103119 Medicare and Aging
Whistleblower Alleges Medicare Fraud At Iconic Seattle-Based Health Plan
By Fred Schulte
A lawsuit against Group Health surfaces as the White House promotes Medicare Advantage for seniors.
Medicare Fraudsters Now Tap Telemedicine In Medical Equipment Scams
By Victoria Knight
Scammers bent on defrauding Medicare are embracing the new technologies of remote diagnosis. Federal law enforcement is cracking down.
As Medicare Enrollment Nears, Popular Price Comparison Tool Is Missing
By Susan Jaffe
For more than a decade, customers used the online plan finder to compare dozens of policies. Yet after a redesign of the website, the search results no longer list which plan offers a customer the best value. Federal officials say it will be fixed before enrollment begins next week.
‘Fear Of Falling’: How Hospitals Do Even More Harm By Keeping Patients In Bed
By Melissa Bailey
In what experts call an "epidemic of immobility," older hospital patients remain stuck in bed, their movements tracked by loud and ineffective bed alarms, losing muscle mass that's key to their health and daily functioning.
Drumbeat Builds For A Peace Corps Of Caregivers
By Judith Graham
The notion of a national program to tend to the day-to-day needs of a booming older population has circulated for years. Now, there are grants ― and grit ― behind it.
California Nursing Home Residents Told To Find New Homes
By Jocelyn Wiener
Dozens of frail nursing home residents have been informed by their Medi-Cal managed care plans that they are no longer eligible for long-term care. Some health care advocates and legal aid attorneys fear that such terminations will increase as the state implements mandatory managed care for nursing home residents.
For Boomers Reframing Aging, Age-Proofing A Home Won’t Come Cheap
By Sharon Jayson
More baby boomers look forward to aging in place — in their homes, rather than in a care facility. But the costs of retrofitting a house is likely prohibitive for many Americans.
Trump’s New Order For Medicare Packs Potential Rise In Patients’ Costs
By Julie Appleby
The president’s directive, which he said is designed to give beneficiaries more choices in their health care, could lead to higher costs for seniors. Final rules are to be written by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Medicare: comienza la inscripción sin una herramienta popular para comparar precios
By Susan Jaffe
El viejo buscador de planes proporcionaba grandes ahorros, según expertos. Pero luego de un rediseño, perdió muchas de sus funciones clave.
Denuncian fraude a Medicare con aparatos ortopédicos a través de la telemedicina
By Victoria Knight
Llaman por teléfono o aparecen en un chat y preguntan si el adulto mayor siente algún dolor. Luego le envían, en un caso, hasta 13 aparatos ortopédicos: rodilleras, cabestrillos, fajas. Facturan millones a Medicare.
Cuerpos de Paz para cuidar y ofrecer compañía a adultos mayores
By Judith Graham
Este otoño, líderes del proyecto invitarán a organizaciones de todo el país a presentar propuestas para atender las necesidades "no médicas" de los adultos mayores.