| Hospitals now double up as second home for elderly
PUNE: A stay in hospital is undertaken by necessity, not choice. But with increasing longevity, stays in hospitals are becoming voluntary, given the lack of constant medical care at old-age homes while centres for continuing care (CCC) are a concept still to take off. Ruby Hall Clinic in Pune is the preferred home for at least six people whose sole illness is old age. So, from the 91-year old Ross Cooper, who has been there for close to 7 years and thus qualifies as the oldest resident, to more recent admissions like the Daswani couple, they are living in private rooms at this hospital. Confirming their presence, Bomi Bhote, CEO, Ruby Hall Clinic, said most of them had no sickness, but their children are worried about them. Old age, it seems, is the illness which is forcing them out of their homes and permanently into hospitals.
Insurers Scale Back Marketing Efforts After Complaints
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Several leading health insurance providers, including Humana, WellCare Health Plans, Coventry Health Care and UnitedHealth Group have agreed to stop marketing several Medicare plans to senior citizens until Medicare officials are satisfied that they are not misleading senior citizens or using overly aggressive sales tactics. The "fee-for-service" plans, also known as Medicare Advantage plans are popular among seniors as they also cover vision and dental care. However they often carry hidden costs and restrictions, including limited access to doctors, who have the right to refuse to see patients. An estimated 1 million Americans subscribe to Medicare Advantage plans. The uproar comes after many who signed up for the plans believed that they were enrolling in the government plan, only to find out that they had signed up for a for-profit service.
How we treat the elderly is a scandal
They were chatting over photographs of the new baby in the family, when a clip-board-wielding apparatchik entered the room. Without addressing my mother, or asking my sister if she could have a word in private, she started firing questions. "Do you want 'Do not resuscitate' on your mother's notes?" she asked. "And would you like her cremated?" Our mother listened in dismay. At 91, she is somewhat confused, but still compos enough to take on board the implications of "cremation" and for it to make her feel miserable and unwanted. The callousness of this "professional" approach was breath-taking, but sadly not untypical, of the way the elderly are treated in this country. We are distanced from the old: most old people live far from their children, who have moved in pursuit of careers.
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