WSJ: 80 is the new 60 (Social Security and Medicare are Really in Trouble)

 by Devon Herrick

Recently I read about how people aged faster and looked older for their age back when I was young. It is not just because everyone looked old when we were kids. There are a variety of reasons for this, including better health, and a lower disease burden. And it was not just the poor who aged faster and whose life ended early, although wealth is generally associated with health. The half millennia stretching between  1066 and 1588, only five British kings lived beyond age 60. Granted, some of these died violently. In 1547 King Henry VIII died at age 55 of natural causes. Obesity and Type II diabetes are thought to have played a role, as did a serious jousting accident about 10 years earlier. Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon died of cancer at age 51, while another wife (Anne of Cleves) is thought to have died of cancer at age 41 or 42. Oddly enough, Anne outlived all of Henry’s other five wives.

Scientists have studied biological aging and whether people aged faster and looked older in the past. 

A study published in 2018 examined the changes in biological aging (from markers such as blood pressure and lung function) changed in relation to chronological age, between 1988 and 2010. They found that even in this short time frame, there were significant differences in aging, with more recent generations being biologically “younger” than those who came before them.

“Over the past 20 years, the biological age of the U.S. population seems to have decreased for males and females across the age range,” the team wrote in the study. 

The oldest Baby Boomers turn 80 this year. The Wall Street Journal looked at the oldest Baby Boomers and how they are changing old age. They are not going gently into that good night. From WSJ: 

Having reached octogenarian levels, a generation that shaped much of our past is shaping the future of aging for themselves and those who follow. They want better healthcare and housing, cures for dementia and a say in when to die. New professions and products will appear. Their massive spending will shift and innovators will follow.

“They are reinventing old age,” says Joseph Coughlin, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab. Unlike the patient Silent Generation, boomers had high expectations and used their sheer numbers as well as financial and political clout to make them happen, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Reaching age 80 in relatively good health is a recent phenomenon. Life expectancy in 1935 when Social Security was created was only around 62. The retirement age was set at age 65 even though many men would never live to collect benefits. The conventional wisdom at the time was that while nearly half of men would not reach age 65, most of those who did would not survive long after. Around 1940 just over half of men who made it to adulthood could expect to survive long enough to reach retirement age. More from WSJ:

Today, the number of Americans who are turning 80 or older is close to 15 million. Their ranks are expected to double within two decades, says William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution. They hope to live even longer: Those 80 and older, on average, aspire to live to 93, according to the Pew Research Center.

Baby Boomers have impacted society throughout every step of their lives. Schools had to be built, housing stock expanded and hospitals enlarged. The same will be true of Boomers in old age. Personal spending declines after age 80. People travel less and more discretionary income is spent on health care (15% of household income). A huge cohort of seniors aged 80+ will transform the health care system in ways not seen before. WSJ predicts: 

With so much spending on healthcare, older boomers—and their adult kids—expect better results and a less confusing, complicated and fragmented system. They’ll ask for more in-home diagnosis and treatment, telemedicine, wearable devices, support for caregivers and breakthroughs to prevent dementia and cognitive decline. Healthcare systems and industries will respond. Only 10% of medical schools routinely require rotations in geriatrics. More will follow. Humanoid robots will enter eldercare.

Also, euthanasia and assisted suicide will likely enter the public discourse to a greater degree. Something not specifically mentioned is inpatient hospital care in the home, where a hospital patient is monitored in their own home. While some wealthier seniors may decide to join senior communities, many will prefer to age in place in their own home. This is likely to expand home remodeling for aging in place, with wider doorways, elevators, bath and shower remodels, and meal delivery. Real estate firm, Redfin, already finds that Boomers aren’t downsizing their spacious homes to live in a crackerbox.

