medicare aging 111021

‘Covid Hit Us Over the Head With a Two-by-Four’: Addressing Ageism With Urgency
By Judith Graham In light of the pandemic’s shocking death toll among seniors, organizations are trying new strategies to help older Americans get better care.

Democrats Plan to Expand Medicare Hearing Benefits. What Can Consumers Expect?
By Rachana Pradhan KHN answers questions for seniors about how this new benefit might work.

“Me tratan como si fuera vieja y estúpida”: adultos mayores denuncian a profesionales de salud que los discriminan por edad
By Judith Graham Las experiencias de Whitney revelan la discriminación por edad en los entornos de atención médica, un problema de larga data que está recibiendo nueva atención durante la pandemia de covid, que ha matado a más de medio millón de estadounidenses de 65 años y más.

A Wrenching Farewell: Bidding Adieu to My Primary Care Doctor After Nearly 30 Years
By Judith Graham Long-term relationships between patients and doctors often enrich the quality of care and create deep emotional bonds. When the doctors retire or move on, saying goodbye can be hard.

Medicare Enrollment Blitz Doesn’t Include Options to Move Into Medigap
By Harris Meyer TV ads and mailings targeting seniors tout Medicare Advantage plans this time of year, but millions choosing traditional Medicare make a costly and difficult decision about Medigap coverage, which gets much less attention.

Despite Restraints, Democrats’ Drug Pricing Plan Could Still Aid Consumers
By Michael McAuliff A last-minute agreement among lawmakers restored a provision seeking to hold down rising costs of prescription medicines. Although details on which drugs will be targeted remain sketchy, the legislation would help patients buying insulin and cap Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket drug costs at $2,000 a year.

Look Up Your Hospital: Is It Being Penalized by Medicare?
By Jordan Rau Each year, Medicare punishes hospitals that have high rates of readmissions and high rates of infections and patient injuries. Check out which hospitals have been penalized.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Compromise Is Coming — Maybe
Democratic negotiators on Capitol Hill appear to be nearing a compromise on President Joe Biden’s social spending agenda, spurred partly by Democratic losses on Election Day in Virginia. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court hints it might allow abortion providers to sue Texas over its restrictive new ban. But the relief, if it comes, could be short-lived if the court uses a second case, challenging a law in Mississippi, to weaken or overturn Roe v. Wade. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Rae Ellen Bichell, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about an emergency bill for a nonemergency birth.

A pesar de sus límites, el plan demócrata sobre el precio de los medicamentos podría ayudar a los consumidores
By Michael McAuliff La nueva legislación bajaría dramáticamente el precio de la insulina, y lograría que el impacto de los precios astronómicos no recaigan en el consumidor.

Demócratas proponen ampliar beneficios de Medicare para la audición. ¿Qué pueden esperar los consumidores?
By Rachana Pradhan Investigaciones han demostrado que la pérdida de la audición puede socavar la calidad de vida de las personas mayores, lo que conduce a la soledad, el aislamiento, la depresión, y trastornos de la comunicación.

What Will It Take to Boost Vaccinations? The Scene From Kentucky’s Back Roads
By Sarah Varney With Kentucky in the grip of a covid surge, public health workers are taking their vaccination campaign house to house and church to church, trying to outmaneuver the fantastical tales spread on social media and everyday hurdles of hardship and isolation.

‘They Treat Me Like I’m Old and Stupid’: Seniors Decry Health Providers’ Age Bias
By Judith Graham Ageism in health care settings, which can result in inappropriate or dangerous treatment, is getting new attention during the covid pandemic, which has killed more than half a million Americans age 65 and older.

Confronting Ageism in Health Care: A Conversation for Patients, Caregivers and Clinicians
A frank, practical and empowering conversation about this pervasive, systemic problem of bias, discrimination or stereotyping based on age.

3 States Limit Nursing Home Profits in Bid to Improve Care
By Susan Jaffe Following the devastating impact of covid-19 on nursing homes, state lawmakers want to be sure that government and private payments primarily go to improve care and staffing.

Medicare Plans’ ‘Free’ Dental, Vision, Hearing Benefits Come at a Cost
By Phil Galewitz The ads for supplemental Medicare Advantage plans describe vision and dental benefits, even grocery discounts and food deliveries. But look at the fine print.

Pharma Campaign Cash Delivered to Key Lawmakers With Surgical Precision
By Victoria Knight and Rachana Pradhan and Elizabeth Lucas With an eye to shutting down Medicare drug price negotiations, drug companies and their lobbying groups gave roughly $1.6 million in the first six months of 2021, with Democrats edging closer than they have in a decade to Republicans’ total haul.

If Congress Adds Dental Coverage to Medicare, Should All Seniors Get It?
By Bram Sable-Smith Health equity advocates see a once-in-a-generation opportunity to provide a dental benefit to millions of older Americans as Congress considers expanding Medicare services. But complicating that push is a debate over how many of the more than 60 million Medicare recipients should receive dental coverage.

Democrats’ Plans to Expand Medicare Benefits May Pinch Advantage Plans’ Funding
By Michelle Andrews As lawmakers weigh new spending provisions to cover dental, hearing and vision services for Medicare beneficiaries, a group supporting Medicare Advantage plans is airing commercials that raise concerns about the funding for those private plans.

Few Acute Care Hospitals Escaped Readmissions Penalties
By Jordan Rau More than 9 in 10 general acute-care hospitals have been penalized at least once in the past decade.

Medicare Punishes 2,499 Hospitals for High Readmissions
By Jordan Rau The federal government’s hospital penalty program finishes its first decade by lowering payments to nearly half the nation’s hospitals for readmitting too many Medicare patients within a month. Penalties, though often small, are credited with helping reduce the number of patients returning for another Medicare stay within 30 days.

Nursing Home Residents Overlooked in Scramble for Covid Antibody Treatments
By JoNel Aleccia A federal allocation plan meant to ensure equitable distribution of powerful monoclonal antibody treatments for high-risk patients fails to prioritize nursing home residents, a population that remains particularly vulnerable even after vaccination.