Austin Lang


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Health and Insurance

Nursing Home Reviews •

CMS Makes COVID-19 Nursing Homes Vaccination Data Available Online

In a recent update to their Care Compare tool, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have released up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination data for nursing home residents and staff, allowing you to make more informed decisions about long-term care. This update is the latest in a series of CMS guidelines for nursing homes during COVID-19, aimed at protecting seniors from the ongoing pandemic.

Under the CMS Omnibus Health Care Staff Vaccination rule, staff at Medicare-certified nursing homes mus
Nursing Home Reviews •

The Senior's Guide: Choosing the Best Electric Wheelchair or Power Scooter

Losing mobility is, unfortunately, a common part of growing older. While diet and exercise can help, investing in a good electric wheelchair or power scooter can help you maintain your independence for longer. Still, there are so many options available ; how can you find the right ones for you?

What goes into comparing electric wheelchairs or power scooters? Electric scooters and wheelchairs are beneficial but very expensive. Medicare can help cover the cost, but there are some requirements you
Nursing Home Reviews •

Caregiver Advice: Avoiding Caregiver Burnout

Being a caregiver is one of the most challenging tasks a person can face, especially if you’re unexpectedly thrust into the role. Seeing a loved one becoming so dependent on others for basic needs, especially if their health is in decline, can stir up many emotions. You may feel obligated to provide for them as much as possible, pouring every fiber of your being into their care. You may find yourself growing distant, seeing them as more of an obligation. You might even start to resent them, only
Nursing Home Reviews •

How to Work Together with Your Loved One's Live-In Caregiver

Taking care of a loved one is hard, and doing it without help can severely impact the health and happiness of everyone involved. Hiring a professional can actually be quite helpful, especially a live-in caregiver. If your loved one lives on their own, hiring a caregiver can give you peace of mind while preserving the comfort and familiarity of home. Still, bringing a caregiver into your loved one’s life requires an adjustment period. Remember that this person is a stranger, lacking the familiari
Nursing Home Reviews •

What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Seniors?

You’re not alone. Anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental health disorders, and are particularly prevalent among seniors in nursing homes and assisted living. The mental strain associated with major life changes can place a heavy burden on seniors and their families. One way to treat depression and anxiety is through cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a type of psychological therapy that can help you reframe your cognitions of the world, and which is used to treat everything fr
Nursing Home Reviews •

Caregiver Advice: 8 Great Tips for Family Caregivers

Here at Nursing Home Reviews, we know that assisted living isn’t for everyone. In fact, many seniors choose to live with their children or other caregivers, forgoing nursing homes entirely. This can be a great arrangement: seniors can live at home, spend more time with their families, and don’t have to worry about the uncertainties that come with moving into a nursing home. However, this arrangement can have an unseen cost. When you bring an older relative into your home, you’re taking on an imp
Nursing Home Reviews •

What is a Nursing Home Violation and Why Should You Care?

If you’ve been reading our content for a while, you’ve seen us mention nursing home violations at the bottom of every article, but may not be entirely sure what they are. Certainly, the name evokes images of older people suffering from elder abuse, nursing home abuse, and other nightmarish living conditions which plague adult care facility and are most definitely a violation of federal law. Unfortunately, this isn’t far from the truth in many circumstances. However, many violations can be much m
Nursing Home Reviews •

What to Look for When Researching Memory Care Facilities

Memory care is a type of specialized nursing care designed for people (usually older adults) with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and similar conditions. There is, unfortunately, no cure for memory loss due to cognitive decline. However, skilled care can help keep your loved ones comfortable, mentally engaged, and most importantly, safe. A unique challenge of memory care is the patient’s declining cognitive ability. While this manifests in a variety of forms, including behavioral problems and memory impa
Nursing Home Reviews •

Caregiver Advice: When is the Right Time to Seek Power of Attorney For an Elderly Loved One?

