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The policy, and politics, of Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage, the private-sector alternative to original Medicare, now enrolls nearly half of all Medicare beneficiaries.

23 Mar 2023

Being ‘socially frail’ comes with health risks for older adults

Consider three hypothetical women in their mid-70s, all living alone in identical economic circumstances with the same array of ailments: diabetes, arthritis, and high blood pressure.

23 Mar 2023

Decision tool halves the use of antibiotics against urinary tract infections

As an international study involving University of Gothenburg researchers has shown, a decision tool for health professionals has proved capable of halving the use of antibiotics against urinary tract infections while maintaining patient safety.

22 Mar 2023

A lot of thought, little action: Proposals about mental health go unheeded

Thousands of people struggle to access mental health services in Florida. The treatment system is disjointed and complex.

22 Mar 2023

Mental health care by video fills gaps in rural nursing homes

Bette Helm was glad to have someone to talk with about her insomnia.

21 Mar 2023

Delirium linked with 40% acceleration in the rate of cognitive decline

Research published today in the JAMA Internal Medicine finds that developing postoperative delirium is associated with a 40% faster rate of cognitive decline over those who do not develop delirium.

20 Mar 2023

Seniors with anxiety frequently don’t get help. Here’s why.

Anxiety is the most common psychological disorder affecting adults in the U.S. In older people, it's associated with considerable distress as well as ill health, diminished quality of life, and elevated rates of disability.

10 Mar 2023

Dementia the strongest risk factor for infection with COVID-19 in older people

In 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, dementia was the dominant risk factor for the disease among residents of Swedish nursing homes.

8 Mar 2023

Eliminating medication copays does not reduce cardiovascular-related chronic conditions

Providing medications for chronic diseases—for example, cholesterol-lowering, blood pressure and diabetes medications—free of charge for three years did not have a significant impact on serious health outcomes associated with those conditions among low-income seniors in Canada, according to a study being presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology.

5 Mar 2023

Skilled nursing facilities provided post-acute rehabilitation to older adults during the pandemic

Older adults who entered skilled nursing facilities (SNF) for care after hospitalizations after the pandemic received rehabilitation care comparable to the levels of care that were provided pre-pandemic, according to research published in the JAMA Health Forum.

3 Mar 2023

After people on Medicaid die, some states aggressively seek repayment from their estates

Fran Ruhl's family received a startling letter from the Iowa Department of Human Services four weeks after she died in January 2022.

2 Mar 2023

Biden promises to fight GOP on ‘gutting’ Medicaid. Budget talks seem like another story.

Most lawmakers — Republicans and Democrats alike — have declared the marquee safety-net programs of Medicare and Social Security off-limits for cuts as a divided Washington heads for a showdown over the national debt and government spending.

1 Mar 2023

Community workers fan out to persuade immigrant seniors to get covered

For three years, Bertha Embriz of San Francisco has gone without health insurance, skipping annual wellness exams and recently tolerating a broken molar by trying not to chew with it. As an immigrant without legal status, the 58-year-old unpaid caregiver knew that California's Medicaid program was closed to her.

28 Feb 2023

Readers and tweeters urgently plea for a proper ‘role’ call in the ER

The story of one patient’s ER experience does not at all capture the complexities of an emergency department serving the needs of a stochastic patient population.

27 Feb 2023

Dementia care programs help, if caregivers can find them

There's no cure, yet, for Alzheimer's disease. But dozens of programs developed in the past 20 years can improve the lives of both people living with dementia and their caregivers.

27 Feb 2023

After capping the price of insulin, Colorado sets its sights on EpiPens

Almost four years after becoming the first state to cap insulin prices, Colorado may limit what consumers pay for epinephrine autoinjectors, also known as EpiPens, which treat serious allergic reactions.

27 Feb 2023

New community-integrated intermediary care model to help older people in Thailand

Countries around the world are preparing health system responses to address the challenge of population ageing in the 21st century; this novel, cost-effective, scalable model can be applied to resource-limited regions to help deal with this.

24 Feb 2023

Montana seeks to insulate nursing homes from future financial crises

Wes Thompson, administrator of Valley View Home in the northeastern Montana town of Glasgow, believes the only reasons his skilled nursing facility has avoided the fate of the 11 nursing homes that closed in the state last year are local tax levies and luck.

24 Feb 2023

Why do politicians weaponize Medicare? Because it works

The Medicare wars are back, and almost no one in Washington is surprised.

21 Feb 2023

California requires hospitals to turn to a patient’s next of kin, closing a longtime loophole

About four years ago, Dr. Gene Dorio sat on the ethics committee of a Southern California hospital whose administrators insisted they could decide whether to disconnect a ventilator from an unconscious patient — even though the man's wife and adult children wanted to continue life support.

17 Feb 2023