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Hurricane Ian’s deadly impact on Florida seniors exposes need for new preparation strategies

All kinds of natural disasters — hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, dangerous heat waves — pose substantial risks to older adults. Yet, not enough seniors prepare for these events in advance, and efforts to encourage them to do so have been largely unsuccessful.

2 Nov 2022

Hospitals said they lost money on Medicare patients. Some made millions, a state report finds.

Atrium Health, the largest hospital system in North Carolina, has declared publicly that in 2019 it provided $640 million in services to Medicare patients that were never paid for, by far the largest "community benefit" it provided that year.

25 Oct 2022

Drivers in decline: A shortage of volunteers complicates access to care in rural America

Several times a month, Jim Maybach drives 5 miles from his house in Hay Creek, Minnesota, toward the Mississippi River.

24 Oct 2022

New study highlights how pain management practices are changing after surgery

Although there has been no decrease in the number of opioid prescriptions seniors receive after surgery, the doses of those prescriptions are lower, according to a study of more than a quarter million Canadian patients being presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2022 annual meeting.

24 Oct 2022

Survey shows healthcare affordability remains on the ballot and could have a big influence on elections

Nearly nine in 10 Americans say a candidate's plan for reducing healthcare costs will be an important consideration in determining their vote, and almost 40% of them, or an estimated 100 million Americans, say it could even make them cross party lines in the upcoming midterm elections, according to a new poll from West Health and Gallup.

20 Oct 2022

After Congress fails to add dental coverage, Medicare weighs limited benefit expansion

Proposed changes in Medicare rules could soon pave the way for a significant expansion in Medicare-covered dental services, while falling short of the comprehensive benefits that many Democratic lawmakers have advocated.

17 Oct 2022

Will covid spike again this fall? 6 tips to help you stay safe

Last year, the emergence of the highly transmissible omicron variant of the covid-19 virus caught many people by surprise and led to a surge in cases that overwhelmed hospitals and drove up fatalities. Now we're learning that omicron is mutating to better evade the immune system.

14 Oct 2022

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Finally fixing the ‘family glitch’

The Biden administration this week issued regulations aimed at fixing the Affordable Care Act's "family glitch," which has prevented families that can't afford their employer insurance from getting subsidized coverage from the insurance marketplaces.

13 Oct 2022

Watch: What experts advise for seniors living under the long shadow of covid

The covid-19 pandemic casts a long shadow over the lives of older adults and their family caregivers in the United States, even as many people resolve to move on and resume normal activities.

11 Oct 2022

West Health-Gallup report: 44% of Americans give poor or failing grades to the U.S. healthcare system

Nearly half the country (44%), or about 114 million Americans, give poor (30%) or failing (14%) grades to the U.S. healthcare system, percentages that climb higher and grow even more negative when it comes to affordability and health equity, according to a new report from West Health and Gallup, the polling organization.

6 Oct 2022

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Looking ahead to the lame-duck session

When the lame-duck Congress returns to Washington after Election Day, it will face a long list of health items needing attention before the end of the year, including setting overall spending for health programs and averting a series of Medicare payment cuts to health care providers.

6 Oct 2022

Medicare eligibility may increase food pantry visits, improve food security among seniors

Low-income seniors were seven times more likely to visit a food pantry in the year after becoming eligible for Medicare, resulting in improved food security, according to a new study from UT Southwestern.

23 Sep 2022

Covid still kills, but the demographics of its victims are shifting

As California settles into a third year of pandemic, covid-19 continues to pose a serious threat of death. But the number of people dying — and the demographics of those falling victim — has shifted notably from the first two years.

21 Sep 2022

Clearing pollution helps clear the fog of aging — and may cut the risk of dementia

During the past decade, a growing body of research has shown that air pollution harms older adults' brains, contributing to cognitive decline and dementia. What hasn't been clear is whether improving air quality would benefit brain health.

20 Sep 2022

Private equity sees the billions in eye care as firms target high-profit procedures

Christina Green hoped cataract surgery would clear up her cloudy vision, which had worsened after she took a drug to fight her breast cancer.

19 Sep 2022

Daily multivitamin improves cognitive function in seniors

In a recent study published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia, researchers in the United States investigated whether daily administration of a cocoa extract (CE, comprising 500 mg flavanols, including 80 mg epicatechins, 50 mg/day theobromine (50 mg/day), and 15mg/day caffeine) and/or an MVM (multivitamin-mineral) for three years protected cognitive functions among older men and women.

18 Sep 2022

Court ruling may spur competitive health plans to bring back copays for preventive services

Tom and Mary Jo York are a health-conscious couple, going in for annual physicals and periodic colorectal cancer screening tests. Mary Jo, whose mother and aunts had breast cancer, also gets regular mammography tests.

15 Sep 2022

COVID-19 risk substantially reduced in seniors who receive 4th mRNA booster

In a recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers in Singapore estimated the effectiveness of the second booster (fourth dose) vaccination with messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines against symptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant and associated hospitalizations with among individuals aged ≥80 years.

14 Sep 2022

‘An Arm and a Leg’: The new cap on Medicare drug costs

On a Sunday afternoon in August, health services researcher Stacie Dusetzina was sitting alone in her office at Vanderbilt University, watching C-SPAN and crying.

12 Sep 2022

While inflation takes a toll on seniors, billions of dollars in benefits go unused

Millions of older adults are having trouble making ends meet, especially during these inflationary times. Yet many don't realize help is available, and some notable programs that offer financial assistance are underused.