U.S. GAO - Nonprofit Sector: Treatment and Reimbursement of Indirect Costs Vary among Grants, and Depend Significantly on Federal, State, and Local Government Practices

GAO-10-477 May 18, 2010

Nonprofits are key partners in delivering federal services yet reportedly often struggle to cover their indirect costs (costs not readily identifiable with particular programs or projects). This raises concerns about fiscal strain on the sector. To provide information on nonprofits' indirect cost reimbursement, especially when funding flows through entities such as state and local governments, GAO was asked to review, for selected grants and nonprofits, (1) how indirect cost terminology and classification vary, (2) how indirect costs are reimbursed, and (3) if gaps occur between indirect costs incurred and reimbursed, steps taken to bridge gaps. GAO selected six Departments of Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development grants and 17 nonprofits in Louisiana, Maryland, and Wisconsin. GAO selected these agencies for their historical relationship with nonprofits. GAO reviewed policies and documents governing indirect costs and interviewed relevant officials. GAO also reviewed research on nonprofits' indirect costs.
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Sports of The Times - For the Love of Soccer and a Lasting Sisterhood - NYTimes.com

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By WILLIAM C. RHODEN

About 1:45 p.m. Sunday afternoon, a caravan of luxury cars and sport utility vehicles roared into the park where hundreds of supporters had been waiting. President Jacob Zuma had arrived. The president was in this town, about 260 miles northeast of Johannesburg, to commemorate the life of Peter Mokaba, an antiapartheid activist.

Five days before the start of the World Cup, the stars of the celebration were a soccer team — a group of 35 women ages 49 to 84. After the speeches and ceremonies, the team, Vakhegula Vakhegula (Grannies Grannies), would play an exhibition game.

Beka Ntsanwisi founded Vakhegula Vakhegula five years ago as a way of providing inspiration for older women. The team usually plays its league games on Saturdays, but this was a special day with the president coming. And Ntsanwisi wanted to have a word with the president.
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Senators Concerned About Medicare Advantage Bids; New Rule for E-Prescribing from MedPage Today

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By Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today

A group of Democratic Congressmembers wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last week urging her to closely review Medicare Advantage plan bids for 2011.

Insurance companies that run Medicare Advantage plans have until June 7 to submit their bids to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Insurance companies should justify any proposed increased in premiums or benefits for seniors in the plans, the group -- Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.), along with Reps. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), Pete Stark (D-Calif.), Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J) -- said in the letter.

"Health care reform strengthened Medicare and made Medicare Advantage more competitive, but it is critical that we don't let private insurance companies use these changes as an excuse to raise premiums or cut benefits for seniors to bolster their own bottom line," Sen. Baucus said in a statement accompanying the letter's release.
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TIME GOES BY | GRAY MATTERS: D-Day

by Saul Friedman

Ordinarily, this column, devoted to issues confronting older Americans, doesn’t get into more cosmic subjects of war and peace. But I can’t let tomorrow’s date go by without notice for it marked the most significant event in the war of my youth, my generation.

We gathered in the athletic stadium of my high school that morning to hear the news. It was D-day and American and allied forces had landed on the beaches of Normandy. We heard the voice of General Dwight Eisenhower telling us and the soldiers, sailors and airmen under his command: “You are about to embark on the Great Crusade.”

There was never a doubt in our minds that this was the beginning of the end of this noble and terrible war and the threat of fascism that had occupied most of our young lives.

Now, we are engaged in an endless, pointless 10-year-old war – the longest in our history – against corrupt and backward Third World nations that were and are no threat to us. They are certainly not in the same league as the Nazis, the Japanese and the old Soviet Union. But these wars are robbing us of the national pride and the sense of purpose that we felt in 1944, and have passed on to our children and grandchildren.

For my generation and its boomer children, the financing of Medicare, Medicaid and the dozens of domestic programs have been compromised by the costs of these wars. Deficits are wrongly blamed on Social Security and social insurance programs for the poor and elderly, but not the wars.

Ironically, the wars are being paid for, in part, with money borrowed from the Social Security trust fund.