Becoming incapacitated is never easy to think about. It’s easy to put off thinking of power of attorney, especially if your loved one is currently healthy and of sound mind. However, this isn’t something you should put off forever. The sooner you have the conversation, the fewer problems you’ll have when the inevitable happens. Still, power of attorney is a sticky subject, so let’s break it down. How to talk about power of attorney. Why do you need power of attorney? What sort of power of attorn
MedicareInsurance.com •

The Medicare Diet: Best Foods for Skin Health in Seniors

Your skin is your largest organ, not to mention your most visible. Seniors across the country are on the hunt for the best foods for skin health, looking to slow the signs of aging and maintain that youthful glow. However, there is so much more to skin health than moisturizer and sunscreen: ‘skin deep’ might just be a lot deeper than you thought.

Your skin does a lot more for you than just look good. Your outermost layer of skin, the epidermis, is your first line of defense against pathogens, s
MedicareInsurance.com •

Five Medicare Enrollment Tips for Veterans

If you’ve served in the U.S. Armed Forces, you are entitled to health coverage through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA). As such, you may assume you don’t need to enroll in Medicare. This is technically true: VA benefits count as qualifying health insurance and are an acceptable substitute for Medicare. However, Medicare for veterans is far from a redundant concept. Having access to VA benefits and Medicare can be a powerful tool in your healthcare arsenal. Here are some Medicare enrollm
MedicareInsurance.com •

Understanding Medicare Supplement Enrollment

So you’ve just turned 65, which means you’ve got a choice: do you pick a Medicare Advantage plan, or stick with Original Medicare? If you pick the latter, you might want to pick up Medicare Supplement Insurance, or Medigap, to help manage cost sharing and deductibles, which means you’ll need to sign up during your Medicare Supplement Enrollment period.

So when is that, exactly? Well, Medigap enrollment doesn’t work the same way as Medicare enrollment, and if you’re not aware of the key differen
MedicareInsurance.com •

The Medicare Diet: Best Diet for Arthritis in Seniors

Stiff Joints Got You Down?

According to the Arthritis Foundation, arthritis is the #1 cause of disability in the US, affecting over 60 million adults in the US alone. Chances are, you or a loved one deal with some form of this condition, which makes finding the best diet for arthritis that much more important.

Arthritis (from ‘arthr-” meaning joint, and ‘-itis’, meaning inflammation) is an umbrella term for conditions characterized by the inflammation of the joints. The most common symptoms of
MedicareInsurance.com •

The Medicare Diet: Best Foods for Brain Health in Seniors

Everyone has ideas about what the best foods for brain health are. Even a cursory glance at your local drugstore will reveal rows of supplements designed to improve memory and bolster brain health. Still, the science connecting nutrition and cognition can be a bit fuzzy at times.

The brain is, after all, a series of incredibly complex chemical reactions, and the influence that food can have on brain health for seniors is a bit difficult to trace at times. Still, with concerns about mental healt
MedicareInsurance.com •

The Medicare Diet: Best Diet for COPD in Seniors

Catch Your Breath With the Right COPD Diet

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) affects over 16 million Americans, many of them seniors. As the name implies, COPD is characterized by an obstruction of the lungs, making it difficult to breathe. What you might not realize, however, is the connection between COPD and diet which can play a major role in symptom management.

You see, while there is no way to reverse the damage caused by COPD, a proper diet plan can help make symptoms that m
MedicareInsurance.com •

The Medicare Diet: Best Foods to Eat for Gum Disease in Seniors

Best Foods to Eat for Gum Disease: Tooth and Fiction

You may already think you know the best foods for gum disease: cut back on sugar and soda, drink plenty of water, and maybe chew some sugar-free chewing gum. You might even be a master of oral hygiene: brushing after every meal, flossing, and rinsing with mouthwash. Yet despite everything, those gums still bleed. Why?

Let us tell you a secret: oral health is about more than just brushing and flossing. Yes, those things are very important, as
MedicareInsurance.com •

The Medicare Diet: Best Diet for Osteoporosis in Seniors

Do you trust your bones?

