The vision for Retirement Living TV is to be the primary portal of information for an aging America, says Brad Knight, president of the September, 2006 launched cable venture.

“Our station is about information and inspiration for retiring in America,” Knight says. “There’s a golf channel, a food channel and all other types of channels, but there is no centralized station or place solely about aging in America. That’s what we are working to be.”

Retirement Living TV, aired in almost 26 million households nationwide via Comcast cable and DirecTV, is focusing on the 55 and older set. Broadcasts run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern time and feature both live and taped programming on health, politics, investing, housing, lifestyles and profiles. Much of the content is simulcast on www.rl.tv.com. The company has about 150 employees, approximately $20 million invested and hopes to be in 50 million households by the end of 2007, Knight says. The channel is part of Catonsville, MD-based Erickson Retirement Communities and its family of businesses and foundations.

“RL TV is not an infomercial for Erickson,” Knight says. “Our goal is to be the stand-alone aging information portal. Society was not designed to live in retirement for 20 or 30 years like it has become, and there is a real basic lack of pertinent information for seniors in America.”

Baby boomers are a major target audience for the new station, in and of the group themselves and in their role as caregivers for their parents.

“If your mom develops macular degeneration, where do you go to find out the latest information, we say it will be here.” Knight says.

Knight says that RL TV will sustain itself through advertising initially and later will be augmented by carriage fees from cable providers. Advertising sources include the health, insurance, investment and auto industries.

John C. Erickson is the founder and CEO of Erickson Retirement Communities and its family of organizations, including the Erickson Tribune newspaper. Affiliations include the Erickson School of Aging Studies at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and the National Institutes of Health, a non-profit research foundation, as well as Johns Hopkins University. The channel will utilize information from these organizations and others.

Knight points to a recent show as an example of the channel’s potential. The station did a story on Medicare Part D that was followed by a free DVD giveaway about the drug program that was offered through RL TV’s website.

“The DVD literally was everything you want and need to know about Medicare Part D and the kind of resource we want to be,” Knight says. “We’ve given away 6,000 DVDs with more orders coming in everyday.”

In addition to the flu vaccine, the American Medical Directors Association is urging senior-living executives to have their communities immunize residents against two other diseases: tetanus and shingles.

“Although extremely rare,” the organization says in its latest tool kit, which deals with vital immunizations aimed at diseases common to all populations but especially dangerous for seniors, “tetanus can be fatal, especially in elderly people.”

Of shingles, the AMDA says “the risk of shingles increases with age, with half of all cases occurring in those over the age of 60.” Also common in that group is postherpetic neuralgia, “an intense nerve pain that can last for years as a (pathological condition) of shingles.”

The primary reason for tetanus’ higher death rate among the senior population is “waning immunity related to declining antibody titers, which are in turn related to low immunization rates and possibly to reduced responsiveness to vaccination,” according to AMDA. Shingles “occurs in people who have been previously exposed by natural disease or vaccine to the chickenpox virus.” Half the cases involve persons over 60.

Tetanus boosters should be given every 10 years, says AMDA, while the shingles vaccine is a one-time dose. For the shingles vaccine, persons over 60 who do not take medications that compromise the immune system should be considered candidates.

Earlier this month, Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) introduced before Congress the Long-Term Care Trust Account Act of 2007 (S.504). The proposed legislation would allow Americans to contribute $5000 per year to private accounts in order to pay for long-term care insurance or long-term care costs. The contributor would then be eligible for a 10% tax credit on their contribution. Interest accrued would be tax free, similar to interest accrued on Roth IRA’s. Individuals would also be able to make contributions to the LTC accounts of others such as parents or spouses.

Senator Lincoln maintained that, “As Americans, we must commit ourselves to planning for our own future…it is critical that [Congress] create incentives for Americans to invest in their long-term care security.” Senator Smith points out that, “We are an aging nation…with the baby boomers rapidly retiring, the need for long-term care planning is becoming even more critical.” According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the number of Americans most in need of long-term care (those 85+) is expected to more than triple by 2040.

Not surprisingly, The American Health Care Association, the National Center for Assisted Living and The Association of Health Insurance Advisors all have expressed strong support for the legislation, which has now moved into the Senate Finance Committee for review. Bruce Yarwood, President and CEO of AHCA/NCAL reasoned, “The more our nation can do through tax and fiscal policy to alleviate pressure on the Medicaid program, the more likely we are to assure that Medicaid will be available…to protect those Americans who most need this vital safety net program.” AHIA President Lawrence E. Lounds lauded the proposal saying that it represented, “meaningful tax relief and is an important incentive for Americans to take greater personal responsibility for their long-term care needs.”

The theme of greater personal responsibility coupled with enthusiasm for traditional tax code creativity strongly echo President Bush’s State of the Union speech last month. While the merits of S.504 will surely be debated, it seems doubtful that this legislation proposing private healthcare accounts has a chance of passing quickly.