More tragically, these wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere have now cost our treasury, which means you and me and our kids, one trillion dollars and thousands of lives – more than 4,000 American dead in Iraq; more than 1,000 dead in Afghanistan - and more thousands of the dead and terribly maimed here and in the countries we say we seek to save.

Imagine what even part of that trillion dollars could have done in this country for health care, long term care, education and the renewal of roads, collapsing bridges and decrepit schools. Indeed, it’s fair to ask – in the midst of this longest war, which seems to have no end – has it been worth it? Is it still worth it? Nearly ten years and still counting.

As of May 30, at 10:06 A.M., the National Priorities Project, which maintains a computerized counter on the costs of these wars, announced that the U..S. had spent $1 trillion. That’s $1,000,000,000,000.

So far, $747.3 billion and $299 billion have been appropriated., respectively, for the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. New pending spending measures working through the mostly compliant Congress will add nearly $137 billion. (See the National Priorities Project) And that doesn’t include the costs of burying the dead and healing the wounded and giving comfort to families here and in the countries we occupy.

In practical terms, according to the Project, that trillion could have paid for Pell Grants for 19 million of our kids for nine years, health care for nearly 300 million people for a year, nearly 8 million low cost housing units, the cost of 16 million elementary school teachers for a year.

If you think you’re not paying for these wars, the Project estimates that taxpayers in Brooklyn (Kings County), New York will pay $9 billion of their taxes for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

This past Memorial Day, television and most of the press gave us unctuous, flag waving interviews with veterans and high ranking officers who recommended honoring the Americans who died. Edmund Wilson called it “patriotic gore.” None was asked if any of these wars were truly just. None was probed on the human and financial costs of these wars.

Only one of our best social commentators, comedian Bill Maher, observed that the U.S. has gotten into more wars than most other nations. Only a few members of Congress, all Democrats, took action to demand that the country get out of the wars in Iraq and tribal Afghanistan, which only wishes to return to the 13th century and grow opium.

Unfortunately, President Obama seems unable to complete what he has promised, like getting out of Iraq. Other great presidents labored, often in vain, to keep the nation out of war; Obama chose to go to war.

Representative John Conyers [D, Mich.], the second longest serving member of the House (44 years), recounted the losses to the American taxpayers as a result of the wars., and what that $1 trillion might have paid for:

“We might be enjoying the fruits of a green economy... investments in wind and solar...a single-payer health care system...we’ll never know because our political leadership never explored alternative means of achieving peace...instead of overextending our military forces abroad.”

He called for the administration to honor its commitment, which seems to be slipping, to leave Iraq by December 31, next year. And he asked colleagues to join the “Out of Afghanistan Caucus” and vote against new funding for the war “because $1 trillion is more than enough.”

Unfortunately, but predictably, the mainstream American press has all but ignored the significant and growing movements against the wars. Last month, 18 members of the Senate voted for Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold’s amendment to the administration’s war spending bill calling for a timetable to redeploy American forces out of Afghanistan. Some of the supporters are among the most senior members of the Senate, including Richard Durbin of Illinois, the second highest ranking Democrat.

On the House side, 92 members have co-sponsored companion legislation to Feingold’s. Introduced by Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, it would require a timetable for getting out of Afghanistan. In all, more than 100 members have voted for a scheduled withdrawal from a war that has no light at the end of the tunnel.

Representative Alan Grayson calls his legislation for withdrawal, the “War is Making Us Poor Act,” not only because it’s costing lives among innocent civilians in Afghanistan as well as allied troops. More important, these wars are making us poor in spirit. Grayson pointed out that George Orwell in 1984 noted that it seemed as if America had always been at war in Eastasia.

So far, no Republican has joined any of the efforts to end American involvement in Afghanistan. The Republicans are saying in effect, “Let you and the other guy fight” while they wait to see how to make political capital, however it turns out.

That’s a departure from a president of my generation, Ronald Reagan, who “redeployed” American forces out of Lebanon in 1983 after 241 Marines were killed by a terrorist bomb (for which Reagan took responsibility) and he saw no reason to risk more lives. I think it can be said that fewer Americans died in combat on Reagan’s watch, than under George W. Bush or Barack Obama.

