Long Term Care Insurance: Who to Trust?
6/11/2008 ·
A contract is a contract, and a long term care insurance company has the right and responsibility to follow it's policy's wording to the letter. Buyers BEWARE! Companies can "interpret" vague wording in their favor. So, it's a very good idea to enlist the expertise of an insurance coverage contract lawyer in the very beginning, rather than waiting until being denied. Just know that lawyers are pricey, so be prepared to spend some extra cash for this last step.
Unless you are well versed in contract law and know the in's and out's of the insurance industry's language, do not supposed that you are smarter than your long term care insurance company's lawyers. Make sure you know what you are buying.
Checking policy wording with a contract lawyer who knows the long term care insurance lingo while also making sure you have a competent and compassionate long term care insurance broker in your corner is the best of both worlds.
Brokers can be very helpful, as long as they are consumer-focused, however they are not trained in law. Even Clay's long term care insurance mentor/trainer, who had years of experience, was caught unaware a few times. After believing a policy's wording meant that it promised coverage under certain circumstances, Charlie was devastated and infuriated to learn that a client's claim was questioned. Charlie wasn't a lawyer, and in good faith he believed what the insurance company had alluded to during his training. Maybe he was too trusting. His training was about sales, not about specific wording in a particular policy and the legal ramifications of such wording for his clients.
However, IF a long term care insurance company tries to deny your claim, your broker can go to bat for you arguing in your behalf. Charlie did this for his clients and he won. Often a broker can push a claim through, when a consumer cannot. They can't argue law, but some do have "pull". This is especially true if the broker is an long term care insurance company's top producer. The company doesn't want to upset the broker and risk losing future sales, even if they are vaguely within their rights to deny a claim. (I say vaguely, because some policies are vague in their wording. )
So, if you do need assistance getting your claim approved, you might want to see if your broker can help before spending money on a lawyer. Please note: There may be time limitations pertaining to filing an appeal or contesting an insurance company's denial of claim/benefits. If you think your claim has been unjustly denied, do not delay. Act right away.
In most cases, your broker can become your best friend during "claims time". Coming face to face with a long term care situation can be an incredibly stressful and emotional time, both for the person needing care, as well as for family members.
NOTE: Read your policy to see if you will need to file your claim within a certain amount of time. Some policies require written notice within 30 -90 days from the verification of disability.
Call your long term care insurance agent as soon as you need to receive benefits. A conscientious broker will assist you with your claim. Agents should consider it part of their job. Some agents may even go the extra mile by helping you fill out your paperwork and making sure it gets filed in time.
It's good to know that you have a trusted broker to lean on during what may be a confusing and heart-wrenching time.
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Exercise Your Mind
6/11/2008 ·
The more you work your brain, the more likely you will stave off Alzheimer's disease
Just a modest amount of mental stimulation can go a long way towards warding off Alzheimer's disease. This is the opinion of researchers who created mice genetically modified to get a condition similar to it.
Researchers at the University of California-Irvine studied hundreds of mice altered to make them develop abnormalities known as plaques and tangles in brain tissue that are considered hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease in people. Writing on Tuesday in the Journal of Neuroscience, they said periodic learning sessions-swimming in a tub of water until finding a submerged platform to stand on-slowed the development of those two abnormalities in the mice.
"The remarkable thing was that just by learning infrequently, they still had a very dramatic effect on the Alzheimer's disease pathology, " said Kim Green, one of the researchers.
"So it suggests that in humans, if you learn more and more and more, it's going to have a huge, beneficial effect," Green added.
The findings highlight an idea that also has emerged in other research-that exercising one's mind is important to staving off Alzheimer's disease, the degenerative brain malady that is the most common form of dementia among the elderly.
Smart link Green noted that other studies have found that highly educated people are less likely to develop Alzheimer's than people with less education.
There is no known cure for Alzheimer's , which gradually destroys a person's memory and ability t o learn, reason, make judgments, communicate and carry out daily activities.
"What we have shown is that by learning by stimulating your mind, you're able to protect against the development of the pathologies associated with the disease," Green said.
"Crossword puzzles reading books, learning a new language-anything you can do to stimulate the brain is going to be beneficial, we think."
The mice were given "a very mild learning experience"-essentially figuring out a maze but in the water-for a week at a time every three months. The sessions were four times daily for a week at two, six, nine, 12, 15 and 18 months of age.
The mice that performed the task experienced slower development of the protein beta amyloid clumping in the brain and forming plaques, gooey build-up that accumulates outside nerve cells, the study found.
These mice also experienced a slower build-up of another protein in the brain. Hyperphosphorylated-tau, that can lead to the formation of neurofibrillary tangles-twisted fibers in brain cells.
Green said the researchers are looking into whether more frequent and intensive learning sessions might provide bigger and longer-lasting benefits.
Alzheimer's disease first affects parts of the brain controlling memory and thinking. As it advances, it kills cells elsewhere in the brain. Eventually, if the patient has no other serious illness, the loss of brain function will prove fatal.