It’s a weird sentence, yes, but your bones are the literal foundation of your health: fragile bones can lead to fractures, hospital stays, and all sorts of complications. That’s why osteoporosis, a condition common in a number of older adults, especially postmenopausal women and older men, is so dangerous.

Fortunately, following medical advice and eating a healthy diet can help prevent bone fractures, but the most helpful diet for osteoporosis is a bit more complicated
MedicareInsurance.com •

The Medicare Diet: Best Diet for Hydration in Seniors

Hydration is a lot more involved than just drinking more water. Yes, eight glasses of water a day is a good goal to strive for (a “glass of water” is usually defined as at least eight fluid ounces), but hydration is a lot more than what you drink; what you eat can play a huge role as well! In this edition of the Medicare Diet, we’ll cover tips on staying hydrated as a senior, and surprising health benefits you can see from quenching your thirst.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Chronic dehydratio
MedicareInsurance.com •

Best Diet for Colon Cancer in Seniors: Medicare Coverage

That’s why finding a diet plan for colon cancer and/or colorectal cancer is important for your long-term prognosis. Now, you can argue that your diet plays a major role in managing any condition (it’s sort of the thesis of this entire column), but it’s especially important for colon and rectal cancer. What you put into your digestive system determines its long-term health, and a diet full of heavy dairy products, fats and fatty acids, sugars, and other risky foods can cause a real pain in the be
MedicareInsurance.com •

Navigating Medicare Enrollment Period Made Easy

Maybe you were busy, or it just slipped your mind, but now that the enrollment periods are over, when can you sign up for Medicare? Medicare enrollment periods can be overwhelming at first, but depending on your circumstances, you might still be eligible to enroll in Medicare without realizing it!

There are two major Medicare enrollment periods that take place each year: Annual Enrollment, from October 15 – December 7, and Open/General Enrollment from January 1 – March 31. However, for most peo
MedicareInsurance.com •

Medicare Open Enrollment 2023 Nears Its End - Are You Ready?

Have you looked at your Medicare coverage this year?

The Medicare Open Enrollment Period (OEP) for 2023 is rapidly coming to an end, which means this week is your last chance to change your Medicare coverage before Annual Enrollment begins in October (barring any special circumstances, of course).

Now, this isn’t a reason to panic or immediately rush to your phone to call an insurance agent. If you’re already enrolled in a Medicare plan you’re happy with, that’s great! However, this is an idea
MedicareInsurance.com •

Prevent Strokes with the Medicare Diet: Take Action Now

Need Some Food For Thought?

The best diet to prevent stroke is very similar to ones recommended by a dietitian to lower cholesterol or blood pressure (like the DASH diet), which shouldn’t come as a surprise. A stroke is, after all, a cardiovascular condition.

However, there are certain special considerations (even beyond the DASH diet), that you should make particularly if you’re recovering from a stroke or have had one in the past, that must be taken into account. In this edition of The Medic
MedicareInsurance.com •

Take Control: Best Diet for Kidney Disease and Medicare Coverage

Finding the Best Kidney Disease Diet Plan Means Filtering Out Problem Foods.

If you’ve recently been diagnosed with kidney disease, the sudden changes to your diet might be frustrating. Unsalted foods? Perish the thought! Still, it’s critical that you follow the kidney diet plan provided by your doctor. In this edition of The Medicare Diet, we’ll cover how the right diet works to help protect your kidney health, and show you ways that Medicare can help make sticking to your new kidney diet easi
MedicareInsurance.com •

Celiac Disease Diet for Seniors with Medicare Insurance

The gluten-free diet has been around since the 1940s. Still, it has become a popular alternative diet over the past two decades, with gluten-free products becoming commonplace on supermarket shelves and restaurant menus nationwide.

The widespread acceptance of the gluten-free diet plan has been a boon for people living with gluten intolerance, but it’s also led to some confusion. You may have seen a gluten-free label on products that, logically, shouldn’t contain gluten in the first place, like
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