Why is it that we don’t learn, even from the recent past?

Write to saulfriedman@comcast.net

TIME GOES BY | GRAY MATTERS: D-Day

Ombudsman: Director of Iowa Dept. on Aging had employee 'hit list' | The Des Moines Register

The director of the Iowa Department on Aging reportedly created a "hit list" of employees he wanted to force from the agency, Iowa's chief advocate for the elderly says.

Iowa Long-Term Care Ombudsman Jeanne Yordi made the allegation in a letter Monday to Gov. Chet Culver.

Yordi told the governor she was among the targeted workers at the Department on Aging. She said she had planned to take early retirement because she had been subjected to a hostile work environment created by department director John McCalley and because she had been "forced to violate federal law."
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New ED Drug Fast and Effective from MedPage Today

By Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

A fast-acting drug for erectile dysfunction improved the rate of vaginal penetration by as much as 60% in a placebo-controlled clinical trial.

Men who took avanafil before intercourse had a three- to five-fold increase in the rate of successful intercourse. Scores on a standardized assessment of erectile function improved significantly versus placebo across the range of avanafil doses studied.

Some men reported engaging in sexual activity within 15 minutes of taking avanafil, Irwin Goldstein, MD, reported here at the American Urological Association meeting.
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Consumers Get More Information on Coverage Gap Rebate

For Medicare consumers who this year have fallen into the coverage gap in Medicare Part D, help is on the way. In mid-June, $250 rebate checks will begin to be mailed to consumers who have reached the gap, which is commonly known as the “doughnut hole.” Consumers who reach the doughnut hole will automatically receive a one-time $250 check. People with Medicare who have Extra Help, the federal program that helps pay for prescription drugs, will not receive a rebate check.

Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a brochure that provides more details about the rebate. According to the brochure, subsequent mailings of the rebate checks will occur monthly throughout the year. There is no need to apply or fill out any forms, and consumers should not provide personal information to anyone who contacts them about the check. To report fraud related to the rebate, call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

Read the brochure.

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Health Reform Seeks To Protect Medicare Consumers from Fraud

In order to assure Medicare consumers’ access to new benefits, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is implementing several key fraud prevention measures included in the new health are reform law. In a June 2 webcast, Secretary Sebelius detailed a number of actions HHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have taken to prevent Medicare fraud. HHS and DOJ will continue to collaborate on existing fraud prevention programs, such as the Senior Medicare Patrol program (SMP) and the South Florida fraud hotline, which engages consumers in fraud detection and reporting. New efforts to prevent fraud that are part of the health care reform law include steeper penalties for those who violate Medicare rules and improved oversight. For example, HHS hopes to be able to perform comprehensive data analyses to predict and protect against Medicare fraud.
Webcast panelists stressed a number of precautions that consumers and caregivers can take in order to help protect against fraudulent Medicare practices:

• Be aware: Anyone can be a victim of Medicare fraud
• Consumers should guard their identity closely: Call 1-800-MEDICARE to report suspicious behavior
• Do not give out personal information over the phone or internet: If you do not recognize the organization or person asking for your information, do not give information to them. Always ask questions about who they are and why they need your information. 
• Know that guaranteed Medicare benefits are the same and consumers do not have to do anything in order to continue receiving them.

Watch the webinar on preventing fraud, waste and abuse in Medicare.

Read about new efforts to fight Medicare fraud in health reform.

HHS Announces Availability of $60 Million in Affordable Care Act Grants to Help People Navigate their Health and Long-term Care Options

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the availability of $60 million in Affordable Care Act grants to states and communities to help individuals and their caregivers better understand and navigate their health and long-term care options. 

Through this opportunity made possible by the Affordable Care Act HHS' Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will work collaboratively to award funds for an integrated approach that focuses on the unique needs of seniors, disabled Americans and their caregivers as they seek health care and long-term care.

"The Affordable Care Act seeks to lower health care costs, improve the quality of health care and perhaps most importantly give people more control over their own care. These new grants, authorized under the new law, will help seniors, individuals with disabilities and their families get better quality care and more control. We've also streamlined the process for states and people who rely on these funds," said Secretary Sebelius.

