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COVID-19 pandemic can be used as a prompt for discussing older adults' wishes for end-of-life care

As the toll of COVID-19 continues to climb, newly released poll data suggest an opportunity to use the pandemic as a prompt for discussing and documenting older adults' wishes for their care, if they get seriously ill or injured for any reason.

7 Apr 2021

Late-week surgery, discharge to specialty care related to higher costs and longer hospital stay after elective spine surgery

New research by a team from the Cleveland Clinic and the London School of Economics and Political Science has determined that surgeries performed late in the workweek, and those culminating in discharge to a specialty care facility, are associated with higher costs and unnecessarily longer stays in the hospital following a common elective spine surgery.

7 Apr 2021

High-intensity walking exercise benefits people with peripheral artery disease

No pain means no gain when it comes to reaping exercise benefits for people with peripheral artery disease (PAD), reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

6 Apr 2021

Missouri ‘voted for this lie,’ says state rep trying to block Medicaid expansion

It is hard to qualify for Medicaid as an adult in Missouri. Single adults aren't eligible for coverage through the state's program — dubbed MO HealthNet — at all, and parents can’t make more than 21% of the federal poverty level: $5,400 in 2021 for a family of three.

6 Apr 2021

Accounting for social risk factors can have meaningful impact on healthcare quality measures

A new analysis by a team of researchers led by Dr. David Nerenz of Henry Ford Health System suggests that accounting for social risk factors like poverty, housing instability and transportation insecurity can have meaningful impact on healthcare quality measures without compromising quality of care.

6 Apr 2021

Researchers propose new solutions to fill gaps in Medicare coverage

"Near-poor" Americans - people just above the federal poverty level but still well below the average U.S. income - who rely on Medicare for health insurance face high medical bills and may forgo essential health care, according to new research led by health policy scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

6 Apr 2021

Despite guidelines, end-of-life care remains aggressive for ovarian cancer patients

People with ovarian cancer frequently receive aggressive end-of-life care despite industry guidelines that emphasize quality of life for those with advanced disease, according to a recent study.

6 Apr 2021

Study: Alzheimer's disease treatments could reduce the financial burden to U.S. state budgets

Alzheimer's disease treatments that slow progression of the disease could significantly reduce the financial burden to U.S. state budgets, according to a new USC study.

5 Apr 2021

Families with sick kids on Medicaid seek easier access to out-of-state hospitals

Three-year-old Elizabeth Zakutansky was born with a rare genetic condition that causes multiple seizures. Her neurologist, a top expert on treating her condition, practices at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, less than an hour's drive from the Zakutanskys' home in Hobart, Indiana. Her parents would like her to get all her care there.

5 Apr 2021

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Planning for round two

Congress is out of session, but that hasn't stopped Democrats from planning their next round of health legislation.

1 Apr 2021

New update addresses key issues in the delivery of sleep care using telemedicine

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recently published an update on the use of telemedicine for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders to reflect lessons learned from the transition to telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic and the benefits of continuing to utilize remote care when appropriate.

1 Apr 2021

Study details COVID-19 risk factors among long-stay nursing home residents in the U.S.

Risks of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection for long-stay nursing home residents were mainly dependent on factors in their nursing homes and surrounding communities, according to a large study led by a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

31 Mar 2021

Despite targeted efforts, racial disparities persist in rural areas

In the last 20 years, Black adults living in rural areas of the United States have experienced high mortality rates due to diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke compared to white adults.

30 Mar 2021

Latino Californians are among hardest hit by COVID-19

The COVID-19 surge of summer through winter 2020‒2021 devastated all population groups. Yet when the death rates of Latinos are compared to non-Hispanic white (NHW) rates in every age group, there is a significant disparity between the two: Latino death rates are from two to seven times higher than NHW rates.

26 Mar 2021

Her doctor’s office moved one floor up. Her bill was 10 times higher.

Kyunghee Lee's right hand hurts all the time. She spent decades running a family dry cleaning store outside Cleveland after emigrating from South Korea 40 years ago. She still freelances as a seamstress, although work has slowed amid the covid-19 pandemic.

26 Mar 2021

‘Incredibly concerning’ lawsuit threatens no-charge preventive care for millions

With a challenge to the Affordable Care Act still pending at the Supreme Court, conservatives are continuing to launch legal attacks on the law, including a case in which a Texas federal judge seems open to ending the requirement that most Americans must receive preventive services like mammograms free of charge.

26 Mar 2021

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Getting down to work at HHS

As questions swirl about the Covid vaccine made by AstraZeneca, public health experts are worried the confusion could create more doubts among people already hesitant to get a vaccine.

25 Mar 2021

Under new cost-cutting Medicare rule, same surgery, same place, different bill

A cost-saving change in Medicare launched in the final days of the Trump administration will cut payments to hospitals for some surgical procedures while potentially raising costs and confusion for patients.

23 Mar 2021

Democrats eye Medicare negotiations to lower drug prices

Democrats, newly in control of Congress and the White House, are united behind an idea that Republican lawmakers and major drugmakers fiercely oppose: empowering the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate the prices of brand-name drugs covered by Medicare.

23 Mar 2021

Screenings for breast cancer and colon cancer returned to near-normal levels by July 2020

Screenings for breast cancer and colon cancer dropped dramatically during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, but use of the procedures returned to near-normal levels by the end of July 2020, according to a new study.

23 Mar 2021

Medicare News and Research

COVID-19 pandemic can be used as a prompt for discussing older adults' wishes for end-of-life care

Late-week surgery, discharge to specialty care related to higher costs and longer hospital stay after elective spine surgery

High-intensity walking exercise benefits people with peripheral artery disease

Missouri ‘voted for this lie,’ says state rep trying to block Medicaid expansion

Accounting for social risk factors can have meaningful impact on healthcare quality measures

Researchers propose new solutions to fill gaps in Medicare coverage

Despite guidelines, end-of-life care remains aggressive for ovarian cancer patients

Study: Alzheimer's disease treatments could reduce the financial burden to U.S. state budgets

Families with sick kids on Medicaid seek easier access to out-of-state hospitals

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Planning for round two

New update addresses key issues in the delivery of sleep care using telemedicine

Study details COVID-19 risk factors among long-stay nursing home residents in the U.S.

Despite targeted efforts, racial disparities persist in rural areas

Latino Californians are among hardest hit by COVID-19

Her doctor’s office moved one floor up. Her bill was 10 times higher.

‘Incredibly concerning’ lawsuit threatens no-charge preventive care for millions

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Getting down to work at HHS

Under new cost-cutting Medicare rule, same surgery, same place, different bill

Democrats eye Medicare negotiations to lower drug prices

Screenings for breast cancer and colon cancer returned to near-normal levels by July 2020

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