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☆ Virtual reality could revolutionize mental-health treatments, including ketamine therapy, for conditions like depression and anxiety
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Christine Macintyre | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The tech is helping mental-health providers treat conditions such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. In the face of this staggering prevalence, virtual reality offers transformative solutions in mental-health treatment and care. He uses FireflyVR's platform, The Sanctuary, a clinically designed VR experience that uses cognitive-behavioral therapy to reduce patients' anxiety before they undergo ketamine therapy. VR cue exposure, Siegfried said, helps reduce binge-eating habits by exposing people to triggering stimuli in a controlled environment. Both cue exposure and embodiment aim to address the complex psychological dynamics of eating disorders.

Persons: —, Shel Mann, Mann, Dr, Christopher Romig, Stella, It's, Romig, Nicole Siegfried, Siegfried Organizations: Service, Disease Control, VR, Veterans Affairs, Behavioral

☆ Mental-health professionals explore AI-powered digital therapeutics to treat patients and improve care
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Christine Macintyre | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The fusion of human ingenuity and machine intelligence is offering an innovative approach to personalized mental-health care. They can also use AI to assess the quality of their services and find ways to improve as providers of mental-health care. As technology becomes more involved in mental-health care, ensuring data security, confidentiality, and equitable access to services must be top priorities. How an AI platform is helping mental-health-care providers improve their servicesThe AI platform Lyssn is another tech-driven tool for mental-health services. Lyssn aims to hold providers accountable for improved care, especially because "the quality of mental-health care is highly variable," Imel said.

Persons: —, Christopher Romig, Stella, Shaheen Lakhan, Daniel Rimm, Haig Goenjian, Zac Imel, Michael Tanana, Imel, Darin Carver, Carver, It's Organizations: Service, Therapeutics, Click Therapeutics, Food and Drug Administration, Weber Human Services Locations: Tanana

NEW YORK (AP) — Tens of millions of older Americans will see a modest increase in benefits this January when a new cost-of-living adjustment is added to Social Security payments. Here's what to keep in mind:Political Cartoons View All 1209 ImagesHOW DOES SOCIAL SECURITY WORK? The Social Security program pays roughly $1.4 trillion in benefits to more than 71 million people each year, including low-income individuals with disabilities. The short answer is that taxes fund Social Security. While the money is used to pay people currently receiving benefits, any unused money goes to the Social Security trust fund.

Persons: Kathleen Romig, ”, Mark Hamrick, Hamrick, Charles Schwab Organizations: Social, Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer, Social Security, Budget, Bureau of Labor Statistics ’, “, Boomers, Associated Press, Charles, Charles Schwab Foundation, Inc, AP

☆ Pittsburgh's major airport is opening a child care center in a terminal to retain airport employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Airports are providing child care for airport employees to keep them in the business. As airports try to retain employees, they've turned to providing child care for workers to entice them to stay in the business. The child care center, which is due to open in August, has 61 spaces available, NBC reported. It's available to the 6,000 employees at the airport, though the 475 airport authority employees will get first dibs, the outlet reported. Denver International Airport and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport are considering following suit, the outlet reported.

Persons: they've, we'll, Thomas Romig Organizations: NBC News, Pittsburgh International, NBC, International, Reuters, Denver International Airport, Northern, Northern Kentucky International Locations: Pittsburgh's, California, Arizona, Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky

Social Security has likely touched your life or the life of someone you know. While you're working, a chunk of your paycheck goes toward Social Security. In 2023, nearly 70 million Americans will receive a Social Security benefit every month. The Social Security Board of Trustees projected in its annual report that the combined asset reserves of the Social Security trust funds will become depleted in 2034, one year sooner than previously projected. A woman stands outside a U.S. Social Security Administration building in Burbank, California, Nov. 5, 2020.