WSJ: The Boomers Are Turning 80. Now They Want to Change Old Age

https://www.goodmanhealthblog.org/wsj-80-is-the-new-60-social-security-and-medicare-are-really-in-trouble/

'New Kidney Disease Strategy Could Save Medicare Billions'

 The U.S. Government spends upwards of a trillion dollars a year on Medicare, and a substantial portion of the Medicare budget goes toward dialysis treatment and related care for patients with late-stage kidney disease.  Since Medicare covers kidney dialysis regardless of age, and kidney disease is growing at alarming rates, the costs to the federal government are quickly becoming unsustainable.  Yet if younger people were screened, diagnosed, and treated earlier for kidney disease, Medicare could potentially see huge savings and our country would have a healthier, more productive workforce.

Tragically, over 35 million Americans are living with chronic kidney disease, yet nine out of 10 don’t know they have it.[1]  This is because kidney disease often has no early symptoms and can go undiscovered unless someone takes a simple blood or urine test to find out. Unfortunately, nearly 40% of patients are not diagnosed with their disease until it has progressed to kidney failure, also known as end-stage renal disease or “ESRD” when treatment options are far more costly and outcomes are much worse.[2]   

When caught and treated early, kidney disease can be slowed or stopped to avoid serious complications like heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and early death. But if the disease goes undiagnosed and progresses to kidney failure, many must go on dialysis and may have to seek a kidney transplant, facing long wait-lists.  Nearly 555,000 Americans are currently on dialysis which is driving up Medicare program costs to over $50 billion annually, with per-patient Medicare spending for ESRD patients coming in nearly six times higher than the average beneficiary. Social Security spending is also on the rise since most patients with late-stage kidney disease can no longer work and turn to disability benefits for income support.[3]

Last year, the American Kidney Fund and the National Alliance of Health Care Purchasers Coalitions released a report, “Healthy Workforces, Sustainable Futures:  Why Employers Should Invest in Early Kidney Care.” The report estimated that over 11 million workers are impacted by chronic kidney disease – nearly 7.4% of the total U.S. workforce – so employers are also feeling the impact. Caring for workers who are in the late stages of the disease is costly, adding up to 8% of annual employer health care costs. That is the equivalent to $107 billion in annual health care spending plus an additional $30 billion in lost productivity each year for American businesses.[4]

In response to this crisis, American Kidney Fund, a nonprofit patient advocacy group, and National Alliance of Healthcare Purchasers, which represents employer-sponsored health plans, have partnered on a new approach to improve kidney care prevention so patients at younger ages can avoid the dire and costly outcomes of this disease. This proposal seeks to not only improve patient health but would also save significant costs over the long-term for the U.S. Government, health plans, and employers.   

In a recent letter sent to Congress and supported by advocates in the aging, nutrition, patient, and employer communities, they propose a shared savings demonstration to reduce the number of patients that would progress to ESRD and Medicare coverage of dialysis..

The proposed demo would be implemented by the HHS Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to benchmark this approach for its broader consideration later. Health plans (public and private) that voluntarily participate would receive advanced funding to set up kidney care plans, including diagnostic screening, care coordination, nutrition counseling, and innovative disease-modifying treatments. By allowing participating plans to keep Medicare savings accrued from having fewer beneficiaries requiring dialysis and kidney transplants, the demo would incent earlier kidney disease intervention and treatment and save costs on the back end.

Although the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has not yet scored this shared savings demo proposal, data shows that early intervention and treatments to prevent ESRD could yield an estimated $9 billion in annual Medicare savings and $325 billion in annual savings to employers. [5]

As the Trump Administration and Congress consider ways to reduce federal government costs and remove challenges and perverse incentives in our health care system, this early kidney care prevention model deserves the highest attention.  If we want a strong, healthy American workforce that contributes to our economic growth, diagnosing and treating at the onset of kidney disease is commonsense for keeping American employees healthy and preserving our nation’s resources. 

