of the staff or because the residents refused to go to the dining room. In some cases the drugs were forcibly injected, state officials said. Three residents died.

A 2011 report by the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services found that in a six-month period in 2007, 14 percent of nursing home residents were given antipsychotics. In one case a patient with an undetected urinary-tract infection was given the drugs to control agitation.

"The primary reason is that there's not enough staff," said Toby S. Edelman, senior policy attorney for the Center for Medicare Advocacy, a Washington-based nonprofit group, who recently testified about the problem before the Senate Special Committee on Aging. "If you can't tie people up, you give 'em a drug" she said, referring to restrictions on the use of physical restraints in nursing homes.

Nursing home residents aren't the only ones gobbling antipsychotics.

Mark E. Helm, a Little Rock pediatrician who was a medical director of Arkansas's Medicaid evidence-based prescription drug program from 2004 to 2010, said he had seen 18-month-olds being given potent antipsychotic drugs for bipolar disorder, an illness he said rarely develops before adolescence. Antipsychotics, which he characterized as the fastest-growing and most expensive class of drugs covered by the state's Medicaid program, were typically prescribed to children to control disruptive behavior, which often stemmed from their impoverished, chaotic or dysfunctional families, Helm said. "Sedation is the key reason these meds get used," he observed.

More than any other factor, experts agree, the explosive growth in the diagnosis of pediatric bipolar disorder has fueled antipsychotic use among children. Between 1994 and 2003, reported diagnoses increased 40-fold, from about 20,000 to approximately 800,000, according to Columbia University researchers.

That diagnosis, popularized by several prominent child psychiatrists in Boston who claimed that extreme irritability, inattention and mood swings were actually pediatric bipolar disorder that can occur before age 2, has undergone a reevaluation in recent years. The reasons include the highly publicized death of a 4-year-old girl in Massachusetts, who along with her two young siblings had been taking a cocktail of powerful drugs for several years to treat bipolar disorder; the revelation of more than $1 million in unreported drug company payments to the leading proponent of the diagnosis; and growing doubts about its validity.

Helm said that antipsychotics, which he believes have become more socially acceptable, serve another purpose: as a gateway to mental health services. "To get a child qualified for SSI disability, it is helpful to have a child on a medicine," he said, referring to the federal program that assists families of children who are disabled by illness.

Ask Your Doctor

Psychiatrist David J. Muzina, a national practice leader at pharmacy benefits manager Medco, said he believes direct-to-consumer advertising has helped fuel rising use of the drugs. As former director of the mood disorders center at the Cleveland Clinic, he encountered patients who asked for antipsychotics by name, citing a TV commercial or print ad.

Some states are attempting to rein in their use and cut escalating costs. Texas has announced it will not allow a child younger than 3 to receive antipsychotics without authorization from the state. Arkansas now requires parents to give informed consent before a child receives an anti-psychotic drug. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it is summoning state officials to a meeting this summer to address the use of antipsychotics in foster care. And Sens. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) and Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced legislation that would require doctors who prescribe antipsychotics off-label to nursing home patients to complete forms certifying that they are appropriate.

Medco is asking doctors to document that they have performed diabetes tests in patients taking the drugs. "Our intention here is to get doctors to reexamine prescriptions," Muzina said

"In the short term, I don't see a change in this trend unless external forces intervene."

let's start thinking about a greener tomorrow...spring's coming, have you planned your garden?

from the Administration on the Aging, WORLD ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY June 15, 2012

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, June 15th

• What is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day?
• How Can I Be Involved?
• Resources and Useful Links

What is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day?

Each year, hundreds of thousands of older persons are abused, neglected, and exploited. In addition, elders throughout the United States lose an estimated $2.6 billion or more annually due to elder financial abuse and exploitation, funds that could have been used to pay for basic needs such as housing, food, and medical care. Unfortunately, no one is immune to abuse, neglect, and exploitation. It occurs in every demographic, and can happen to anyone- a family member, a neighbor, even you. Yet it is estimated that only about one in five of those crimes are ever discovered.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) was launched on June 15, 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations. The purpose of WEAAD is to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect. In addition, WEAAD is in support of the United Nations International Plan of Action acknowledging the significance of elder abuse as a public health and human rights issue. WEAAD serves as a call-to-action for individuals, organizations, and communities to raise awareness about elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

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How Can I Be Involved?

Each year on or around June 15th, communities and municipalities around the world plan activities and programs to recognize WEAAD. We encourage you to join others around the nation and world in observing WEAAD by carrying out activities such as:

• Developing an educational program or press conference;
• Volunteering to call or visit an isolated senior; or
• Submitting an editorial or press release to your local newspaper to create awareness of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is an excellent opportunity to share information about abuse, neglect, and exploitation in later life. However, raising awareness of mistreatment of older persons is an ongoing effort, not limited to one day. There are many ways to become involved, from the simple yet meaningful, to planning events that require a little more commitment and time. Visit the “Join Us in the Fight Against Elder Abuse” section of the National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) website for more information and activity ideas for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. Whether the effort is great or small, once a year or throughout, all of these efforts empower us to make long-lasting differences in the lives of vulnerable elders.

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Resources and Links

The International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) has produced the Community Guide to Raise World Awareness on Adult Abuse Tool Kit. The Toolkit provides sample ideas and templates for activities and examples of materials, resources, proclamations, and messages. The Toolkit is available for free download at http://www.inpea.net .

The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) website contains many resources to help you find assistance, publications, data, information, and answers about elder abuse. For information and ideas about World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, visit the “Join Us in the Fight Against Elder Abuse” section of the website.

The AoA website is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of a wide variety of topics, programs, and services related to aging and the protection of elder rights, including information about “What Is Elder Abuse?”

The Eldercare Locator, a public service of the U.S. Administration on Aging, can assist you in contacting your local area agency on agency about volunteering to call or visit an isolated senior.