There are other mind tools or learning techniques that can help the brain synergise both halves ie., the left and the right hemispheres. It has long been known in the scientific world that the left hemisphere is responsible for logical functions such as those functions involved in reasoning and mathematics whereas the right hemisphere is responsible for the creative, imaginative and artistic functions of an individual.
Einstein is the most prominent person to have used the left-right synergy technique in formulating his famous equation of light and matter, E=mc2. Using special mind tools or mind training techniques developed in the last century and notably the last 50 years, individuals have been known to have developed phenomenal feats of memory like associating hundreds of names and faces , long arithmetic formulas as well as long strings of numbers all in the matter of minutes or seconds.
Whether memorizing long strings of numbers (more than 10 digits) have any practical applications is open to debate. But it does give the mind the workout it needs to stave off (not cure) Alzheimer's disease. Such techniques are very easy to learn yet once learnt and used often enough, remains with the user all his life and allows the brain to store massive amount of information used in school, work or ordinary everyday life. However, most people go about their everyday lives without knowing such wonderful techniques are available.
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The All Your Need To Know About Alzheimer's: A Complete Guide
6/11/2008 ·
Unbelievably, one out of ten people over the age of 65 have Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, in a recent statistic polls, almost 19 million Americans suffer one way or the other from this dreaded progressive disease. Below are some information that you will find useful about the disease.
What is Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative problem characterized by memory loss as well as loss in thinking skills. It is actually part of a constellation of memory and brain problems called dementia. It can lead to behavioral changes, loss of language skills, disorientation, confusion and increasing dependency. Most experts believe that Alzheimer’s is caused by a problem in the genetic make-up and is often associated with old age.
What are the signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease?
What is however difficult with this problem is the fact that the onset of the disease will often manifest in symptoms often associated with forgetfulness when getting old. What separates this problem though is the fact that people with Alzheimer’s will eventually even forget normal routines and simple tasks. For instance, patients with Alzheimer’s can forget how to hold a spoon and fork while others will forget how to brush their teeth and take a bath. Believe it or not, some medical experts even say that some even forget hoe to breathe, something which comes quite naturally with a person.
One problem though with this is the fact that one can actually have no way of knowing whether it is ordinary forgetfulness or Alzheimer’s when it is just in the initial stages. It can start with ordinary forgetting of names and faces until it progresses to something major that can render the person totally incapacitated.
Who are affected by Alzheimer’s disease?
Although there are cases of Alzheimer’s that affected people in their 30s, most patients are over the age of 65 and a vast majority is over the age of 85. In addition to old age, experts believe that a family history of the same problem or of dementia may predispose someone to the disease. This is because experts pinpoint a defect in the genetic make up of the person who has Alzheimer’s disease.
People who are not much into mental pursuits or work that do not much involve mental strains will also most likely develop the disease compared to people who often stretch their mental muscles. In fact, one of the way to prevent the onset of dementia is to exercise the brain all the time especially during old age.
Even when one is already retired from work, old people should not forget to still use their minds by engaging in mental pursuits such as reading, answering crossword puzzles and even playing board games.
How do you diagnose Alzheimer's Disease?
As mentioned earlier, it is extremely difficult for a person to differentiate an ordinary case of forgetfulness and dementia at the beginning of the progression. Some of the symptoms of the disease such as slow mental processing and forgetfulness may be attributed to other problems such as thyroid gland problems, reactions to medications that are being taken, and even just a normal aging process.
To really ensure that the problem is indeed Alzheimer’s, doctors rule out other possibilities and conduct series of tests. The only way actually to conclusively determine the presence of Alzheimer’s is to examine a cross section of the brain tissue when a person is already dead.
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The Role of Brown Seaweed in the Treatment of Alzheimer's
6/11/2008 ·
Millions of aging Americans worry about Alzheimer’s. If you forget a name or misplace you car keys, is it just a momentary lapse, or the beginning of a slow slide into dementia? And the older you get, the more likely it is that you will suffer from Alzheimer’s. But you don’t have to lay back and wait for the disease to take over your mind. This article will discuss some of the tools researchers have come up with to fight the debilitating affects of Alzheimer’s.
A Mysterious Killer
Let’s be up front with this. No one knows exactly why people develop Alzheimer’s. There has been some research that points to three possible causes for the disease: Genetic factors, injury, or lifestyle choices. Researchers hypothesize that it is a combination of all three. Until researchers can pinpoint the cause, finding the cure is an uphill battle. But there are things you can do to increase your chances of remaining free of this debilitating disease. If you have it already, these same techniques help you treat the illness.
