This is not an April fools joke. With the April newsletter look for more varied, but hopefully relevant, topics. Things like learning how the brain heals itself following a stroke. 

Fraud, waste and abuse at the federal level is not new . . . everyone talked about it but no one took action to correct these problems

Have you tried slow travel? Do you know what it is?

Why is there a shortage of doctors in the U.S.? The answer may surprise you.

All this, plus a few things to warm your heart and make you laugh.

I Survived A Ruptured Brain Aneurysm

According to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, about 50% of people who have ruptured brain aneurysms die, and 66% of the survivors have major cognitive deficiencies from brain damage. Luckily, it is extremely rare for aneurysms to rupture—only 1 in 100 do. Unfortunately for me, mine did.

Because of the low rate of survival without brain damage, there were few guidelines for recovery, so I designed my own. I watched foreign films and read novels to try to exercise my brain. I tore through The Brain’s Way of Healing, by Norman Doidge, which taught me tricks to recover faster.

https://www.rd.com/article/medical-survival-stories/

The Brain’s Way of Healing

https://www.amazon.com/Brains-Way-Healing-Discoveries-Neuroplasticity/dp/014312837X

Nearly $72 Billion Improperly Paid; Recommended Improvements Go Unimplemented

August 19, 2024

Through several audits, the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General made dozens of recommendations for the Agency to prevent improper payments before they occur as well as to detect and correct existing improper payments. However, to date, many of those recommendations remain unimplemented, leading to continued improper payments.

From FYs 2015 through 2022, SSA estimates it made nearly $72 billion in improper payments

OIG’s audits confirmed SSA’s reliance on beneficiaries to self-report changes in their circumstances resulted in improper payments.

https://oig.ssa.gov/news-releases/2024-08-19-ig-reports-nearly-72-billion-improperly-paid-recommended-improvements-go-unimplemented/

SLOW TRAVEL

For many of us, when we think of travel, our minds may go straight to family vacations jam packed with bus tours and overcrowded restaurants that serve dinner with local entertainment designed for the amusement of tourists. You buy a few T-shirts and refrigerator magnets to take back to your friends, then sprint to the airport — only to get home and feel you need another vacation just so you can recover.

But you know what? Travel doesn't have to look like this in 2025.

In fact, for a growing number of digital nomads aged 50 and over, the key to a fulfilling travel lifestyle isn't speeding up, it's slowing down. If you're not familiar with the digital nomad trend, it simply describes people who earn their living working online while living in one or more remote locations in their home country or abroad.

https://www.nextavenue.org/slow-travel-health-and-happiness

Laugh Along With the “Never Seen Before” Entries of Comedy Wildlife Awards 2024

The animal kingdom can be cutthroat, but it can also be really funny. The Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards shows a lighter side of wild animal photography by highlighting images that'll make you chortle. From human-like glances to hilarious moments of clumsiness, the competition is great for a laugh while recognizing the amazing creatures on our planet.

https://mymodernmet.com/comedy-wildlife-awards-never-seen-before-2024

How Congress Created the Doctor Shortage

Demand for doctors continues to rise, but the supply has not been allowed to keep up. Fewer than half of med school applicants find a spot in the nation’s 154 medical schools, and up to 10 percent of graduates won’t get a residency (though a few more may be placed through the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program — SOAP). Hospitals are desperate for staff, small towns are begging for family doctors; yet, perfectly qualified doctors-in-waiting are locked out of the system. 

Who’s administering this near monopoly? What created this massive bottleneck of healing potential, which is expected to result in a shortage of at least 86,000 physicians by 2036?

The answers, unsurprisingly, are the federal government and Congress, thanks to a 1997 spending bill supported by a cartel of campaign donors.

Provisions set by Congress decide how many doctors can be trained annually, and effectively bars all others from practicing, even if they are highly qualified. You can’t independently practice medicine in the United States without having first been matched with, and then completed, a three-to-seven year residency.

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/how-congress-created-the-doctor-shortage/

Coming in May, Why Are There So Many Foreign Trained Doctors?

LAST MINUTE ADDITION . . .

SSA offices not closing . . .

Recent reports in the media that the Social Security Administration (SSA) is permanently closing local field offices are false. Since January 1, 2025, the agency has not permanently closed or announced the permanent closure of any local field office. From time to time, SSA must temporarily close a local field office for reasons such as weather, damage, or facilities issues, and it reopens when the issues are resolved.

https://blog.ssa.gov/correcting-the-record-about-social-security-office-closings/

We are finally seeing signs of Spring. Enjoy the warm weather. Take a walk, the pollen won’t last forever . . .

Feedback is always appreciated! Feel free to share this with your friends.

Bob & Rachel Vineyard

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