Author: David Slonim

WASHINGTON — New research linking veterans’ high blood pressure with wartime exposure to chemical defoliants could dramatically expand federal disability benefits for tens of thousands of Vietnam-era troops. The findings, from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, conclude that “sufficient evidence” exists linking hypertension and related illnesses in veterans to Agent Orange and…

HOUSTON — When Olivia Shanks landed in the hospital, it changed her life. She didn’t arrive as a patient, though — she came to work. The 21-year-old, who has high-functioning autism, has struggled to get places on time. Some basic workplace tasks stressed her out. Dependence on others dinged her self-confidence. Her work in Memorial…

WASHINGTON — Medicare is experimenting with a new direction in health care. Starting next year, seniors in many states will be able to get additional services such as help with chores and respite for caregivers through private Medicare Advantage insurance plans. There’s a growing recognition that such practical help can have a meaningful impact on…

The sullen teenager grinding through a restaurant shift after school was once a pop culture cliche—as American as curly fries. Nowadays, Brad Hamilton, the teen played by Judge Reinhold in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” would probably be too young to work at the fictional Captain Hook Fish and Chips. That’s because senior citizens are…

My grandmother, Bella, a former nurse in the Ukraine, moved to the United States to help raise me when I was 7 months old. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease last year. There was nothing to do to prevent her inexorable loss of memory and independence, her Massachusetts General Hospital memory specialist told our family,…

October 29, 2018 by Lisa Weintraub Schifferle Attorney, FTC, Division of Consumer & Business Education If you get a call that looks like it’s from the Social Security Administration (SSA), think twice. Scammers are spoofing SSA’s 1-800 customer service number to try to get your personal information. Spoofing means that scammers can call from anywhere,…

If you’re looking for cheaper health insurance, a whole host of new options will hit the market starting Tuesday. But buyer beware! If you get sick, the new plans – known as short-term, limited duration insurance — may not pay for the medical care you need. “These are a niche product, always have been,” says…

One of the nation’s largest dialysis providers will pay $270 million to settle a whistleblower’s allegation that it helped Medicare Advantage insurance plans cheat the government for several years. The settlement by HealthCare Partners Holdings LLC, part of giant dialysis company DaVita Inc., is believed to be the largest to date involving allegations that some…

By Brenda Richardson August 30 Rebecka Snell, 65, says she knew that if she and her husband Vic Labson were to continue living in their 1960s ranch home in Lakewood, Colo., improvements would have to be made to create a safer and more enjoyable space. Moving the washer and dryer from the walk-out basement to…

It’s not uncommon for those nearing retirement to become nervous about their nest egg, concerned it won’t be sufficient. This has led some savers to pursue self-directed IRAs, an individual retirement account that you control with investments of your own choosing. These IRAs are often invested in real estate, private mortgages, precious metals and private…