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Worries about emergency care costs keep older adults from seeking medical attention

Worries about what emergency care might cost them have kept some older adults from seeking medical attention even when they felt they might need it, a new study shows.

16 Dec 2022

Is legislation to safeguard Americans against superbugs a boondoggle or breakthrough?

With time running out in the 2022 congressional session, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and infectious disease specialists is scrambling to pass a bill aimed at spurring the development of antibiotics to combat the deadly spread of drug-resistant pathogens.

16 Dec 2022

Incidence of Parkinson's disease among older adults is 50% higher than current estimates, study reveals

A new study reveals that the annual incidence of Parkinson's disease (PD) among older adults is 50% higher than current estimates of 60,000 diagnoses annually.

15 Dec 2022

Study shows benefits of decreasing opioid refills for hip and knee arthroplasty patients

Opioids are commonly prescribed to patients that are discharged after a total knee and hip arthroplasty. Patients are typically given larger prescriptions of opioids that can result in an excess of the medication in their home after recovery is over.

14 Dec 2022

The effectiveness of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and molnupiravir for the treatment of COVID-19 among US veterans

Researchers evaluated the effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 antivirals, nirmatrelvir-ritonavir, and molnupiravir among Veterans in the United States of America.

13 Dec 2022

How Medicare Advantage plans dodged auditors and overcharged taxpayers by millions

In April 2016, government auditors asked a Blue Cross Medicare Advantage health plan in Minnesota to turn over medical records of patients treated by a podiatry practice whose owner had been indicted for fraud.

13 Dec 2022

KHN investigation: The system feds rely on to stop repeat health fraud is broken

The federal system meant to stop health care business owners and executives from repeatedly bilking government health programs fails to do so, a KHN investigation has found.

12 Dec 2022

Hospital financial decisions play a role in the critical shortage of pediatric beds for RSV patients

The dire shortage of pediatric hospital beds plaguing the nation this fall is a byproduct of financial decisions made by hospitals over the past decade, as they shuttered children's wards, which often operate in the red, and expanded the number of beds available for more profitable endeavors like joint replacements and cancer care.

9 Dec 2022

Enrollment in Medicare Advantage not associated with higher rate of heart attack survival

Nearly half of Americans with Medicare now get their health insurance coverage through a private company that takes part in the federal government's Medicare Advantage program.

7 Dec 2022

New Clinical Practice Guideline offers recommendations to manage hypoglycemia in people with diabetes

People with diabetes are benefiting from advances in medications and technologies to lower their risk of hypoglycemia, according to a Clinical Practice Guideline issued today by the Endocrine Society.

7 Dec 2022

Paxlovid has been free so far. Next year, sticker shock awaits.

Nearly 6 million Americans have taken Paxlovid for free, courtesy of the federal government. The Pfizer pill has helped prevent many people infected with covid-19 from being hospitalized or dying, and it may even reduce the risk of developing long covid.

7 Dec 2022

Is remdesivir treatment associated with reduced risk of inpatient mortality among US patients hospitalized with COVID-19?

Researchers assessed the effect of remdesivir on inpatient COVID-19-associated mortality among individuals hospitalized with SARS-CoV-2 infections in an enormous dataset of US residents beyond clinical trial settings.

6 Dec 2022

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Medicaid machinations

The lame-duck Congress is back in Washington with a long list of bills it would like to pass and a short time to do it before Republicans take over the House majority in January.

1 Dec 2022

Benzodiazepine-related beliefs may influence clinicians' willingness to prescribe the drug

Despite the continuing growth of benzodiazepine (BZD)-related overdoses, BZD prescription rates have held constant.

29 Nov 2022

Consultation on insurance issues and training needed to improve the use of continuous glucose monitoring in primary care

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is associated with improved health outcomes for patients with diabetes.

29 Nov 2022

How do COVID-19 outcomes vary by race and gender?

Researchers investigated the variations in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing and severe outcomes according to race, ethnicity, and gender.

29 Nov 2022

An unexplained injury discovered after eye surgery. What should happen next?

When Jerry Bilinski, a 67-year-old retired social worker, scheduled cataract surgery with Carolina Eye Associates near his home in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he expected no drama, just a future with better vision.

29 Nov 2022

Older women may be undergoing unnecessary cervical cancer screenings, study suggests

A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that women over the age of 65 may be undergoing unnecessary cervical cancer screenings and that more public health data is needed on the utilization of cervical cancer screening-associated services among older women to prevent potential harm and unnecessary costs.

28 Nov 2022

When malpractice occurs at community health centers, taxpayers pay

Silvia Garcia's 14-year-old son was left permanently disabled and in a wheelchair after a community health center doctor in New Mexico failed to diagnose his appendicitis despite his complaint of severe stomach pain.

28 Nov 2022

Should older seniors risk major surgery? New research offers guidance

Nearly 1 in 7 older adults die within a year of undergoing major surgery, according to an important new study that sheds much-needed light on the risks seniors face when having invasive procedures.

28 Nov 2022

Medicare News and Research

Worries about emergency care costs keep older adults from seeking medical attention

Is legislation to safeguard Americans against superbugs a boondoggle or breakthrough?

Incidence of Parkinson's disease among older adults is 50% higher than current estimates, study reveals

Study shows benefits of decreasing opioid refills for hip and knee arthroplasty patients

The effectiveness of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir and molnupiravir for the treatment of COVID-19 among US veterans

How Medicare Advantage plans dodged auditors and overcharged taxpayers by millions

KHN investigation: The system feds rely on to stop repeat health fraud is broken

Hospital financial decisions play a role in the critical shortage of pediatric beds for RSV patients

Enrollment in Medicare Advantage not associated with higher rate of heart attack survival

New Clinical Practice Guideline offers recommendations to manage hypoglycemia in people with diabetes

Paxlovid has been free so far. Next year, sticker shock awaits.

Is remdesivir treatment associated with reduced risk of inpatient mortality among US patients hospitalized with COVID-19?

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Medicaid machinations

Benzodiazepine-related beliefs may influence clinicians' willingness to prescribe the drug

Consultation on insurance issues and training needed to improve the use of continuous glucose monitoring in primary care

How do COVID-19 outcomes vary by race and gender?

An unexplained injury discovered after eye surgery. What should happen next?

Older women may be undergoing unnecessary cervical cancer screenings, study suggests

When malpractice occurs at community health centers, taxpayers pay

Should older seniors risk major surgery? New research offers guidance

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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