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In this section we bring you comments, news, opinions and science collected from the Web and other sources. We'll do our best to give you truth-tested information, along with the occasional anecdote or interesting story. We'll tell you about advances in health, medicine, nutrition, fitness and the insurance industry — and how they can affect your life.
We'll archive the articles, so you can review information in the future, or look up articles you may have missed.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), released the Calendar Year 2024 Medicare Advantage and Part D Prescription Drug plans rate announcements that finalized payment policies for these programs. CMS will phase in certain updates, and anticipates that on average, there will be a payment increase for Medicare Advantage plans of 3.32% from 2023 to 2024, which is an incrrease of approximately $13.8 billion for the next year.
According to CMS Administrator Chiquuita Brooks-LaSure “Medicare should be providing equitable, high-quality affordable care that will be available for our children and grandchildren.” She further explained, “Paying Medicare Advantae plans more accurately for the care they provide is how we ensure that people enrolled in Medicare Advantage, especially populations with the highest health disparities and people in underserved communities, can continue to access the care they deserve.”
The announced policies ensure the these programs will continue to meet the health care needs of all people with Medicare, while improving the quality and long-term stability of the Medicare program, according to CMS Deputy Administrator Meena Seshamani.
If you would like to know more about your Medicare Advantage Plan choices with $0 premiums, Medicare Part B premium give backs, and enhanced benefits, give us a ring at 941-704-6343
You have been told that those of us over 65 belong to a vulnerable population, especially those with certain conditions such as autoimmune diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, high body mass index, and heart conditions. In addition, our immune system weakens with age.
Unfortunately, it’s true. Fortunately you can help strengthen your immune system; here are a few simple ways to do it…
Yes, this means the dreaded E word! Bodies are meant to move. Regular physical activity can strengthen your immune system, improve your mood and increase your blood circulation. It also has an anti-inflammatory effect on the body. The bonus is that it can also help delay cognitive decline.
The recommended amount of activity is 30 minutes of physical activity for three days a week. This can include walking, biking, yoga, swimming, dancing to your favorite tune or other low impact workouts. If you can’t do 30 minutes, start with 3 to 5 minutes and progress as you are able. The secret is to make it fun and that may even mean getting an exercise partner to keep you engaged and accountable.
The bottom line is that regular exercise can help your body fight off infections and viruses, and improve your health and quality of life.
Poor sleep habits not only negatively affect our immune system, they can cause problems with weight and blood pressure. Adequate quality sleep can help with brain function, especially memory and concentration.
If you are having problems getting enough sleep be sure to discuss it with your doctor. There may be an underlying cause that can be successfully treated.
In these times? Yes, more than ever in these difficult times! When we are exposed to constant stress, it can affect our immune system, decreasing its effectiveness and increasing our susceptibity to health issues.
You can start by taking a break from television news. Todays news shows put the emphasis on stories and statistics that produce fear and anxiety. Instead watch shows that engage your mind positively. I like comedy reruns. After all, laughter is the best medicine.
Take a break and go outdoors. According to the American Heart Association, spending time in nature can help relieve stress and anxiety, improve your mood and boost feelings of happiness and wellbeing.
Check out the American Heart Association website for more ideas on how you can relieve stress: (https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management).
Easier said than done, right? Most of us are looking for that magic pill or supplement to solve our weight and nutrition problems, but I can assure you it doesn’t exist. You can, however build healthy habits, one step at a time and gain momentum with small successes.
Drinking more water, lowering your sugar intake, lowering your intake of high carbohydrate foods, eating fresh vegetables and avoiding processed and fast foods as much as possible are just a few choices you can make. Take it one step at a time and make it count. Once your health and well being start to improve you will want to do more to see how much better you can feel!
