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Workers unattached to traditional long-term jobs typically have limited access to social insurance such as health care, disability insurance and retirement savings, which provide peace of mind and a safety net to protect them if needed. At the same time, we have never made it easy for even successful independent contractors, such as consultants and lawyers, to find or fund their own social insurance. (Mark R.Warner, 11/29)

Medicare was not one of Donald J. Trump’s signature issues during his campaign for the presidency, but Congressional Republicans and Mr. Trump’s nominee for health and human services secretary have indicated that they are eager to move forward with their longtime goal of privatizing the government health care program for the elderly. What changes, if any, does Medicare need? (11/29)

Once again, an assisted living center in Iowa is giving up its license and converting to an apartment complex. And once again the elderly residents are the ones who are suffering. (11/29)

There’s been much discussion recently about Iowa’s mental health system. Unfortunately, this discussion often centers on one type of intensive care — inpatient psychiatric beds — instead of pushing us forward, collectively, on developing a full array of mental health services which can effectively serve individuals with all acuities of mental illness closer to home. (Charles Palmer, 11/29)

One of our fellow mental health advocacy groups, Mental Health America, recently issued its State of Mental Health Care in America report, based on data from 2014. About a week before the general election, the governor’s office pounced on this report and widely distributed a press release, stating that Iowa’s overall ranking had moved from 13th to 7th in the nation with respect to a combination of 15 measures. The premise is that states with higher rankings have lower prevalence rates and higher rates of access. (Jane Hudson, 11/29)

The market for wearable health monitoring devices is booming — except among seniors. That’s something we need to fix, because older Americans can benefit from wearable devices as much as, if not more than, younger ones. ... Wearables can do far more for the health of older Americans than alert a loved one about a fall. They can help seniors easily view changes in their health patterns and become more empowered advocates for their own health. That can help drive earlier intervention and more proactive health care treatment. It can also bring valued peace of mind to their caregivers, who also aren’t taking full advantage of the available digital technologies. (Paul Adams, 11/29)

A patient walks into an optometrist’s office for an eye exam. He walks out an hour later with a box of contact lenses, conveniently purchased in-office with the eye-care provider's encouragement. If the patient is typical, he probably doesn’t stop to wonder why he wasn't provided a copy of his prescription. In fact, he's likely wholly ignorant of the significantly cheaper lens options available online. And he's almost certainly oblivious to the fact that his friendly optometrist just violated the law. (Ashley Baker, 11/29)