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States set minimum staffing levels for nursing homes. Residents suffer when rules are ignored or waived.

For hours, John Pernorio repeatedly mashed the call button at his bedside in the Heritage Hills nursing home in Rhode Island.

12 Jul 2024

How to find a good, well-staffed nursing home

Few people want to go into a nursing home, but doing so can be the right choice if you or a loved one is physically or cognitively disabled or recovering from surgery.

12 Jul 2024

Colorado dropped Medicaid enrollees as red states have, alarming advocates for the poor

Colorado stands out among the 10 states that have disenrolled the highest share of Medicaid beneficiaries since the U.S. government lifted a pandemic-era restriction on removing people from the health insurance program.

11 Jul 2024

Study finds disparities in heart bypass surgery for women

Women over the age of 65 who require complex heart surgery are more likely than men to receive care at low quality hospitals -; where they also die in greater numbers following the procedure, a Michigan Medicine study finds.

11 Jul 2024

Advocate Health selected for CMS GUIDE Model aimed at advancing dementia care

Advocate Health has been selected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to participate in the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model, aimed to support advanced dementia patients and their caregivers in bridging the gaps associated with inequalities in dementia care.

10 Jul 2024

From Dr. Oz to heart valves: A tiny device charted a contentious path through the FDA

In 2013, the FDA approved an implantable device to treat leaky heart valves. Among its inventors was Mehmet Oz, the former television personality and former U.S. Senate candidate widely known as "Dr. Oz."

9 Jul 2024

Majority of people prefer hospital-level care at home

Hospital-level care provided in a patient's own home is appealing to a majority of people for its convenience, comfort and effectiveness, according to a USC Schaeffer Center study.

8 Jul 2024

Understanding the reach of pharmaceutical promotional events in healthcare

Promotional events sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry which target health professionals responsible for prescribing medications, such as physicians and nurse practitioners, are a key component of promotional campaigns for new drugs and devices.

8 Jul 2024

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': SCOTUS term wraps with a bang

It was a busy year for health-related cases at the Supreme Court. Among other issues, the justices grappled with two abortion cases, a separate case touching on the opioid epidemic, and a case challenging whether localities can bar homeless people from sleeping in public spaces.

3 Jul 2024

Lack of affordability tops older Americans’ list of health care worries

What weighs most heavily on older adults' minds when it comes to health care?

3 Jul 2024

Medically tailored meals show promise for reducing healthcare costs

According to new research looking at every U.S. state, programs that deliver medically tailored meals (MTMs) to people with diet-sensitive conditions such as diabetes and heart disease along with limitations in the ability to perform daily activities could lead to substantial savings in healthcare costs.

1 Jul 2024

Innovative dementia cost model to aid families and shape health policy

An A-list of researchers from across USC is building a dementia cost model that will generate comprehensive national, annual estimates of the cost of dementia that could benefit patients and their families, thanks to a five-year, $8.2 million federal grant from the National Institute on Aging.

28 Jun 2024

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': SCOTUS ruling strips power from federal health agencies

In what will certainly be remembered as a landmark decision, the Supreme Court's conservative majority this week overruled a 40-year-old legal precedent that required judges in most cases to yield to the expertise of federal agencies.

28 Jun 2024

Battleground Wisconsin: Voters feel nickel-and-dimed by health care costs

The land of fried cheese curds and the Green Bay Packers is among a half-dozen battleground states that could determine the outcome of the expected November rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump — a contest in which the cost and availability of health care are emerging as defining issues.

27 Jun 2024

Quality Improvement Program for Missouri saves millions and enhances elder care

A researcher at the University of Missouri has developed a program that improves the quality of care and reduces avoidable hospitalizations in nursing homes -; saving Missouri nursing homes and Medicare millions of dollars and allowing Missouri nursing homes to invest more in retaining their most skilled staff members.

24 Jun 2024

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Live from Aspen: Health and the 2024 elections

The presidential election is less than five months away, and while abortion is the only health policy issue expected to play a leading role, others are likely to be raised in the presidential and down-ballot races.

21 Jun 2024

Experts: US hospitals prone to cyberattacks like one that hurt patient care at Ascension

In the wake of a debilitating cyberattack against one of the nation's largest health care systems, Marvin Ruckle, a nurse at an Ascension hospital in Wichita, Kansas, said he had a frightening experience: He nearly gave a baby "the wrong dose of narcotic" because of confusing paperwork.

20 Jun 2024