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What will it take to boost vaccinations? The scene from Kentucky’s back roads

In the end it was the delta variant that drove Rose Mitchell, 89, down the winding mountain road to the Full Gospel Church of Jesus Christ to get the shot. Her pastor, Billy Joe Lewis, had told his congregation that, No, ma'am, a covid vaccine would not leave the "mark of the beast" nor rewrite their genetic codes.

18 Oct 2021

The public backs Medicare Rx price negotiation even after hearing both sides’ views

As Congress debates cutting prescription drug costs, a poll released Tuesday found the vast majority of adults — regardless of their political party or age — support letting the federal government negotiate drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries and those in private health insurance plans.

12 Oct 2021

A wrenching farewell: Bidding adieu to my primary care doctor after nearly 30 years

I hadn't expected the tears. My primary care doctor and I were saying goodbye after nearly 30 years together.

12 Oct 2021

Alzheimer’s drug targets people with mild cognitive impairment. What does that mean?

The approval of a controversial new drug for Alzheimer's disease, Aduhelm, is shining a spotlight on mild cognitive impairment — problems with memory, attention, language or other cognitive tasks that exceed changes expected with normal aging.

29 Sep 2021

An ad’s charge that price haggling would ‘swipe $500 billion from Medicare’ is incorrect

The advertisement opens with a doctor sitting across from his patient and holding a prescription drug pill bottle. "You want to continue with this medication?" the doctor asks while an older patient nods.

28 Sep 2021

MHRI aims to delve deeper into how musical intervention can affect health

If popular wisdom holds that music is good for the soul, science is increasingly seeking to better understand how music can affect the body, brain, and mind, as evidenced by the 2020 publication of the first World Health Organization report on health and music.

24 Sep 2021

Domestic reference pricing may reduce Medicare expenditures on new drugs, study finds

Basing new drug launch prices on historical domestic data could limit manufacturers' power to set extremely high launch prices and could reduce Medicare spending on new drugs by up to 30%, according to a new white paper released today by West Health and its Council for Informed Drug Spending Analysis.

23 Sep 2021

COVID mRNA vaccines display weakened immune response with age and diminish over time, according to new study

Researchers from Simon Fraser University in Canada decided to investigate the magnitude of immunity in mRNA vaccines for COVID-19.

15 Sep 2021

Justice Department targets data mining in Medicare Advantage fraud case

The Justice Department has accused an upstate New York health insurance plan for seniors and its medical analytics company of cheating the government out of tens of millions of dollars.

14 Sep 2021

Under pressure, Montana hospital considers adding psych beds amid a shortage

Gary Popiel had to drive more than 200 miles round trip to visit his adult daughters in separate behavioral health facilities as they received psychiatric and medical treatment.

14 Sep 2021

Brown researchers receive $4.9 million to study COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in older adults

To address the pressing issue of diminishing immunity among older adults to COVID-19 as well to vaccines designed to protect against the virus, a $4.9 million award from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will fund a two-year project led by Brown University researchers and conducted by a team spanning multiple institutions.

10 Sep 2021

Public Health AmeriCorps launched for the development of a new generation of public health leaders

AmeriCorps, the federal agency for volunteering and national service, has launched Public Health AmeriCorps,external icon a new partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support the recruitment, training, and development of a new generation of public health leaders who will be ready to respond to the nation's public health needs.

8 Sep 2021

Marijuana use among college-age adults remains at historically high levels in 2020

Marijuana use continued to rise among college students over the past five years and remained at historically high levels among same-aged peers who are not in college in 2020, according to survey results from the 2020 Monitoring the Future (MTF) panel study.

8 Sep 2021

Minister for seniors at famed church confronts ageism and the shame it brings

Later life is a time of reassessment and reflection. What sense do we make of the lives we have lived? How do we come to terms with illness and death? What do we want to give to others as we grow older?

2 Sep 2021

Community-based program can help reduce in-home falls among older adults

For many aging Americans, the dream of maintaining an active, independent lifestyle while living at home comes crashing down with a fall. Falls are the leading cause of injury, accidental death and premature placement in a nursing home among older adults in the United States.

31 Aug 2021

COVID-19 in Virginia: Beliefs drive behavior

A new paper examines this phenomenon as it relates to the state of Virginia to outline lessons to be learned from this debacle of pandemic management.

29 Aug 2021

HHS public health and medical experts release joint statement on COVID-19 booster shots for Americans

Today, public health and medical experts from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the following statement on the Administration's plan for COVID-19 booster shots for the American people.

18 Aug 2021

HHS public health and medical experts release statement on plan for COVID-19 booster shots

Today, public health and medical experts from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released the following statement on the Administration's plan for COVID-19 booster shots for the American people.

18 Aug 2021

National academies’ report took pharma-friendly stance after millions in gifts from drugmakers

To several U.S. senators, it looked wasteful, even outrageous. Every year, taxpayers pay for at least $750 million worth of expensive pharmaceuticals that are simply thrown away. Companies ship many of the drugs in "Costco"-size vials, one lawmaker said, that once opened usually cannot be resealed or saved for other patients. Yet pharma gets paid for every drop.

12 Aug 2021

Clarity on covid count: Pandemic’s toll on seniors extended well beyond nursing homes

As covid-19 resurges across the country, driven by the highly infectious delta variant, experts are extending our understanding of the pandemic's toll on older adults — the age group hit hardest by the pandemic.

6 Aug 2021