3 OLDEST ROOKIES IN SPORTS HISTORY Have you ever felt that fate meant for you to take a different path than the one you took? In some fields, making that change is possible, or even common — as any law student can tell you, where the “average” age of students is in their 30s. But other worlds, like the world of professional sports, are less welcoming to those over 25. Besides, the careers of pro athletes aren’t nearly as long as icons like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning would have you believe. The average MLB career may be a few years longer than Morris stuck it out, but in the NFL? Most players make it less than three years and Philadelphia Eagles in the 1970s. Modern football has come a long way, critics will argue. But there’s no denying the old-school toughness and tenacity Papale showed in making it to the NFL. NBA player Pablo Prigioni’s career was
twice as long as either Morris’ or Papale’s was, with four years in the big leagues starting in 2012 at age 35. But basketball is arguably less demanding on the body than football
quit, depending on the position. While you’re meditating on the ethics of chewing up football players for three years and spitting them out, all in the name of
Which only makes for a better story when it does happen, of course.
That’s what Jim Morris discovered when he signed with a Major League Baseball team in 1999 after his 35th birthday. Morris’ life became the subject of the Dennis Quaid movie “The Rookie,” filmed just after Morris’ major league career had ended. You might think that two years is a short time in the majors, but hey, you try throwing 98-mph fastballs for hours a week, 104 weeks in a row!
and even baseball if we look at the potential damage major league pitchers can do to their throwing arm. Their careers may not have been the stuff of dreams, but these three men showed something we all like to see: tough players hanging on long past their “prime.” And they lived the dream — if only for a while. We all love that!
entertainment, consider the case of another similar story that was turned into a movie, that of Vince Papale — played by Mark Wahlberg in “Invincible.”
Of course, Papale — whose flag football prowess in his late 20s overrode his lack of college ball experience — signed with the
WILL I HAVE COVERAGE FOR THE NEW ALZHEIMER’S DRUG?
You might’ve heard of a new Alzheimer’s drug called Aduhelm, or aducanumab, most notable for being the first Alzheimer’s treatment to be FDA-approved in over 18 years. This has huge cost implications for people on Medicare. What implications, exactly? Let’s dive into it. What does Aduhelm do? If your cognitive function were a highway (aka nerves), imagine amyloid proteins as cars that can easily crowd and jam that highway. When amyloid protein buildup starts to occur, and the traffic jams don’t go away, some scientists believe this can be a significant contributing factor to Alzheimer’s. Aduhelm — specifically in high doses, as its lower dosages failed clinical trials — prevents amyloid protein buildup and may improve cognitive function over a long period of time, such as one trial’s result of 22% clearer cognitive function over 18 months. Will it be covered? The odds are looking good as an FDA-approved medication, but it’s not guaranteed. There’s a chance Medicare Part B
regional carriers and Medicare Advantage plans will push back. For an item or service to be considered for coverage under Medicare Parts A and B, it must be safe and effective, not experimental, and appropriate for Medicare patients. Because Alzheimer’s is a multifaceted disease, there’s still controversy over whether or not Aduhelm’s strategy of targeting amyloid proteins is effective enough to be put on the market. Also, this long-term treatment will cost over $56,000 a year. A Kaiser report says that if 500,000 Medicare patients were prescribed Aduhelm, the program would cost over $29 billion a year, far more than any other medication. With 2 million Medicare beneficiaries under currently available Alzheimer’s treatment under Part D, that might create further issues. If you want to take Aduhelm, new updates may have come up since this newsletter was written and published. Don’t hesitate to give our office a call to find out! Thanks so much for reading, and we’ll be back next month with more current Medicare-related information.
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