"We know how difficult it can be for caregivers and patients to try and deal with a sudden illness or chronic disease while at the same time trying to navigate through a complex health care system to figure out where you can get help. These new funds that we have bundled together will help promote better opportunities for coordination of health and long-term supports," said Sebelius.

The purpose of this new grant program authorized by the Affordable Care Act is to create streamlined, coordinated statewide systems of information, counseling, and access that will help people find consumer-friendly answers they seek to meet their health and long-term care needs.  AoA and CMS will administer the funding through separate announcements, but will coordinate implementation and monitoring through a single process. 

Some specific areas of focus will include assisting individuals who are under-served and hard to reach with information about their Medicare and Medicaid benefits, helping older adults and individuals with disabilities live at home or in settings of their choosing with the right supports, assisting people transition from hospital or nursing home stays back into the community, and strengthening linkages between the medical and social service systems.

"When it comes to long-term health care, each patient has a unique mix of complex medical and social needs that must be considered when seeking care," said Marilyn Tavenner, acting CMS administrator. "Our health care system can offer many options to meeting those needs from traditional nursing home care to home and community-based services.  Making patients and their families aware of these options will help them make inherently difficult decisions about long-term care.  This integrated program will help families make informed choices and make sure patients have more control over their own care."

AoA and CMS have provided grants to states for several years to develop person-centered systems of information, counseling and access to make it easier for individuals to learn about and access their health and long-term services and support options. This grant program through the Affordable Care Act strengthens and enhances the ability of states to truly integrate the medical and social services care models. 
                             
"AoA's national network of community-based organizations has long served as the central place for individuals and families seeking information and help to address health and long term care challenges.  This collaborative opportunity between AoA and CMS will further strengthen the network's capacity to help people in a more coordinated and comprehensive way in the communities where they live," said Kathy Greenlee, assistant secretary for aging.
                   
Funds will be available to states, area agencies on aging (aaa's), State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) and Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs).  Through the grant program, states and local aging and disability programs will receive funds to:

* provide outreach and assistance to Medicare beneficiaries on their Medicare benefits including prevention;
* use additional funds through a competitive process to provide Options Counseling on health and long-term care through ADRCs;
* use additional funds through a competitive process to strengthen the ADRCs role in Money follows the Person program and support state Medicaid agencies as they transition individuals from nursing homes to community-based care; and 
* coordinate and continue to embed tested Care Transition models that integrate the medical and social service systems to help older individuals and those with disabilities remain in their own homes and communities after a hospital, rehabilitation or skilled nursing facility visit. 

"CMS and AoA share a long-standing goal of expanding access to community-based care for the elderly and individuals with disabilities.  The Affordable Care Act provides significant resources for state Medicaid agencies and providers to balance the nation's long-term care systems and assure that individuals have a choice of where and how they receive their services," said Cindy Mann, director of CMS's Center for Medicaid, CHIP, and Survey and Certification.

The announcement combines funding opportunities from several provisions in the Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010, including the Role of Public Programs (Title II, Sections 2403 - Money Follows the Person and 2405 - Funding for Aging and Disability Resource Centers) and Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Health Care (Title III. Section 3306 - Funding for Outreach and Assistance for Low-Income Programs).

These grants also complement President Obama's "Year of Community Living Initiative," which focuses on better serving those individuals with disabilities who need ongoing services and support programs in the community such as those provided by AoA, CMS and other HHS agencies.    

The deadline for applications is: Monday, July 30, 2010.  Grants will be awarded in September 2010.  For more information about this grant opportunity, please visit http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/Grants/Funding/index.aspx or www.grants.gov.

To learn more about the Affordable Care Act, please visit www.healthreform.gov
Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Medical News: Americans Have Sex into Their 60s and Beyond - in Geriatrics, General Geriatrics from MedPage Today

By Kristina Fiore, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Thirty-somethings can expect to enjoy at least another 30 years of sex, researchers have found.