Keep your alchohol intake under control: it is important to avoid excessive drinking. “Not only does drinking too much limit immunity-boosting nutrients in your body, but it also lowers your white blood cell’s ability to kill germs.” (https://health.clevelandclinic.org/5-tips-make-immune-system-stronger-age/)
Vitamin A (beta carotene) assists with the health of your intestines and respiratory system. Foods include carrots, sweet potato, spinach, broccoli, red bell peppers.
Vitamin C helps stimulate the foration of antibodies. Citrus fruits, strawberries, red bell pepper and kiwi are rich in vitamin C.
Vitamin D is a nutrient that promotes health and strong bones by helping the body absorb calcium from foods and supplements. It is found in fatty fish, such as salmon, trout, tuna and mackerel, mushrooms, spinach and eggs. And don't forget that big vitamin D machine that rises at dawn and sets after dusk. However, our bodies process sun-generated vitamin D less well as we age, so supplementation may be necessary.
Vitamin E promotes the neutralization of free radicals by working as an antioxidant. Foods include vegetable oils, nuts, seeds and avacado.
Zinc helps protect us against immune dysfunction. Zinc-rich foods include beans, seeds, nuts, meat, poultry and seafood.
Protein contains amino acids that are essential for T-cell function. T-cells protect the body against pathogens. Meat, poultry, seafood, eggs beans, nuts and seeds are protien-rich.
If you are 65 or older, you have a higher risk of having serious health complications from the flu. A flu shot will help lower your risk of hospital visits and death (medicare.gov/coverage/flu-shots). Flu shots are available at no cost under Medicare and many other insurance plans. To protect yourself (and others) this flu season, make sure you:
Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) covers the seasonal flue shot once per flu season and additional flu shots that are medically necessary.
For the 2024-2025 flu season, there are three preferred vaccines for people over 65, which may be of greater benefit than the standard dose. There is no preferential recommendation for people younger than 65 years.
There is no preferential recommendation for people younger than 65 years. For more information from the CDC about the flu vaccination see the next section.
Should I get one? According to the CDC: “Getting a flu vaccine is more important than ever during 2020-2021 to protect yourself and the people around you from flu, and to help reduce the strain on healthcare systems responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Flu season starts in the fall and winter with activity beginning to increase in October and usually peaking between December and February. However, influenza viruses circulate year-round and heightened activity can last as late as May.
This is a question that your doctor should answer for you. CDC recommends use of any licensed, age-appropriate influenza vaccine during the 2020-2021 influenza season. Here are a few of the vaccines available this year.…
Available influenza vaccines include
For more information on the types of influenza vaccines available including their safety and efficacy visit the CDC website: (https://www.cdc.gov/flu/season/faq-flu-season-2020-2021.htm#Flu-Vaccine).
Everyone 6 months and older in the United States, with rare exception, should get an influenza (flu) vaccine every season. CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has made this “universal” recommendation since the 2010-2011 influenza season.
Vaccination to prevent influenza and its potentially serious conplications is particularly important for people who are at higher risk of developing serious influenza complications. A full list of age and health factors that are associated with increased risk is available at People at Higher Risk of Developing Flu-Related Complications.
More information is available at Who Needs a Flu Vaccine.
Different influenza vaccines are approved for use in people in different age groups. In addition, some vaccines are not recommended for ceertain groups of people. Factors that can determine a person’s suitability for vaccination, or vaccination with a particular vaccine, including a person’s age, health (current and past) and any allergies to influenza vaccine or its components. More information is available at Who Should and Who Should NOT Get a Flu Vaccine.
For most people who need only one doze of influenza vaccine for the season, September and October are generally good times to be vaccinated against influenza. Ideally, everyone should be vaccinated by the end of October. Additional considerations concerning the timing of vaccination for certain groups of people include:
Flu vaccines are offered in many doctor’s offices and clinics. Even if you don’t have a regular doctor or nurse, you can get a flu vaccine somewhere else like a health department, pharmecy, urgent care clinic, college health center, and even in some schools and workplaces.
