2024 What's Next Longevity Innovation Summit

December 9-10 in Washington, DC

There is still time to register for the What's Next Longevity Innovation Summit! We look forward to seeing you at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, December 9-10. See the agenda and full roster of presenters on the conference website.

Welcome to our newest sponsors: The SCAN Foundation, Jubilee TV, RiverSpring Living, Care Daily, Eugeria, National Innovation Centre for Ageing and Geri-Gadgets. Register now!

Episode 81: Travel, Tech, and Tulips - AARP’s Tom Kamber joins Mary and Fred to take a look at a new survey from AARP that finds more older adults are using tech for travel. Then, they are joined by JubileeTV’s Ashish Aggarwal. The company’s fast-growing set-top box is improving the lives of older adults by eliminating frustrations and connecting them with family. Finally, Talia Boone, founder of PostalPetals, drops in to share the remarkable benefits of flower arranging.

Episode 82: Friends, Family, Food, & a Helping Hand - It’s a pre-Thanksgiving Tradition! Lifetime Emmy Award winning PBS chef and personality Lidia Bastianich joins Mary and Fred to talk about her upcoming special - Lidia Celebrates America: The Changemakers. They’re joined by Ageless Innovation/Joy for All CEO Ted Fischer who has more fun arriving for the holidays. Then, we hear from USAging CEO Sandy Markwood about the ongoing needs of those devastated by hurricane floods this fall.



See the full list of What's Next Living Longer Better Smarter episodes.

Funding News

• Abbvie, a U.S. drugmaker, acquired biotechnology company Aliada Therapeutics for $1.4 billion in cash, landing control of an Alzheimer's Disease drug candidate with the potential to cross the blood-brain barrier. 
• WellSky, a health and community care technology company, acquired Bonafide, an enterprise software solution provider for durable medical equipment (DME) and home medical equipment (HME) companies, for an undisclosed amount. 
• OneStep, a digital care platform that predicts fall risks, raised $36 million in a series B funding round led by Vintage Investment Partners and Team8. 
• Homethrive, which provides personalized support and caregiver solutions, received an undisclosed investment from Telus Global Ventures to scale its platform. 
• Persperity Health, which offers a sweat-sensing technology platform to monitor hormonal health, fertility, and menopause, raised $1 million in Pre-Seed funding led by Freeflow Ventures. 
• Arda Therapeutics, a biotechnology company specializing in cell depletion therapies for chronic diseases, raised $43 million in a Series A financing round led by existing investor Andreessen Horowitz (a16z Bio + Health).

Older Voters Account for Over Half of Voters



Election after election, older voters are the nation’s most reliable voting bloc. And they proved that once again in this year’s election, accounting for 53% of the national electorate and a significant presence in battleground states across the country. Learn more about how this critical group voted, the top issues on their mind, and more in Nancy LeaMond’s interview with NPR.

GetSetUp's Medicare Hub Simplifies Enrollment



GetSetUp’s new Medicare Hub is designed to simplify the Medicare Annual Enrollment Period. With over 10,000 Americans becoming eligible for Medicare daily, the Medicare Hub’s accessible, easy-to-understand resources—delivered by certified Medicare experts and peers aged 65+— make Medicare enrollment clearer and more manageable for all.

GetSetUp also continues its work to help Medicare Advantage plans meet CMS’s 2025 health equity goals by offering a scalable solution that reaches diverse populations, strengthens member satisfaction, and aligns with health equity standards.

Good Boost Selected for Accelerator and Award

Good Boost has two exciting updates. First, it has been selected for Europe's largest AgeTech accelerator 'Birdhouse' in Belgium. Second, Good Boost won the 'Supplier for the Year' award for the UK health & fitness industry.

Amba Appoints New SVP

Amba appointed Mike Webster, CPP, CMRM as the Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Partnerships. He brings a wealth of expertise and relationships within the senior living and healthcare markets, having previously managed Senior Living Solutions and Marketing for Stanley Healthcare for nearly a decade (now Securitas Healthcare).

Care Daily Wins New Bid

Care Daily has won a multi-million dollar competitive bid to commercially deploy AI Caregivers into thousands of homes in Europe. Care Daily has been designated a stakeholder in the FDA Home as a Healthcare Hub initiative, while new scientific validation of AI Caregivers to improve family caregiver sleep quality is being published and presented at the Gerontological Society of America 2024 conference in Seattle. Additionally, CEO David Moss recently presented at the AARP AgeTech Summit, HLTH 2024, and the Aging 2.0 OPTIMIZE conferences.

Ageless Innovation Releases TABOO Charades

On November 1st, Ageless Innovation, a global company devoted to reimagining how we positively live and age together through the power of play, released an age-inclusive version of Hasbro's classic TABOO game! The game, TABOO Charades, is the newest addition to four Hasbro games that have been redesigned to enhance the lives of older adults and their families through gameplay (joining Trivial Pursuit Generations, Game of Life Generations, and Scrabble Bingo). 

Joe & Bella Wins Innovation Award

Joe & Bella secured the prestigious Optimize Healthcare Industry Award for Innovation after a pitch competition against four other healthcare startup finalists. The award, which recognizes organizations that are "relentless in their pursuit of reimagining healthcare," acknowledges Joe & Bella's commitment to revolutionizing adaptive apparel and marks the company's third consecutive competition victory.

Books, News, Reports, and Events

• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) revealed that in 2023 Accountable care organizations saved Medicare $2.1 billion, the largest ever yearly savings.
• A new poll shows that 82% of voters favor requiring Medicare and other insurance companies to cover early Alzheimer’s treatments approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), even if it increases health insurance premiums. 
• Medicare Advantage (MA) star ratings fall again in 2025, with only 40% of MA plans with prescription drug coverage earning four or more stars. 
• New research from NORC at the University of Chicago highlights a growing group of middle-income older adults who are unable to access senior living care. 
• The Jewish Healthcare Foundation, a Pittsburgh, PA-based charity, received a $2 million grant to combat the nursing home staffing shortage through training programs. 
• Twenty U.S. states are suing CMS in federal court to block a federal nursing home staffing mandate.
• Ready Joseph Coughlin and Luke Yoquinto's latest book -- Longevity Hubs: Regional Innovation for Global Aging.
• HumanGood's CEO shares that senior housing's golden age is within reach.

BONUS CONTENT:

Lidia Bastianich and her daughter shared two delicious recipes for the holidays:

• Marinated winter squash with sage
• Roasted pears and amarene cherries over ice cream