In the News

Elderly Care Benefits Insufficient for Employed Caregivers

Many caregivers already know that caring for an older adult while working full time is taxing and difficult. Recently, the New York Times reported that the increasing number of baby boomers' "obligation to frail, elderly parents results in absenteeism, workday distractions or stress-related problems." Companies are responding, but often the benefits they offer use childcare benefits as a model and thus do not suit the needs of the elderly.

Workday interruptions, absenteeism, and replacement of workers costs U.S. companies billions each year. Companies can mitigate these costs by providing elder care benefits, according to the Times. However, the Society for Human Resource Management reports that only 1 percent of its members offered elder care benefits in 2005, with 39 percent of members in 2003 calling elder care benefits "too costly to be feasible." Of those businesses that do offer help, most provide benefits that cost little or nothing, such as unpaid leave or referral services. Read More

Inheritances Shrinking for Baby Boomers

According to a study by AARP, only 19 percent of baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) had received an inheritance as of 2004. While an estimated $40 trillion will be transferred between generations over the next 60 years—with boomers receiving $7 to $10 trillion—the primary beneficiaries will be families who are already well-off.

Several factors point to an explanation, according to economist Mark Zandi. The first two are related—longevity and health care costs. People are living longer now, and thus needing more of their savings before they die. As they live longer, they require more health care, using even more of their savings. Another factor is that larger families were the norm when most boomers were born, so many have several siblings with whom to share inheritances.

For those with questions about inheritances, Donna Bashaw, president of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, emphasizes communication with one's parents. It is very important to make sure elderly relatives have advance directives for power of attorney and healthcare, and talking about these documents offers a way to broach the more sensitive topics of wills and inheritances. Read More

Price Increases Coincide with Drug Benefit Launch

According to a study by AARP that looked at the wholesale prices of 197 brand-name and 75 generic medications over 12 months (April 2005 to March 2006), brand-name drugs increased an average of 6.2 percent, compared to a general inflation rate of just 3.5 percent. Most of the increase came in the last three months of the study—AARP found that wholesale prices rose 3.9 percent from January 1 to March 31. On the bright side, the study found no increase in generic drug prices.

Recent data released by other organizations notes the same trend in drug prices, at both the wholesale and consumer levels. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Studies, for example, released data last month showing that the average wholesale price for prescription drugs has increased 4.1 percent since December 2005.

And Families USA has released the results of a study that focused specifically on 20 medications commonly prescribed to seniors. Prices were examined from mid-November 2005 to April 17, 2006, and the data showed that median drug prices increased 3.7 percent during that period, while the average wholesale price increased 3.8 percent. Families USA executive director Ron Pollack had this to say: "Part D plans are doing essentially nothing to contain the fast-rising prices by the drug industry. Either the plans have been highly ineffective in moderating price increases or the [pharmacy benefit managers] are negotiating discounts with the drug companies and not passing them on to America's seniors. There should be some accountability in terms of what discounts these plans are getting and what they're holding onto." Read More

New Test Could Provide Clues to Alzheimer's

Scientists have long wondered weather brain deposits of the protein amyloid beta (Abeta), known to be associated with Alzheimer's disease, are a result of overproduction of the protein in people with the disease or a reduced ability to clear it away. Dr. Randall J. Bateman, leading a resea rch team at Washington University in St. Louis, is about to find the answer using a new technique to measure the body's production and metabolism of Abeta. Alzheimer's patients will be given an IV that includes leucine, the amino acid that the brain uses to build Abeta. The leucine has been specially modified to be detectable to researchers, so by monitoring the brain and spinal fluid, they will be able to determine the Abeta production and elimination rates.

While not necessarily useful as a diagnostic tool, the new test will pave the way for much more efficient research of Alzheimer's drugs. Currently, researchers must follow the mental progress of patients for months or even years before they know weather a drug is effective. With Dr. Bateman's test, they will be able to immediately measure the effect of drugs on Abeta, which is an important marker for the disease. Read More

California's Paid Family Leave Law Highlighted in New Report

A new report from Family Caregiver Alliance's National Center on Caregiving, entitled Support for Working Family Caregivers: Paid Leave Policies in California and Beyond, summarizes the development, implementation, and initial effects of California's landmark Paid Family Leave Law, which went into effect July 1, 2004. Progress toward similar statutes in other states and at the federal level is also examined.

Prior to the law's enactment, many low-wage workers in California had limited access to benefits such as sick leave and vacation, but now most Californians are entitled to six weeks of partial pay when they take leave from work to care for a seriously ill parent, spouse, child, or domestic partner, or to bond with a new baby, foster, or adopted child. The program is funded entirely by workers through the State Disability Insurance (SDI) program.

According to the state Employment Development Department, 176,085 workers took paid leave in the first year of the program. Most took time to bond with a newborn baby, but 12 percent were taking care of a seriously ill family member. According to Kathleen Kelly, executive director of Family Caregiver Alliance, "As the wave of Baby Boomers rapidly moves into the position of either needing care or providing it to a frail or elderly parent, as hospital stays are shortened and families are called upon to provide intensive healthcare to loved ones, as women—the traditional caregivers—maintain positions in the workplace and two-income families find it difficult to meet everyday financial obligations, California's Paid Family Leave Law will become more and more important to the state's workers." Read More

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