Influenza (flu) vaccine effectiveness (VE) can vary. The protection provided by a flue vaccine varies from season to season and depends in part on the age and health status of the person getting the vaccine and the similarity of “match” between the virusees in the vaccine and those in circulation. During years when the flu vaccine match is good, it is possible to measure substandard benefits from flu vaccination in terms of preventing flu illness and complications. However, the benefits of flu vaccination will still vary, depending on charactistics of the person being vaccinated (for example, their health and age), what flu viruses are circulating that season and, potentially, which type of flu vaccine was used. More information is available at Vaccine Effectiveness: How Well Do Flu Vaccines Work?
No. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection against influenza virus infection. That’s why it’s best to get vaccinated before influenza viruses start to spread in your community.
A flu vaccine is needed every year for two reasons. First, a person’s immune protection from vaccination declines over time, so an annual flu vaccine is needed for optimal protection. Second, because flue viruses are constantly changing, the composition of flu vaccines is reviewed annually, and vaccines are updated to protect against the viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming flu season. For the best protection, everyone 6 months and older should get vaccinated annually.
Some people wh get vaccinated may still get sick with flu. However, flu vaccination has been shown in studies to reduce severity of illness in people who get vaccinated but still get sick. A 2021 study showed that among adults, flu vaccination was associated with a 26% lower risk of ICU (Intensive Care Unit) admission and a 31% lower risk of death from flu compared with those who were unvaccinated. A 2017 study showed that flu vaccination reduced deaths, ICU admissions, ICU length of stay, and overall durationof hospitalization among hospitalized adults with flu.
There are many reasons to get an influenza vaccine each year. Below is a summary of the benefits of flu vaccination and selected scientific studies that support these benefits.
Flu vaccination can keep you from getting sick with flu.
Flu vaccination has been shown in several studies to reduce severity of illness in people who get vaccinated but still get sick.
Flu vaccination can reduce the risk of flu-associated hospitalization.
Flu vaccination is an important preventitive tool for people with certain chronic health conditions.
Flu vaccination during pregnancy helps protect pregnant people from flu during and after pregnancy and helps protect their infants from flu in their first few months of life.
Flu vaccine can be lifesaving in children.
Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, including those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness, like babies and young children, older people, and people with certain chronic health conditions.
Despite the many benefits offered by flu vaccination, only about half of Americans get an annual flu vaccine. During an average flu season, flu can cause millions of illnesses, hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations and tens of thousands of deaths. Many more people could be protected from flu if more people got vaccinated.
A is said to occur when the flu vaccine used to produce flu vaccine and the viruses circulating among people during a given flu season are “like” one another such that the antibodies induced by vaccination protect against infection caused by circulating viruses.
Flu viruses are constantly changing (called “antigenic drift”) – they can change from one season to the next or they can even change within the course of one flu season. Experts must pick which viruses to include in the vaccine many months in advance in order for vaccine to be produced and delivered on time. Because of these factors, there is always the possibility of a less than optimal match between circulating viruses and the viruses used to produce vaccine.
The production process for some seasonal vaccines also may impact how well vaccine works against certain viruses, especially influenza A(H3N2) viruses. Growth in eggs is part of the production process for many seasonal flu vaccines. While all influenza viruses undergo changes when they are grown in eggs, changes in influenza A(H3N2) viruses are more likely to result in antigenic changes compared with changes in other influenza viruses. These so-called “egg-adapted changes” are present in most of the vaccine viruses recommended for use in egg-based vaccine production and may reduce their effectiveness against circulating influenza viruses. Advances in vaccine production technologies (for example, cell-based and recombinant technology) and advanced molecular techniques are being explored as ways to improve flu vaccine effectiveness.
