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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

Proportion of children in Medicaid managed care plans increases from 65% to 94%

Nationally, the number of children under age 21 enrolled in Medicaid grew from 23.5 million in 2000 to 40.5 million in 2017, with the proportion of children in Medicaid managed care plans increasing from 65 percent to 94 percent, according to a study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago published in the journal Academic Pediatrics.

1 Mar 2021

Advanced practice registered nurses improve quality of care for nursing home residents

Marilyn Rantz still remembers the day she got the call that her mother, whose health had been declining, had fallen and fractured her shoulder. After rushing to the hospital, her mother told her she didn't understand how she ended up on a helicopter pad after the traumatic incident.

27 Feb 2021

Have a case of a Covid variant? No one is going to tell you

Covid-19 infections from variant strains are quickly spreading across the U.S., but there's one big problem: Lab officials say they can't tell patients or their doctors whether someone has been infected by a variant.

25 Feb 2021

Long-term exposure to air pollution can increase cardiovascular and respiratory risks

Exposure to what is considered low levels of air pollution over a long period of time can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, atrial fibrillation, and pneumonia among people ages 65 and older, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association's flagship journal Circulation.

22 Feb 2021

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is linked with higher risks of larynx and esophageal cancers

Results from a large prospective study indicate that gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), which also causes heartburn symptoms, is linked with higher risks of various cancers of the larynx (or voice box) and esophagus.

22 Feb 2021

New single-payer bill intensifies Newsom’s political peril

A group of Democratic state lawmakers introduced legislation Friday to create a single-payer health care system to cover all Californians, immediately defining the biggest health policy debate of the year and putting enormous political pressure on Gov. Gavin Newsom.

19 Feb 2021

Report proposes new system of universal coverage to support long-term care of older Americans

The COVID-19 pandemic's heavy toll on older Americans highlights the need to strengthen the nation's safety net for people in need of long-term services and supports, an Oregon Health & Science University researcher and co-authors argue in a new report published by Milbank Quarterly.

19 Feb 2021

Montana’s health policy MVP takes her playbook on the road

Marilyn Bartlett might be the closest thing health policy has to a folk hero. A certified public accountant who barely tops 5 feet, Bartlett bears zero resemblance to Paul Bunyan.

18 Feb 2021

$Study investigates fracture-associated drug use among long-term care residents$

Study investigates fracture-associated drug use among long-term care residents

Findings from a new Geisel-led study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, reveal that there is substantial variation across different regions of the country in the intensity of fracture-associated drug (FAD) use among long-term care facility residents, and that areas with greater use of these prescription drugs experience higher hip fracture rates.

17 Feb 2021

Study highlights promising opportunities that may reduce wasteful health care spending

Spending on low-value health care among fee-for-service Medicare recipients dropped only marginally from 2014 to 2018, despite both a national campaign to better educate clinicians and increasing use of payment revisions that discourage wasteful care, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

17 Feb 2021

Understanding stroke and heart disease in women remains a major research priority

Understanding the sex differences in cardiovascular disease presentation and outcomes remains a major research priority demonstrated by the record number of submissions for this year's Go Red for Women® special issue of the American Heart Association's flagship journal Circulation, published online today.

17 Feb 2021

Short duration, poor-quality sleep may increase risk of dementia and earlier death in elderly people

Sleep and health are inextricably connected. New research from investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital explores the connection between sleep disturbances and deficiencies among older adults and risk of dementia and death, finding that risk of dementia was double among participants who reported getting less than five hours of sleep compared to those who reported 7-8 hours of sleep per night.

11 Feb 2021

Lifestyle intervention provided through health coaches helped reduce heart disease risk

Participants in a two-year, lifestyle intervention/weight-loss program provided through health coaches at their primary care center were able to lower their blood sugar and improve their cholesterol levels, according to new research published today in the American Heart Association's flagship journal Circulation Journal.

9 Feb 2021

Medicare News and Research

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

Proportion of children in Medicaid managed care plans increases from 65% to 94%

Advanced practice registered nurses improve quality of care for nursing home residents

Have a case of a Covid variant? No one is going to tell you

Long-term exposure to air pollution can increase cardiovascular and respiratory risks

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is linked with higher risks of larynx and esophageal cancers

New single-payer bill intensifies Newsom’s political peril

Report proposes new system of universal coverage to support long-term care of older Americans

Montana’s health policy MVP takes her playbook on the road

Study investigates fracture-associated drug use among long-term care residents

Study highlights promising opportunities that may reduce wasteful health care spending

Understanding stroke and heart disease in women remains a major research priority

Short duration, poor-quality sleep may increase risk of dementia and earlier death in elderly people

Lifestyle intervention provided through health coaches helped reduce heart disease risk

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