An article published in the latest issue of Family Relations describes a new therapy program for women with young children and substance abuse problems. Th
To increase influenza vaccinations rates among the elderly - those ages 65 and over who are at high risk for influenza-related mortality - the federal government could consider borrowing a page from the pharmaceutical companies' prescription drug adver
New research from UT Southwestern Medical Center indicates that lowering "bad" blood cholesterol earlier in life, even by a modest amount, confers substantial protection from coronary heart disease. The new findings, appearing in the March 23 i
An article published in the latest issue of Family Relations describes a new therapy program for women with young children and substance abuse problems. Th
Countries that have national health services easily accessible to people of all ages are more likely to have better survival rates for their teenagers and young adults (TYAs) with cancer, than are countries where individuals have to pay for their own m
A new £2m NHS training hub at Imperial College London will help health workers become skilled in using the latest medical technology. The new centre, named THOTH (The Training Hub for
A critical shortage of doctors and nurses is causing unnecessary disease and death across much of the developing world as rich nations poach health-care workers.Poorer nations such as Africa and Asia urgently need more than 4 million health pro
British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday met with the chief executives of sixteen Primary Care Trusts to discuss the financial crisis dogging the National Health Service (NHS).The health service bosses discussed their experience of financial
A British hospital has been fined £100,000 for failing to supervise doctors after a man died following routine knee surgery.The hospital trust was also ordered to pay £10,000 in costs.Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trus
The crisis in the National Health Service in the UK deepened this week as four children's hospitals warned health ministers they will be forced to cut specialist services.The cuts are because of miscalculations in the new payments-by-results sy
Date: Tuesday, 23-Jan-2007
An increased number of seniors have "turned to credit cards and home equity to pay medical bills" at a time when "more employers are cutting back on retiree medical and pension benefits," USA Today reports.According to USA Today, "many seniors live on fixed incomes," and an "illness or disability can plunge them into crushing debt."
Among households ages 65 and older, the average amount of credit card debt more than doubled between 1992 and 2004 to $4,907, according to New York-based think tank Demos.
In addition, bankruptcy filings in recent years have increased among seniors at a higher rate than among any other age group, although seniors accounted for only 5% of filings as of 2001, according to research conducted by Deborah Thorne, an assistant professor at Ohio University; Elizabeth Warren, a professor at Harvard Law School; and Teresa Sullivan, a former professor at the University of Texas-Austin.
Sally Hurme of AARP said many seniors have "debt loads that their parents would not have considered," adding, "This does not bode well for financial health."
In addition, experts predict that the "debt problems are likely to swell" as the 79 million baby boomers begin to retire, USA Today reports.
Mary Alice Jackson, a Florida law attorney for the elderly, said, "We're at the tip of the iceberg.
This generation will have no problem at all racking up debt and worrying about it later" (Chu, USA Today, 1/23).
This article is republished with kind permission from our friends at the The Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery of in-depth coverage of health policy developments, debates and discussions. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for Kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Copyright 2007 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.