During seasons when one or more of the circulating viruses are different or “drifted” from the vaccine viruses, vaccine effectiveness can be reduced. It’s important to remember that flu vaccine protects against three different flu viruses and multiple different viruses usually circulate during any one season. Even if the effectiveness of the vaccine is reduced against one virus, vaccination can still be effective at preventing flu illness caused by the other circulating viruses. For these reasons, CDC continues to recommend flu vaccination for everyone 6 months and older even if vaccine effectiveness against one or more viruses is reduced.
It’s not possible to predict with certainty if a flu vaccine will be like circulating flu viruses because flu viruses are constantly changing. A flu vaccine is made to protect against the flu viruses that research and surveillance indicate will likely be most common during the upcoming season. Over the course of the flu season, CDC studies samples of circulating flu viruses to evaluate how close a match there is between viruses used to make the flu vaccine and circulating flu viruses. More information about the 2023-2024 flu season and recommended vaccines is available.
No, a flu vaccine cannot cause flu illness. Flu vaccines that are given with a needle (flu shots) are currently made in two ways: the vaccine is made either with a) flu vaccine viruses that have been killed (inactivated) and are therefore not infectious, or b) with proteins from a flu virus (which is the case for recombinant influenza vaccine). Nasal spray vaccine is made with weakened (attenuated) live flu viruses and also cannot cause flu illness. The weakened viruses are cold-adapted, which means they are designed to only reproduce at the cooler temperatures found within the nose. The viruses cannot reproduce in the lungs or other areas where warmer temperatures exist
While a flu vaccine cannot give you flu illness, there are different side effects that may be associated with getting a flu shot or a nasal spray flu vaccine. These side effects are usually mild and short-lasting, especially when compared to symptoms of flu.
A flu shot: The viruses in a flu shot are killed (inactivated), so you cannot get flu from a flu shot. Some minor side effects that may occur are:
The nasal spray: The viruses in the nasal spray vaccine are weakened and do not cause influenza illness. In children, side effects from the nasal spray may include:
In adults, side effects from the nasal spray vaccine may include:
If these problems occur, they begin soon after vaccination and usually are mild and short-lived. A flu shot, like other injections, can occasionally cause fainting. Tell your provider if you feel dizzy or have vision changes or ringing in the ears. As with any medicine, there is a very remote chance of a vaccine causing a severe allergic reaction, other serious injury, or death. People who think that they have been injured by a flu vaccine can file a report with the Vaccine Adverse Reporting System (VAERS).
Flu vaccine is produced by private manufacturers, so supply depends on manufacturers. Vaccine manufacturers have projected that they will supply the United States with as many as 156.2 million to 170 million doses of influenza vaccines for the 2023-2024 season. These projections may change as the season progresses. All flu vaccines for the 2024-2025 season will be trivalent (three component). Most will be thimerosal-free or thimerosal-reduced vaccine (91%), and about 21% of flu vaccines will be egg-free.
Information about vaccine supply is available on Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Supply and Distribution
People with egg allergy may get any vaccine (egg-based or non-egg-based) that is otherwise appropriate for their age and health status. Previously, it was recommended that people with severe allergy to egg (those who have had any symptom other than hives with egg exposure) be vaccinated in an inpatient or outpatient medical setting. Beginning with the 2023-2024 season, additional safety measures are no longer recommended for flu vaccination of people with an egg allergy beyond those recommended for receipt of any vaccine, regardless of the severity of previous reaction to egg. All vaccines should be given in settings where allergic reactions can be recognized and treated quickly.
I started News and Views to share news and ideas that can help improve quality of life especially during this pandemic. I am not an expert, but the information above is taken directly from the experts which today include the CDC, Cleveland Clinic and CMS.
I would love to hear your questions, comments and ideas. What do you do to stay healthy and age strong?
One thing I would like to share is that many Medicare Health Plans can support your efforts to remain healthy and independent and live your best life. Some even provide free over the counter health products, rewards for healthy activities and more. We can help you compare your current plan with others available on the market safely, securely and without pressure.
Stay healthy and safe.
Sincerely,
Rosemary
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