At age 30, men will be sexually active for another 35 years, while women will be active for another 30, Stacy Tessler Lindau, MD, and Natalia Gavrilova, PhD, of the University of Chicago, reported online in BMJ.

The results are even better for fifty-somethings: "At age 55, most folks can expect 10 to 15 more years of sexually active life," Tessler Lindau told MedPage Today. That's 15 years for men, and 10 for women.

The researchers also found that people who were healthier reported more and better sex.

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Medical News: Evidence-Based Treatment Improves Older Stroke Victims' Chances - in Cardiovascular, Strokes from MedPage Today

By Kristina Fiore, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Older stroke patients remain at higher risk for adverse outcomes than younger ones, but the gap has narrowed with wider implementation of evidence-based guidelines, researchers say.

More than 10% of stroke patients over 80 died in the hospital, compared with 3% of those under age 50, Gregg C. Fonarow, MD, of the University of California Los Angeles, and colleagues reported online in Circulation.

But overall use of guideline-recommended therapies improved substantially in older patients from 2003 to 2009, particularly for patients over 90, they said.

During that time, several hospitals and stroke centers have adopted "Get with the Guidelines," an intervention to apply evidence-based guidelines to care. Adopters have seen "substantial improvements ... in performance measures for ischemic stroke patients, including pharmacological and nonpharmacological management in each age group," the researchers wrote.
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‘Vital Exhaustion’? Just Don’t Call It ‘Nervous Breakdown’ - NYTimes.com

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by BENEDICT CAREY

Decades ago modern medicine all but stamped out the nervous breakdown, hitting it with a combination of new diagnoses, new psychiatric drugs and a strong dose of professional scorn. The phrase was overused and near meaningless, a self-serving term from an era unwilling to talk about mental distress openly. But like a stubborn virus, the phrase has mutated.

In recent years, psychiatrists in Europe have been diagnosing what they call “burnout syndrome,” the signs of which include “vital exhaustion.” A paper published last year defined three types: “frenetic,” “underchallenged,” and “worn out” (“exasperated” and “bitter” did not make the cut).

This is the latest umbrella term for the kind of emotional collapses that have plagued humanity for ages, stemming at times from severe mental difficulties and more often from mild ones. There have been plenty of others. In the early decades of the 20th century, many people simply referred to a crackup, including “The Crack-Up,” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1936 collection of essays describing his own. And before that there was neurasthenia, a widely diagnosed and undefined nerve affliction causing just about any symptom people cared to add.

Yet medical historians say that, for versatility and descriptive power, it may be hard to improve upon the “nervous breakdown.” Coined around 1900, the phrase peaked in usage during the middle of the 20th century and echoes still. One recent study found that 26 percent of respondents to a national survey in 1996 reported that they had experienced an “impending nervous breakdown,” compared with 19 percent from the same survey in 1957.
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TIME GOES BY | Resting My (Aging) Mind

by Ronni Bennett

What a good conversation there was on last Friday's post about old age coming on more quickly than I had imagined it would. Obviously, I'm in good company in my surprise.
A comment from Jan Adams of the blog Happening Here and her monthly TGB column, Gay and Gray, seemed particularly apt to me yesterday, although slightly askew from the way she intended:

“For me, the symptom of aging that shocks me (a little) is not the getting tired - but the slowness of recovery,” wrote Jan. “I can still do most of what I've done for the last 50 years physically, but my body lets me know I am not to repeat that exertion for a longer period.”

Recovery time is needed, I think, not only from physical exertion, but from the mental/emotional variety too. My body is rested (or so I believe), but it's taking my mind longer to find its usual pace again. After two or three months of lists, sub-lists, phone calls, arrangements, organization, reminders, follow-ups, course corrections and numerous fixes to inevitable problems, my brain has told me it's on hold for awhile - even though most of project is finished.

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Quality of HF Care Not Better Despite Shorter Stays - from MedPage Today

By Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Although hospital length of stay and inhospital mortality are decreasing for older patients with heart failure, that doesn't necessarily mean quality of care is improving, a large observational study showed.