The Power of Antioxidants
Recent research has turned up evidence that antioxidants may hold the key to slowing down the progression of Alzheimer’s in individual patients. In the study Reduced Risk of Alzheimer Disease in Users of Antioxidant Vitamin Supplements (Arch Neurol 2004; 61:82-88), authors Peter P. Zandi, PhD, et. al., analyzed data from 4740 elderly Utah residents. They looked for any relationships between supplement use and the incidence of Alzheimer's disease. And though they found "no notable reduction in risk of incident AD with vitamin E orvitamin C alone or with multivitamins," taking E and C together was another matter. In fact, the higher the doses of E and C (taken in combination), the lower the incidence of Alzheimer’s. The authors suggest this is because vitamin C might help to break down vitamin E, making it more easily used by the body. According to Dr. Kerwin, "Both vitamin C and E are antioxidants which likely reduce oxidative stress and injury in the central nervous system, [which] may reduce the amyloid plaque deposition in the neuronal cells." The authors further suggest that taking supplements is especially helpful because of the ability to take high concentrations of these vitamins. In any case, the results from such findings are impossible to ignore. Antioxidants are good for you for a variety of reasons. Preventing Alzheimer’s is just one of the more important reasons to do so.
A 3,000 Year Old Super Food
You could take synthetic supplements to get your daily dose of vitamins C and E. But your body is designed to absorb its vitamins and minerals from food. So it stands to reason that a whole food supplement would be the easiest, safest way for you to get the antioxidants you need to fight off Alzheimer’s. You may be able to get higher doses from synthetic supplements, but one also has to worry about possible side effects. When you use a synthetic product you often won’t know how much is too much until it is too late.
Many researchers have been impressed with the powerful antioxidant affects of the brown seaweed called Limu Moui by the Tongans. Many seaweeds have more vitamin C than an orange. It is also rich in B1, B2, B12, and vitamin E. When Original Limu Moui is concentrated in extract form, you get all of the benefits of a high dose of these vital nutrients—but in the correct proportion for maximal health and wellness.
There isn’t (yet) a cure for Alzheimer’s. But a genetic predisposition for the disease doesn’t mean that you will automatically get it. You can stack the odds in your favor with healthy lifestyle choices. Exercise. Eat a diet rich in antioxidants, using concentrated yet safe sources like Limu Moui extract. As the years go by you will have peace of mind, confident in the knowledge that you are doing all you can to keep that mysterious killer at bay.
Limu Moui is not a medicine of a drug. While it can promote wellness, it is not a cure. Do not use this or any article as a substitute for medical advice. Consult your doctor.
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Origins Unknown-The Battle With Alzheimer's Continues
6/11/2008 ·
One could trace back the history of Alzheimer's disease from a presentation and lecture made by a German psychiatrist in 1906 during 37th Meeting of Southwest German Psychiatrists held in Tübingen.
Dr. Alois Alzheimer presented his findings on a woman who had died after years of having memory problems and confusion.
When Dr. Alzheimer autopsied the patient's brain, he found thick deposits of neuritic plaques outside and around the nerve cells. He also found a lot of twisted bands of fibers or neurofibrillary tangles inside the nerve cells.
Today, medical specialists need to find the presence of the same plaques and tangles at autopsy in order to have a conclusive diagnosis that Alzheimer's disease indeed caused the disease. And due to this lecture and achievement in research and studies, the medical community has bestowed the honor of naming the disease after Dr. Alzheimer.
However, Dr. Alzheimer's work only signaled the start of years of medical research and studies which could only resolve the mysteries of the disease by so much. Up until now, Alzheimer's disease has still unknown origin and remains to have no cure. At first, the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease was limited for individuals between the ages of 45-65 since the symptoms of pre-senile dementia due to the histopathologic process are more common and prominent during this age.
However, during the 1970s and early 1980s, the term Alzheimer's disease began to be used to refer to patients of all ages that manifest the same symptoms.
Statistics show that around 350,000 new cases of Alzheimer's disease are being diagnosed each year. It is estimated that by 2050, there are 4.5 million Americans afflicted by the disease. Recent studies have shown that there is an increase risk of contracting and developing Alzheimer’s as one grows older.
It has been reported that 5 percent of Americans between the ages of 65 to 74 suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Also, half of those in the 85 years and older age group are more likely to have the disease.
Generics have also been seen as a factor in the development of the disease. Scientists have found out that mutations on chromosomes 9 and 19 have been associated with the later stages of Alzheimer's. However, not everyone that manifests the mutations results to having the disease. Up until now, the relationship between genetics and late-onset Alzheimer's is still a grey area.
Meanwhile, other research have associated trauma as a factor that increases the risk of acquiring the disease. There are also evidences which suggest that lack of exercise increases the risk factor of Alzheimer's. It is important to avoid high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and low levels folate in order to decrease the risk of developing the disease.
There are basically three stages of Alzheimer's disease. Stage 1 or Mild Stage is the early of the disease. At this stage patients become less energetic and will experience slight memory loss. Often times, the symptoms at this stage are either go unnoticed or are ignored as but trivial or normal occurrences.
At Stage 2 or Moderate stage, the patient needs to be assisted in some complicated tasks and memory loss is no highly noticeable. The final stage is the severest stage. Because the disease already progresses too far this point, the patient is unable to perform simple tasks and will lose the ability to walk or eat without help.
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