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KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: ACA packs more benefits — and more confusion

The Covid relief bill signed by President Joe Biden a week ago includes billions of dollars in new health benefits for consumers. But those benefits may be hard for people to take advantage of because of the interaction with the income tax system and the lack of experts to help them navigate the system.

18 Mar 2021

$Hospital charges increasing more rapidly for hip fracture patients than surgeon reimbursements$

Hospital charges increasing more rapidly for hip fracture patients than surgeon reimbursements

In recent years, hospital charges and Medicare payments for patients with hip fractures have increased much more rapidly than charges and payments for orthopaedic surgeons, reports a study in the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma.

17 Mar 2021

Evaluation of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine among residents of two skilled nursing facilities

The severity of COVID-19 among the residents of long-term care facilities (LTCFs) has been reported to be disproportionately high. Specifically, individuals residing in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are found to be the most severely affected, both in terms of morbidity and mortality, and are, thereby, listed for early COVID-19 vaccination. In comparison to the general population, SNF residents are more vulnerable, with a weak immune system.

17 Mar 2021

Analysis: The Trump health care policies that deserve to stick around

President Joe Biden's goal of providing health care for more Americans advanced this week with his signing of an economic stimulus package that includes subsidies for health insurance premiums and new incentives for states to expand Medicaid, as well as the potential confirmation of Xavier Becerra as secretary of Health and Human Services.

16 Mar 2021

Covid cases plummet 83% among nursing home staffers despite vaccine hesitancy

Joan Phillips, a certified nursing assistant in a Florida nursing home, loved her job but dreaded the danger of going to work in the pandemic. When vaccines became available in December, she jumped at the chance to get one.

15 Mar 2021

Depression risk higher among stroke survivors, especially female patients

Stroke patients were nearly 50% more likely than heart attack patients to develop depression, and female stroke patients had a higher risk of depression than their male counterparts, according to two preliminary studies by the same research group to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021.

11 Mar 2021

Black Medicare patients with ischemic stroke die at a higher rate than white patients

A long-term look at Medicare patients shows that Black patients who have an ischemic stroke (blocked blood flow to the brain) die at a higher rate than white patients, even after accounting for preexisting health conditions, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021.

11 Mar 2021

Mobile stroke units report financial difficulties due to limited reimbursement from insurers

Ambulances with specialized staff and equipment to provide rapid stroke treatment report financial difficulties due to limited reimbursement from health care insurers, according to preliminary research to be presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2021.

11 Mar 2021

Texas winter storm exposes gaps in senior living oversight

When the big, red and extremely loud fire alarm went off in Maria Skladzien's apartment, the 74-year-old ventured into the hallway with fellow residents of her Houston-area senior living community.

10 Mar 2021

Decision-making between patient and doctor is crucial before lung cancer screening

In a viewpoint perspective published in JAMA on March 9, 2021, a University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher and two other experts endorsed the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) requirement for a patient and their doctor to engage in a shared discussion of benefits and harms before proceeding with a low-dose spiral computed tomography (LDCT) scan as a method for preventing lung cancer death.

10 Mar 2021

Both ventral and dorsal surgeries improve outcomes in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy

Affecting the vast majority of people older than 65, cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is the leading cause of spinal cord dysfunction in the United States and across the world.

10 Mar 2021

Study reveals increased hospitalization rates in older adults following tropical cyclones

An increase in overall hospitalizations was reported for older adults in the week following exposure to a tropical cyclone, according to a new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University's Earth Institute and colleagues at Colorado State University and Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.

9 Mar 2021

Pandemic aid package includes relief from high premiums

As President Joe Biden's pandemic relief package steams through Congress, Democrats have hitched a ride for a top health care priority: strengthening the Affordable Care Act with some of the most significant changes to insurance affordability in more than a decade.

9 Mar 2021

Nursing homes with largest proportions of non-white residents experience more COVID-19 deaths

Nursing homes with the largest proportions of non-White residents experience 3.3 times more COVID-19 deaths than do nursing homes with the largest proportions of White residents, according to a new study from the University of Chicago.

9 Mar 2021

Reopening of long-term care facilities is ‘an absolute necessity for our well-being’

For nearly a year, nursing homes and assisted living centers have been mostly closed to visitors. Now, it's time for them to open back up and relieve residents of crushing isolation, according to a growing chorus of long-term care experts, caregivers, consumer groups and physicians.

4 Mar 2021

Improving nurse staffing in New York hospitals could reduce deaths, save money

According to a new study published in Medical Care, improving hospital nurse staffing as proposed in pending legislation in New York state would likely save lives.

3 Mar 2021

FAIR Health study highlights the impact of COVID-19 on pediatric mental health

In March and April 2020, mental health claim lines for individuals aged 13-18, as a percentage of all medical claim lines, approximately doubled over the same months in the previous year.

2 Mar 2021

Readers and tweeters dispense timely advice for difficult times

Your body’s immune system has produced antibodies that will kill a few thousand kinds of germs and virus. Since you are alive, the chances are quite high you will survive its producing another. Here is how the system works.

2 Mar 2021

New poll spotlights a major gap in testing for hearing loss in older adults

Eighty percent of Americans over 50 say their primary care doctor hasn't asked about their hearing in the past two years, and nearly as many - 77% -- haven't had their hearing checked by a professional in that same time, according to a new national poll report.

2 Mar 2021

Low satisfaction with care access makes Medicare Advantage enrollees to switch to traditional one

More than one out of every 10 seniors (10.5%) enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, also known as a Medicare managed care option, and living in a rural area, switched to traditional Medicare during 2010-2016.

2 Mar 2021

Medicare News and Research

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: ACA packs more benefits — and more confusion

Hospital charges increasing more rapidly for hip fracture patients than surgeon reimbursements

Evaluation of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine among residents of two skilled nursing facilities

Analysis: The Trump health care policies that deserve to stick around

Covid cases plummet 83% among nursing home staffers despite vaccine hesitancy

Depression risk higher among stroke survivors, especially female patients

Black Medicare patients with ischemic stroke die at a higher rate than white patients

Mobile stroke units report financial difficulties due to limited reimbursement from insurers

Texas winter storm exposes gaps in senior living oversight

Decision-making between patient and doctor is crucial before lung cancer screening

Both ventral and dorsal surgeries improve outcomes in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy

Study reveals increased hospitalization rates in older adults following tropical cyclones

Pandemic aid package includes relief from high premiums

Nursing homes with largest proportions of non-white residents experience more COVID-19 deaths

Reopening of long-term care facilities is ‘an absolute necessity for our well-being’

Improving nurse staffing in New York hospitals could reduce deaths, save money

FAIR Health study highlights the impact of COVID-19 on pediatric mental health

Readers and tweeters dispense timely advice for difficult times

New poll spotlights a major gap in testing for hearing loss in older adults

Low satisfaction with care access makes Medicare Advantage enrollees to switch to traditional one

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