Latest News On End Of Life

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Lethal Plans: When Seniors Turn To Suicide In Long-Term Care

KFF Health News Original

In a nation where the suicide rate continues to climb, such deaths among older adults are often overlooked. A six-month investigation by KHN and PBS NewsHour finds that older Americans are quietly killing themselves in nursing homes, assisted living centers and adult care homes.

How To Zero In On Your Final, Forever Home While Skirting Disaster

KFF Health News Original

Confronting changing health care needs, fixed incomes and problems created by climate change can be overwhelming when trying to pinpoint that dream location, but taking time and doing research makes it a dream come true, say these seniors.

Listening To Older Patients Who Want To Stop Dialysis

KFF Health News Original

Older adults with advanced kidney disease sometimes want to stop dialysis but often meet resistance from doctors, new research shows. We explore options available to these patients, including conservative care.

Congress Targets Misuse Of Hospice Drugs

KFF Health News Original

In the bipartisan opioid bill headed to the president’s desk, hospice workers would be allowed to destroy patients’ unneeded opioids, reducing the risk that families misuse them.

Much Touted For Cancer, ‘Precision Medicine’ Often Misses The Target

KFF Health News Original

Doctors and hospitals love to talk about the patients they’ve saved with precision medicine, and reporters love to write about them. But the people who die still vastly outnumber the rare successes.

Avoidable Sepsis Infections Send Thousands Of Seniors To Gruesome Deaths

KFF Health News Original

No one tracks sepsis cases closely enough to know how often these severe infections turn fatal. But the toll — both human and financial — is enormous, finds an investigation by KHN and the Chicago Tribune.

1,400 Nursing Homes Get Lower Medicare Ratings Because Of Staffing Concerns

KFF Health News Original

Medicare said those homes either lacked a registered nurse for “a high number of days” over three months, provided data the government couldn’t verify or didn’t supply their payroll data at all.