Persons: it's, Kathleen Romig, Valerie Macon Organizations: Security, Social Security, Budget, Social, Social Security Administration, AFP, Getty Locations: Burbank , California

☆ This safety net for the elderly and disabled comes with strict rules on savings. That may change
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Today, those thresholds are just one-sixth of their 1972 value, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities notes, and their worth declines further each year with inflation. How SSI's asset limits may be raisedIn new research, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities considers the effects of raising or eliminating the asset limits SSI has for beneficiaries. That $100,000 threshold would be in line with the amount eligible SSI beneficiaries are currently allowed to hold penalty-free in ABLE accounts, tax advantaged savings programs for people with disabilities. Another change — excluding the consideration of retirement accounts — could also help bolster SSI program eligibility. Eliminating the asset test entirely would raise participation in the program by 6%, the nonpartisan research and policy institute found.

Persons: Tom Grill, Kathleen Romig, Romig, Sen, Sherrod Brown, Rob Portman, Portman, Brown, —, Kristen Dama Organizations: Center, Budget, Finance, GOP, Social Security, Sherrod Brown Democratic, Democrat, Republican, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, Social Security Administration Locations: Ohio, Dama

☆ After Salesforce's Chief People Officer offended some employees during a Pride event, the company edited his comments out of a recording and deleted a related Slack thread
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Salesforce's Brent Hyder offended some employees during the company's LGBTQ+ Pride month kickoff. The company later removed Hyder's comments from a recording of the event and deleted a Slack thread about them. Because Salesforce removed the comments from the recording, Insider has not verified Hyder's exact comments and Salesforce repeatedly declined to provide Insider with a transcript of Hyder's comments. But according to people who heard them, Hyder made a number of controversial statements including that members of the LGBTQ+ community should compromise with opponents. "Allyship is a constant journey," Billy Lewis, a Salesforce employee who was global head of Outforce for four years, said in an interview arranged by Salesforce.

Persons: Salesforce's Brent Hyder, Brent Hyder, Hyder, Salesforce, Brent, Brent Hyder's, Slack, I'm, Billy Lewis, Jessica Romig, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Pride, Employees, Equality, Allies

☆ How AirTags and luggage trackers became the hottest travel accessory
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

That’s right: compact, portable and potentially snatching your perfect vacation from the jaws of lost luggage disaster, the travel accessory of the moment is the humble luggage tracker. “There remain significant problems with lost luggage this year, and this is likely to be worse still in the peak travel period this summer. Possibly because he was one of many: “At one point the agent I was emailing with told me that the building had thousands of lost bags,” he said. Elliot SharodElliot Sharod was one of the first to go viral for tracking his lost luggage through its AirTag. Both Lufthansa and Air New Zealand seemingly banned bag trackers in the hold last year – before swiftly reversing the ban in both cases.

Persons: ” Thomas Romig, Rory Boland, That’s, you’ve, Kate Bevan, it’s, you’ll, you’re, ”, Boland, Jai Rawat, Jai Rawat Jai Rawat, “, –, Virgin, – Rawat, he’d, Rawat, James D, Morgan, Emily McNutt, ” Boland, ’ Elliot Sharod's, Elliot Sharod Elliot Sharod, Sharod, they’re, Bevan, Andrew Kelly, SITA, David Lavorel, Jonas Walzberg, It’s, Boland – Organizations: CNN, Airports, International, SITA, Virgin Atlantic, London Heathrow, Heathrow, Rawat, ‘ Airlines, Samsung Galaxy, “ Passengers, Aer Lingus, Google, Samsung, Apple, Lufthansa, Air New, FAA, Airlines, Reuters, Delta, Twitter, “ Locations: –, London, San Francisco, California, South Africa, Air New Zealand

☆ Social Security benefits could be the first to go in a matter of days if the US defaults — and retirees will 'really suffer' if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling by then
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The US could default on its debt as soon as June 5 if the debt ceiling isn't raised by then. Social Security, Medicaid, and SNAP could be among the first programs to go unpaid. At the top of the list are Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP, along with Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments — all programs that retirees heavily rely upon. Social Security is the biggest federal program, with over 67 million Americans relying on payments. So even if it is possible to prioritize Social Security benefits, we can't insulate Social Security beneficiaries from some serious harm."

