Who Will Still Feed Me When I’m 84?

Plus: New Medicare law, intergenerational senior housing, and standup comedy

No. 13/August 10, 2022

NewScan is a biweekly briefing on news relevant to readers of The EndGame. NewScan is a premium feature exclusively for paid subscribers. This week’s edition is available to all free and paid subscribers. To receive future issues of NewScan, sign up for a paid subscription.

But Where Are the Helpers?

Since January 2020, 400,000 employees of nursing homes and assisted living facilities have quit their jobs. Of all the industries facing worker shortages, none is more affected than home health care. And that’s bad news for you and me. Already, 75% of nursing homes have inadequate staffing. Meanwhile, the demand for home health and personal care aides is projected to grow by 33 percent in the next decade thanks to the swelling numbers of Baby Boomers getting older.

Aside from the low pay and poor working conditions, a prime cause for the shortage is immigration policy. Immigrants have been a major source of elder care workers, as few Americans are willing to accept the pay and conditions. But net migration to the U.S., which was 1 million in 2016, fell to 250,000 last year. Also, current policy favors individuals with high-level skills, not those who fill the health care ranks. Writer Alexandra Moe argues that changes in immigration policy are vital to addressing the long-term problem.

New Legislation Will Save Money on Medicare, Eventually

The climate and healthcare bill that squeaked through the Senate Sunday and is expected to pass the House this week makes significant improvements to Medicare. The big changes, which will phase in on different timetables, will allow Medicare to negotiate prices of some high-cost drugs with pharmaceutical companies for the first time, cap insulin cost at $35 per month, and cap total out-of-pocket costs. Medicare expert Mark Miller explains the provisions and the implementation schedule.

80 is a Great Age to Launch Your Standup Comedy Career

For a good time, check out Still Standing, a short documentary about two 80-something elders who take up standup comedy late in life. At turns funny, sad, and thought-provoking, the documentary features octogenarians Natalie K. Levant and George Saltz performing and talking about loneliness, family dysfunction, health concerns, and what their newfound careers mean to them.

Senior Living Developers Try Going Intergenerational

Several senior housing developers are experimenting with projects that place older residents in close proximity to younger generations. A research director in the senior living field highlights four recent efforts: apartments for seniors in collaboration with a university and a residence for nuns, a community for both independent seniors and university students, an age-integrated urban development, and a senior building with a college student artist-in-residence.  Another trend: childcare or daycare centers within retirement communities.

Is This an Improvement Over Stereotypes?

In place of advertising tropes that lump together all consumers between ages 55 and 105, a company called Age of Majority has sliced and diced the elder demographic into 11 distinct personas, the better for advertisers to focus on the most promising target segments.  So who do you suppose you are: Fitness Focused? Adapter? Age Challenger? Life Explorer? Contented Coaster? Lifelong Learner?