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New laws let visitors see loved ones in health care facilities, even in an outbreak

Jean White’s mother has dementia and moved into a memory care facility near Tampa, Florida, just as coronavirus lockdowns began in spring 2020. For months, the family wasn’t allowed to go inside to visit.

8 Apr 2022

The pandemic exacerbates the ‘paramedic paradox’ in rural America

Even after she's clocked out, Sarah Lewin keeps a Ford Explorer outfitted with medical gear parked outside her house.

7 Apr 2022

Why Black and Hispanic seniors are left with a less powerful flu vaccine

At Whitman-Walker Health, Dr. David Fessler and his staff administer high-dose influenza vaccine to all HIV-positive and senior patients.

6 Apr 2022

Sonographers take 64% more time to scan for endometriosis than routine pelvic ultrasounds, study shows

A new study released by the University of South Australia shows that it takes sonographers 64 per cent more time to scan comprehensively for endometriosis compared to routine pelvic ultrasounds – time that private providers are not subsidised for in Medicare ultrasound rebates.

6 Apr 2022

ACA sign-ups for low-income people roll out amid brokers’ concerns about losing their cut

Insurance agent Cindy Holtzman was a little surprised by the notice from Bright HealthCare, one of the insurers that offer Affordable Care Act coverage in her area.

5 Apr 2022

Just 18% of patients have their infected heart devices removed, even though removal is recommended

Medicare patients whose implantable heart devices became infected were less likely to die from the complication if they had the hardware removed compared to patients who only received antibiotics, according to the largest study on the topic, led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

4 Apr 2022

Insulin copay cap passes house hurdle, but Senate looks for a broader bill

The chances of passing election-year legislation to help people afford insulin — which weeks ago seemed mired in political fighting — are looking brighter as a bipartisan effort to tackle the issue takes root in the Senate.

4 Apr 2022

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Funding for the next pandemic

President Joe Biden released his budget proposal for 2023 this week, and it calls for a nearly 27% increase in funding for the Department of Health and Human Services.

31 Mar 2022

Tennessee offers to expand dental schools as Medicaid coverage stretches need

More than 600,000 additional Medicaid patients in Tennessee may soon be covered with comprehensive dental benefits under a proposal by Republican Gov. Bill Lee. But the state, one of the last to extend dental coverage to adults, is also trying to make sure those Medicaid enrollees can find dentists willing to treat them.

31 Mar 2022

Despite doctors’ concerns, pharmacists get more leeway to offer treatment with testing

When Reyna or Justin Ansley or one of their three kids feels sick and needs to be tested for strep throat or flu, there's a good chance they'll head to their local pharmacy in Hemingford or Alliance, Nebraska. Dave Randolph, the proprietor of both locations of Dave's Pharmacy, can do a rapid test, give them medicine if they need it, and send them on their way.

31 Mar 2022

Risk for anaphylaxis higher with two intravenous iron formulations

Two products commonly administered intravenously to replenish iron levels in the body have a much higher chance of provoking a severe allergic attack, according to Rutgers researchers who conducted a study analyzing the medical records in a large database of older, Medicare patients.

29 Mar 2022

At a Tennessee crossroads, two pharmacies, a monkey, and millions of pills

It was about 1 a.m. on April 19, 2016, when a burglary alarm sounded at Dale Hollow Pharmacy in Celina, a tiny town in the rolling, wooded hills near the Kentucky border.

29 Mar 2022

Remote cognitive assessment could help track brain health in patients with cardiovascular risk

A new study is the first to show that a remote cognitive assessment could help with tracking patients with cardiovascular risk.

28 Mar 2022

Big pharma is betting on bigger political ambitions from Sen. Tim Scott

Sen. Tim Scott, a rising star in the Republican Party with broad popularity in his home state of South Carolina, is getting showered with drug industry money before facing voters this fall.

28 Mar 2022

Immunocompromised patients worry vaccine exemptions put them in peril

Charlie O'Neill received part of her husband's liver in a 2013 living donor transplant and has been taking drugs that suppress her immune system ever since to prevent her body from attacking the organ.

22 Mar 2022

Study finds out-of-pocket spending for health care after COVID-19 hospital stay

Millions of Americans have needed hospitalization for COVID-19 since the pandemic began, including hundreds of thousands in the recent Omicron surge.

17 Mar 2022

Routine mammograms may provide clues for heart disease risk in postmenopausal women

Routine mammograms may provide key insights for cardiovascular disease. Detection of breast arterial calcifications on breast mammograms was associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women, according to new research published today in Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association journal.

15 Mar 2022

Medicare Advantage plans send pals to seniors’ homes for companionship — and profits

Widowed and usually living alone, Gloria Bailey walks with a cane after two knee replacement surgeries and needs help with housekeeping.

15 Mar 2022

'Dual eligible' patients may have poorer outcomes, higher spending even in the highest-quality hospitals

They're old enough to qualify for Medicare, and their incomes are low enough to qualify them for Medicaid.

10 Mar 2022

Serious mental illness associated with increased cardiovascular risk in young adults

An analysis of nearly 600,000 adults in the U.S. found that those diagnosed with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder may have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease at younger ages compared to adults not diagnosed with one of those serious mental illnesses, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access, peer-reviewed Journal of the American Heart Association.

9 Mar 2022

Medicare News and Research

New laws let visitors see loved ones in health care facilities, even in an outbreak

The pandemic exacerbates the ‘paramedic paradox’ in rural America

Why Black and Hispanic seniors are left with a less powerful flu vaccine

Sonographers take 64% more time to scan for endometriosis than routine pelvic ultrasounds, study shows

ACA sign-ups for low-income people roll out amid brokers’ concerns about losing their cut

Just 18% of patients have their infected heart devices removed, even though removal is recommended

Insulin copay cap passes house hurdle, but Senate looks for a broader bill

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Funding for the next pandemic

Tennessee offers to expand dental schools as Medicaid coverage stretches need

Despite doctors’ concerns, pharmacists get more leeway to offer treatment with testing

Risk for anaphylaxis higher with two intravenous iron formulations

At a Tennessee crossroads, two pharmacies, a monkey, and millions of pills

Remote cognitive assessment could help track brain health in patients with cardiovascular risk

Big pharma is betting on bigger political ambitions from Sen. Tim Scott

Immunocompromised patients worry vaccine exemptions put them in peril

Study finds out-of-pocket spending for health care after COVID-19 hospital stay

Routine mammograms may provide clues for heart disease risk in postmenopausal women

Medicare Advantage plans send pals to seniors’ homes for companionship — and profits

'Dual eligible' patients may have poorer outcomes, higher spending even in the highest-quality hospitals

Serious mental illness associated with increased cardiovascular risk in young adults

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