On May 15, AFA will host its annual Concepts in Care conference. The full-day educational event will explore such topics as paying for long term care, how to avoid caregiver burnout, and the importance of building relationships in dementia care.

The conference is free and open to the public and offers separate presentations for family and professional caregivers, as well as on-site recreational therapies for individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Speakers include: Dr. John Zeisel,president of Hearthstone Alzheimer Care and The I'm Still Here Foundation, and author of "I'm Still Here: A New Philosophy of Alzheimer's Care;" and Ann Margaret Carrozza,a renowned elder law and estate planning attorney who also served for 14 years as a New York State Assemblywoman. Click here to register.

Congress has reached an agreement that reforms how Medicare reimburses physicians as well as extends-for two years-some other Medicare provisions, including funding to extend the therapy cap exemption for post-acute care therapy services, and the Qualifying Individual (QI) program, which helps low-income seniors pay their Medicare premiums.

To help pay for these provisions, the legislation imposes changes to Medicare that will impact some Medicare beneficiaries. Starting in 2018, wealthier Medicare beneficiaries (those who have incomes above $133,500, higher for couples), would pay more for their Medicare premiums. In addition, "first-dollar" supplemental Medicare insurance known as "Medigap" policies would not cover the Part B deductible for new beneficiaries starting in 2020, increasing out of pocket costs for many seniors.

Medicare providers will also help fund the changes. Post-acute providers, such as long-term care and inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and home health and hospice organizations, will only receive base pay increases of 1 percent in 2018, about half of what was previously legislated.

AFA and other senior stakeholder groups were helpful in discouraging Congress from adopting a co-payment on Medicare home health beneficiaries as part of the funding package. Such a provision would have created a significant barrier for those in need of home care, including many seniors living with dementia, while increasing utilization of more costly institutional care.