☆ Insolvency is on the horizon for Social Security, Medicare funds, expert says. These changes may help
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The research finds 37.8% of adults 65 and over would have incomes below the official poverty line without Social Security benefits. With Social Security benefits, 9% of older adults have incomes below the poverty line. But reducing poverty through and outside of Social Security beyond a sliding scale minimum benefit may be a better approach, she said. Moreover, the maximum Social Security retirement benefit is two to three times higher than what countries like the United Kingdom, Canada or Australia pay. "We're going way, way beyond a pure safety net program," Biggs said.

☆ As Social Security reform talks heat up, changes to the retirement age, payroll tax may be on the table
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A recent Congressional Budget Office report projected Social Security's combined funds may run out in 2033, two years sooner than the Social Security actuaries estimated last year. Raising retirement age may be a 20% benefit cutThe Social Security full retirement age is gradually changing to 67, based on changes enacted in 1983. Lawmakers are considering raising the full retirement age again to age 70. Current beneficiaries and near retirees would likely be spared from any retirement age changes. Warren and Sanders are calling for reapplying the Social Security payroll tax to income over $250,000, while also taxing certain business and investment income at 12.4%.

Individuals who receive monthly SSI benefits are subject to income and asset resources set by the Social Security Administration. Those receiving SSI may worry that buying a house will make them ineligible for benefits, since SSI limits how much recipients can have in assets. So, SSI recipients can buy a house on SSI without losing their benefits. SSI benefits are capped at $914 per month for an individual and $1,371 for married couples who both receive SSI. Mortgages, programs, and other resources that can help SSI recipients purchase a homePreparing for a home purchase without losing your SSI benefits is typically very challenging.

The city of Phoenix's aviation department, which runs the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, has launched a childcare program for airport workers and plans to build a childcare facility on airport property. Since its launch, 37 airport workers have joined the program, which covers daycare costs partially. At Kelowna International Airport in British Columbia, Canada, construction is underway for a daycare primarily for children of employees who work on airport property. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport is similarly weighing offering childcare on-site or nearby in a bid to offer attractive benefits to workers, said airport spokesperson Mindy Kershner. And then there are others - like Jared Barker, a 33-year-old baggage handler at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport who quit and left the industry altogether last year after mass departures during the pandemic led to a heavier workload.

☆ Congress’ lame duck session leaves 'unfinished business' on issues that address Americans' everyday financial needs
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Sarah Silbiger | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesChild tax credit enhancementA year ago last December, millions of families received their last monthly child tax credit checks. Legislation to help parents cope with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic made the child tax credit more generous for the 2021 calendar year. The maximum child tax credit sums went up from $2,000 per child to $3,600 per child under age 6 and $3,000 per child ages 6 through 17. On the bright side, the same compromise to re-up the child tax credit alongside corporate tax breaks may come up again in 2023, he said. Some lawmakers have insisted the child tax credit gets included in any new tax legislation.

☆ 3 entrepreneurs who’ve raised millions on their best work advice: ‘Careers are like spiderwebs’
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Their reasons vary ― some leave as a result of low pay, for example, others as a result of a lack of career advancement. Millions are also finding themselves out of work for reasons outside of their control, like being temporarily or permanently laid off. If you're looking to advance your career, whatever stage you happen to be at, here are three pieces of career advice from entrepreneurs who've recently pivoted themselves. "Careers are like spiderwebs," she told CNBC Make It during PR company BAM's Media Matchmaking Day. 'Rising tide lifts all ships'For Amy Divaraniya, the advice is pretty classic: "A rising tide lifts all ships," she says.

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