Jordan Rau

Visit kff.org to read Jordan's bio.

jrau@kff.org

Their Physical Therapy Coverage Ran Out Before They Could Walk Again

KFF Health News Original

Health plans limit physical or occupational therapy sessions to as few as 20 a year, no matter the patient’s infirmities. The limits persist despite federal rules banning insurers from setting annual dollar limits on the care they will provide.

‘Scared to Death’: Nurses and Residents Confront Rampant Violence in Dementia Care Facilities

KFF Health News Original

Clashes between residents — verbal, physical, and sexual — can be spontaneous and too unpredictable to prevent. But the chance of an altercation increases when memory care homes admit and retain residents they can’t manage, according to a KFF Health News examination of inspection and court records and interviews with researchers.

Biden’s Nursing Home Staffing Rule Surfaces Horror Stories

KFF Health News Original

The Biden administration’s plan to set minimum staffing levels for nursing homes prompted comments from more than 46,500 people and organizations — including residents of homes and nurses with harrowing stories about conditions inside. Hundreds of comments like these cemented the resolve of officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last month to […]

Biden Administration Sets Higher Staffing Mandates. Most Nursing Homes Don’t Meet Them.

KFF Health News Original

The staffing regulation was disparaged by the industry as unattainable. Patient advocates say it doesn’t go far enough. Labor unions welcomed the requirement.

Senate Probes the Cost of Assisted Living and Its Burden on American Families

KFF Health News Original

In the wake of a KFF Health News-New York Times series, members of the Special Committee on Aging are asking residents and their families to submit their bills and are calling for a Government Accountability Office study.

‘Financial Ruin Is Baked Into the System’: Readers on the Costs of Long-Term Care

KFF Health News Original

Thousands of people shared their experiences and related to the financial drain on families portrayed in the “Dying Broke” series, a joint project by KFF Health News and The New York Times that examined the costs of long-term care.

Watch: The Long-Term Care Crisis: Why Few Can Afford to Grow Old in America

KFF Health News Original

Long-term care options in the U.S. are costly, complex, and often inadequate. KFF Health News’ Jordan Rau and Reed Abelson of The New York Times host a Zoom panel to explore the challenges of providing — and affording — care.

Why Long-Term Care Insurance Falls Short for So Many 

KFF Health News Original

The private insurance market has proved wildly inadequate in providing financial security for millions of older Americans, in part by underestimating how many policyholders would use their coverage.

Adult Children Discuss the Trials of Caring for Their Aging Parents

KFF Health News Original

The financial and emotional toll of providing and paying for long-term care is wreaking havoc on the lives of millions of Americans. Read about how a few families are navigating the challenges, in their own words.

Nursing Homes Say They Can’t Afford Higher Staffing. But Their Finances Are Often Opaque.

KFF Health News Original

Perhaps the biggest mystery, as the Biden administration moves to force nursing homes to boost staffing, is this: how much extra money do the nation’s 15,000 homes actually have to hire and retain more nurses and aides? Public comments are due Monday on the most sweeping regulatory changes to hit the industry in decades. The […]

As Covid Infections Rise, Nursing Homes Are Still Waiting for Vaccines

KFF Health News Original

“People want covid-19 to be in the rearview mirror,” one nursing home official says. Faced with a slow rollout of the updated covid vaccines, and without state mandates for workers to get vaccinated, most skilled nursing facilities are relying on persuasion to boost vaccination rates among staff and residents.