Jerry Rogers is the editor of RealClearHealth, and Holly Bode is the SVP Government Affairs, American Kidney Fund.

https://www.realclearhealth.com/articles/2026/04/14/new_kidney_disease_strategy_could_save_medicare_billions_1176606.html

'Brokers Get Paid More to Enroll Seniors in Medicare Advantage. Is That a Problem?'

 The system of paying Medicare agents and brokers more money if they enroll someone in a Medicare Advantage plan rather than traditional Medicare with a supplement plan needs to be changed, according to several members of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC).

"The broker compensation piece really frustrates me," MedPAC member Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, said at a commission meeting on Friday. "I don't think that people should have to work for free, and they are clearly a great source of information. A lot of beneficiaries rely on them, but the differences in how you get compensated across different plans, I think, is not a good thing. We should level the playing field so that your incentive is to get people into the right plan for them, and you don't get paid differently based on which plan they go into."

Gokhan Metan, PhD, of WiseCare AI in St. Louis, agreed. "When I look at the total agent/broker compensation payouts of $6.9 billion reported [by MedPAC staff] -- which, by the way, I believe is an underestimate of what is actually being paid -- if you compare that figure with the $55.2 million [for] SHIP, the ratio is 125 to 1 ... of commercial marketing compensation to objective public counseling. That, to me, is very problematic." Metan was referring to the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), a federally funded program with offices nationwide designed to give beneficiaries unbiased information on choosing a plan.

Commission members were discussing a presentation from the commission staff on how beneficiaries choose which Medicare plan to sign up for. The staff cited a 2021 Commonwealth Fund report finding that independent agents and brokers can get paid up to $694 for enrolling a patient in a Medicare Advantage plan, compared with an average of $520 -- depending on state laws and regulations -- for enrolling them in a Medicare supplement plan plus Part D prescription insurance. These differences could cause agents to favor Medicare Advantage plans over traditional fee-for-service Medicare, said Ledia Tabor, MPH, a MedPAC principal policy analyst.

Staff members also cited a 2022 Commonwealth Fund report which found that more than half of beneficiaries used a variety of sources to make plan decisions, including private insurance brokers (used by 31% of those who chose a Medicare Advantage plan and 30% of those who chose traditional Medicare with a supplement), friends and family (20% and 14%), and the Medicare.gov website or Medicare hotline (9% and 5%). Only 7% of Medicare Advantage enrollees and 3% of traditional Medicare enrollees said they incorporated ads on TV or elsewhere for making their decision. And a total of 5% of traditional Medicare enrollees and 4% of Medicare Advantage enrollees used SHIPs in their decision-making, the Commonwealth Fund found.

Metan expressed concern about the lack of funding for SHIP. "SHIP is structurally underfunded," he said, noting figures from the commission staff showing that the inflation-adjusted discretionary SHIP funding declined by 26% from 2008 to 2025 while Medicare enrollment grew 53%. "I think that's very concerning."

Metan suggested two possible solutions. "Congress could index SHIP discretionary appropriations to Medicare enrollment growth going forward, and provide a one-time catch-up allocation to address the accumulated funding" gap, he said. "Another alternative could be ... For every dollar [Medicare Advantage] plans compensate agents and brokers, another dollar goes into a pool of funding for SHIP."

Commission member Robert Cherry, MD, of UCLA Health in Los Angeles, said it was troubling that SHIP offices were already at capacity even when they were only being used by about 5% of enrollees. "Imagine if 40%, 50%, or 60% utilize the service, absolutely they wouldn't be able to take care of the beneficiary," he said. "So there needs to be some sort of alternative source of funding to augment the resource." For example, those who are willing to wait 30 days could still see a SHIP counselor free of charge, "but if you need an expedited appointment within 5 business days, that maybe there's some sort of nominal fee. There needs to be some sort of funding stream at the end of the day" to keep the SHIP offices functioning, he said.

