shAARP Talk: Observations from AARP

Bloomberg News: Coverage Of 'Uninsurables' Draws Candidate's Attention

Bloomberg News reports, "Strengthening the safety net for the uninsurables has become part of the presidential candidates' debate over health care." Senator John McCain last week "proposed federal aid to help expand state high-risk plans. His Guaranteed Access Plan, or GAP, is in addition to tax credits he previously promised to make private insurance more affordable." Democratic candidates "would require insurers to cover anyone who applies for a policy as part of their plans to expand U.S. subsidies for health care." AHIP "wants hospitals and other health-care providers, as well as the federal government, to share the burden insurers already bear through assessments that help finance many of the pools, said Mohit Ghose, a spokesman for the insurer group."

BusinessWeek: Disabled Seniors More Likely To Take Inappropriate Drugs

BusinessWeek reports, "Senior citizens with disabilities are twice as likely as their non-disabled counterparts to being taking at least one prescription drug deemed inappropriate for people 65 or older, according to new research" on 2004 data. The research found "that about a quarter of disabled seniors in the United States have taken one of 33 medications regarded as ineffective or posing a high risk of side effects to the elderly. These drugs include Xanax, Demerol, Darvon and Procardia." Only "13 percent of seniors without disabilities used these medications, according to the analysis, published in the latest News and Numbers from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality."

US News And World Report: Even Wealthy Boomers Aren't Immune From Retirement Fears

Emily Brandon writes, "Is a million dollars enough to retire comfortably on? Many baby boomer millionaires don't think so, especially once recession fears come into play. Almost 30 percent of 60-year-old baby boomers with investable assets of $1 million or more say they feel more financial stress now than six months ago, according to a new survey from Bell Investment Advisors and Opinion Research Corp." And millionaires "aren't immune to making irrational investment choices as the media endlessly report a looming recession. Some 23 percent of affluent boomers say they are planning to change their investment strategy in response to a potential recession."