The website FreeMD.com is a complete health resource that includes a virtual doctor who conducts an interview, analyzes your symptoms, and provides recommendations.
The White House has unveiled a plan that would give the executive branch more power over Medicare reimbursement rates. Under the proposed plan, Congress would largely cede its power to decide payment issues. The plan would form an independent Medicare Advisory Council that would draw up payment policy recommendations, subject to approval by the president. Congress would then have the opportunity to disapprove the recommendations. However, if it did not, the recommendations would go into effect.
Be sure to check out http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Seniors.shtml, which is the site with official information and services from the U.S. government.
A report released Tuesday, March 18, 2008, by the Alzheimer’s Association predicted that an estimated 10 million American baby boomers, (1 in 8) will develop Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, the report showed that the disease is now the seventh deadliest in the nation and that women are at greater risk than men. Currently, at least 5.2 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s, including 200,000 to 250,000 people under age 65. By 2010, projections say there will be 500,000 new cases of the mind-wasting disease each year, and nearly one million new cases annually by 2050, the report estimates. To learn more about Alzheimer’s, visit the Alzheimer’s Association website. To read the report, click here.
Elder Care Made Easier: Doctor Marion’s 10 Steps to Help You Care for an Aging Loved One by Marion Somers is an informative guide to caring for an aging parent, spouse, or loved one. The book offers practical advice on navigating the caregiver’s journey.