From 1993 to 2006, length of stay and inhospital mortality significantly decreased in the U.S., but postdischarge mortality and 30-day readmission rates increased -- by a relative 49% and 17%, respectively;Journal of the American Medical Association.
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The hard road to grandparents visitation rights | Grandparents Rights

from caringgrandparents.com

Most people will tell you that grandparents do not have any common law rights to see their grandchildren. These people are not entirely correct. There is no basis in constitutional law as regards to grandparent visitation rights in the USA. And yet, there are cases in this country all the time where grandparents are found to be entitled to visitation rights.

It is not an easy road. In order for a grandparent to obtain such grandparents visitation rights, grandparents may have to present evidence to the court that the absence of visitation rights would be harmful or detrimental to the child’s health and welfare.

Since parents have an established elementary right to the care, custody and supervision of their child, the grandparents usually have to show that there is a satisfactory reason for the court to intervene. Therefore it can be difficult to prove such harm to the child.
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Mental Health Apps: Like A 'Therapist In Your Pocket' : NPR

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by Michelle Trudeau

As the computing power of cell phones increases, more and more sophisticated mobile apps are being developed for the mental health field. They're seen as a way to bridge periodic therapy sessions — a sort of 24-7 mobile therapist that can help with everything from quitting smoking to treating anxiety to detecting relapses in psychotic disorders.

These mobile technologies let users track their moods and experiences, providing a supplemental tool for psychiatrists and psychologists.

"It gives me an additional source of rich information of what the patient's life is like between sessions," says University of Pennsylvania researcher Dimitri Perivoliotis, who treats patients with schizophrenia. "It's almost like an electronic therapist, in a way, or a therapist in your pocket."

Here's how one of the apps, called "Mobile Therapy," works:
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Disability.gov: Countdown to the Anniversary of the ADA: Day 56 - National Disability Employment Awareness Month Theme

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By Carol A. Dunlap, Business Development Specialist, Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor

Every October, federal, state and local government agencies; nonprofit organizations; and individuals across the country celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). However, for many of you, this may be the first time you are hearing about NDEAM. NDEAM has been around for a while, but the name has changed just about every 20 years or so since it begun.

In 1945, Congress responded to President Harry Truman’s deep concern about wounded warriors returning from World War II by passing a Resolution to establish the first week in October as National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week. It was his hope that the week-long celebration would create more awareness of the possibilities available to employ individuals with disabilities. Congress removed the word “physically” from the name in 1962; and it became National Employ the Handicapped Week to more accurately reflect the employment needs of all Americans with disabilities. And, in 1988, the name was changed to National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

Each year, NDEAM has a theme associated with individuals with disabilities and their path to finding and retaining employment. Organizations nationwide incorporate the theme into hiring events, proclamations, public awareness events, mentoring opportunities and disability history recognitions that are kicked-off during October and continue year-round. Showcasing the skills and talents of workers with disabilities strengthens public understanding of this often untapped human resource.

The official NDEAM theme for 2010 is “Talent Has No Boundaries: Workforce Diversity INCLUDES Workers with Disabilities.” The theme serves to inform the public that workers with disabilities represent a diverse and vibrant talent pool and emphasizes talent and inclusion.
Communities across the country are eagerly embracing this theme and are planning an array of events and other media opportunities.  Each outreach opportunity helps the public understand the vastness of talent brought to the workplace by people with disabilities plus the many ways employers benefit from their contributions.

Unleash your creativity in using this year’s theme to educate the public on the vast talents workers with disabilities bring to the workplace. In fact, isn’t it time to change the name again and delete the word “Month?”

For More Information
To learn more about National Disability Employment Awareness Month, visit the Web site of the Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy at http://www.dol.gov/odep/programs/ndeam.htm. 

Happiness May Come With Age, Study Says - NYTimes.com

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By NICHOLAS BAKALAR

It is inevitable. The muscles weaken. Hearing and vision fade. We get wrinkled and stooped. We can’t run, or even walk, as fast as we used to. We have aches and pains in parts of our bodies we never even noticed before. We get old.

It sounds miserable, but apparently it is not. A large Gallup poll has found that by almost any measure, people get happier as they get older, and researchers are not sure why.
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