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Whistleblower alleges Medicare fraud at iconic Seattle-based health plan

Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, one of the nation's oldest and most respected nonprofit health insurance plans, is accused of bilking Medicare out of millions of dollars in a federal whistleblower case.

18 Oct 2019

‘Fear of falling’: How hospitals do even more harm by keeping patients in bed

Dorothy Twigg was living on her own, cooking and walking without help until a dizzy spell landed her in the emergency room. She spent three days confined to a hospital bed, allowed to get up only to use a bedside commode.

17 Oct 2019

Steroid injections for osteoarthritis more may damage joints

Osteoarthritis (OA), also called degenerative joint disease, is the most common chronic condition of the joints. Since the disease is degenerative, it is the single most common cause of disability among older adults, with about 10 to 15 percent of all adults who are more than 60 years old have some degree of osteoarthritis, with more women affected than men.

15 Oct 2019

Think ‘Medicare for All’ is the only democratic health plan? Think again

If you tuned in for the first five nights of the Democratic presidential debates, you might think "Medicare for All" and providing universal care are the only health care ideas Democrats have.

15 Oct 2019

California’s new transparency law reveals steep rise in wholesale drug prices

Drugmakers fought hard against California's groundbreaking drug price transparency law, passed in 2017. Now, state health officials have released their first report on the price hikes those drug companies sought to shield.

14 Oct 2019

UTHealth leads effort to enhance Texas Adult Protective Services' financial exploitation investigations

An elder abuse team at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston is partnering with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, district attorneys, law enforcement agencies, and forensic accounting professionals to make it easier to identify and prosecute individuals who prey on senior citizens to exploit them financially.

11 Oct 2019

As vaping illnesses rise, so do pleas to quit-smoking help lines

These are just a few of the messages that teen vapers texted in September to the new "My Life, My Quit" program, which offers phone, text and chat lines to young people trying to quit smoking in 13 states.

11 Oct 2019

MDI Biological Laboratory scientist awarded federal grant for aging research

The MDI Biological Laboratory has announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded a grant in the amount of $373,500 per year for five years to Aric Rogers, Ph.D., to support his research on the cellular and molecular mechanisms governing aging.

10 Oct 2019

Nervous system plays vital role in age-related weakness, study finds

A study recently published by researchers from the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, in collaboration with a colleague from outside Ohio University, finds new evidence to support the belief that the nervous system plays an important role in age-related weakness.

9 Oct 2019

mobile Physical Activity Training app for older adults about to get first major user tests

A new app that aims to improve the functional lives of older adults is about to get its first major user tests.

9 Oct 2019

Medicare fraudsters now tap telemedicine in medical equipment scams

Dean Ernest had been living in a nursing home about a year when his son, John, got a call last winter asking if his father was experiencing back pain and would like a free orthotic brace.

9 Oct 2019

MedSafer helps reduce inappropriate medications prescribed to older people

The elderly are often prescribed multiple medications for different health conditions. While some medications are needed, polypharmacy and medication overload can be costly and even harmful. However, reducing the number of potentially inappropriate medications that seniors take on a daily basis is an ongoing challenge.

8 Oct 2019

'Housing First' model significantly reduces homelessness over the long term, study finds

The longest running study of its kind on the "Housing First" model has found that it significantly reduces homelessness over the long term compared to treatment as usual, according to a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry by scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and St. Michael's Hospital.

8 Oct 2019

As Medicare enrollment nears, popular price comparison tool is missing

Millions of older adults can start signing up next week for private policies offering Medicare drug and medical coverage for 2020. But many risk wasting money and even jeopardizing their health care due to changes in Medicare's plan finder, its most popular website.

8 Oct 2019

Trump’s new order for Medicare packs potential rise in patients’ costs

Vowing to protect Medicare with "every ounce of strength," President Donald Trump last week spoke to a cheering crowd in Florida.

7 Oct 2019

Trump speech offers dizzying preview of his health care campaign strategy

President Donald Trump offered a preview of what his 2020 health agenda might look like in a speech Thursday — blasting Democratic proposals for reform and saying he would tackle issues such as prescription drug prices and affordability.

3 Oct 2019

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Trump turns to Medicare

President Donald Trump tried to change the subject from his impeachment investigation by going to Florida to unveil changes to the Medicare program before an audience of seniors.

3 Oct 2019

$Clinical recommendations issued for prevention of secondary fracture among older adults$

Clinical recommendations issued for prevention of secondary fracture among older adults

A multistakeholder coalition assembled by the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research has issued clinical recommendations for the optimal prevention of secondary fracture among people aged 65 years and older with a hip or vertebral fracture - the most serious complication associated with osteoporosis.

2 Oct 2019

The deep divide: State borders create Medicaid haves and have-nots

Patricia Powers went a few years without health insurance and couldn't afford regular doctor visits. So she had no idea cancerous tumors were silently growing in both of her breasts.

2 Oct 2019