Commissioner Scott Sarran, MD, MBA, of Harmonic Health and Triple Aim Geriatrics in Cook County, Illinois, suggested that artificial intelligence (AI) could be a useful tool for beneficiaries to use in making their selection. "Clearly, we can't solve this just with human beings," he said. "This is a space that is just perfectly, I think, designed for AI tools to guide people in an objective fashion. I think the keys to that are going to be to get the right information in at the front end."

But commissioner Brian Miller, MD, MBA, MPH, of Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, emphasized that no matter what information sources they use, beneficiaries should be free to choose whatever plan they'd like, regardless of whether it seems to make the most sense. He likened making a less-than-optimal choice of Medicare plan to purchasing the wrong kind of car.

"I drive a convertible, and there was a lot of snow here a couple months ago, and having a rear-wheel drive convertible was not an optimal choice," Miller, of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, said last Friday at a MedPAC meeting. "I think we can all agree that did not work well for me ... But the point is, I made a choice that was consistent with my values."

"We should support people in making better decisions, but recognize that people make the decisions that correspond with their values, and sometimes those decisions the rest of us might think are suboptimal," he said. "I think that we need to recognize that beneficiaries have agency, they have autonomy, and they have dignity, and that we need to empower them, as opposed to infantilize them. And so we need to support rather than dictate choice, and recognize it's OK for people to make the wrong choice."

https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/medicare/120793

‘Nvidia’s SchedMD Purchase Could Pose Government Risks, Says Senator Warren'

 Senator Elizabeth Warren is raising concerns about chipmaker Nvidia NVDA +1.54% ▲ and its recent acquisition of SchedMD, a company behind widely used open-source software. In a letter sent to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Warren said that the deal could pose risks, particularly because of how important SchedMD’s Slurm software is to government systems. She pointed out that Slurm is heavily used by both the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy in their supercomputers.

https://www.tipranks.com/news/nvidias-schedmd-purchase-could-pose-government-risks-says-senator-warren

PIMCO Acquires $400M Bonds from Blue Owl Capital Corp (OBDC)

 PIMCO announced the full acquisition of $400 million in bonds issued by Blue Owl Capital Corp OBDC. These investment-grade notes, which are set to mature on September 15, 2028, were priced to yield 6.5%. The bonds received ratings of Baa2 from Moody's, BBB- from S&P Global Ratings, and BBB from Fitch Ratings. The settlement is anticipated around April 16, 2026, with Morgan Stanley & Co. serving as the sole bookrunner for the offering.

The acquisition of $400 million in bonds by PIMCO signifies a strong endorsement of Blue Owl Capital Corp's financial stability and growth potential. The investment-grade ratings from major credit agencies reflect the company's ability to meet its financial obligations, which is crucial for attracting institutional investors. This move is likely to enhance Blue Owl's liquidity and provide it with additional capital to pursue its lending strategies.

https://www.gurufocus.com/news/8794280/pimco-acquires-400m-bonds-from-blue-owl-capital-corp-obdc

Lebanon ceasefire said to be announced tonight

 A ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is set to take effect tonight, the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen channel reported on Wednesday, citing a high-ranking Iranian security source.

According to the Lebanese outlet, the source added that the truce will last for one week and end at the same time as the ongoing temporary ceasefire between the US and Iran.

The United States will act as a sponsor and partner to Israel during the ceasefire and will oversee the monitoring of Israeli actions throughout its duration, the source told Al-Mayadeen. However, a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel that no such agreement was in the works.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Lebanon-ceasefire-said-to-be-announced-tonight/66075961

Mesoblast (MESO) Secures Global License for Advanced CAR Tech

Mesoblast Ltd MESO +7.67%  announced the acquisition of a global exclusive license for a patented chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technology. This platform is aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of therapeutic mesenchymal lineage stromal cell products. By integrating this engineered CAR technology, Mesoblast intends to improve the specificity of its products while amplifying their innate capabilities in immunomodulation and tissue regeneration. 

https://www.gurufocus.com/news/8793728/mesoblast-meso-secures-global-license-for-advanced-car-technology