Medicare & Aging
Sickened By Billing Abuses, Readers And Tweeters Stand Up For Patients’ Rights
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
In Search Of Age-Friendly Health Care, Finding Room For Improvement
Judith Graham
Simple alterations — like better signs, seating, parking or door design — can make it easier for older patients to navigate health care facilities. Here are several changes doctors’ offices, clinics and hospitals could make.
Voices: How Should California Address The Needs Of Its Aging Population?
Anna Almendrala and Ana B. Ibarra
By 2030, an estimated 1 in 5 Californians will be 65 or older, and the state is creating a “master plan” to address their needs. Lawmakers, advocates, local officials and others gathered in Sacramento on Monday to tackle issues of greatest concern, such as long-term care and housing for low-income seniors.
How Cruise Ship Passengers Should Prepare For Sickness Or Injury At Sea
Bruce Horovitz
Passengers on massive cruise ships could be struck by norovirus or accidents ranging from falls to broken bones. Then what?
The Delicate Issue Of Taking Away A Senior’s Smartphone
Judith Graham
Knowing when — and how — to limit a loved one’s access to digital devices is akin to taking their car keys.
New Round of Medicare Readmission Penalties Hits 2,583 Hospitals
Jordan Rau
Starting today, Medicare is keeping half a billion dollars in payments from 83% of general hospitals for having too many patients come back.
Look Up Your Hospital: Is It Being Penalized by Medicare?
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 Files Lawsuit To Force Feds To Disclose Medicare Advantage Audits
Fred Schulte
The Freedom of Information Act lawsuit could spur the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to release audits that document up to $650 million in overcharges.
Millions Of Diabetes Patients Are Missing Out On Medicare’s Nutrition Help
Phil Galewitz
Health experts say the little-used benefit represents a lost opportunity for older adults to improve their health — and for the program to save money by preventing costly complications from diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
Millones con diabetes no aprovechan programa nutricional de Medicare
Phil Galewitz
Hay unos 15 millones de beneficiarios de Medicare que viven con diabetes, pero solo unos 100,000 se han inscripto para usar este beneficio que, al parecer, tiene buenos resultados.
Abuelos que pasan hambre: el país fracasa en alimentar a los más vulnerables
Laura Ungar and Trudy Lieberman
Millones de adultos mayores en todo el país pasan hambre en silencio, mientras la red de seguridad diseñada para ayudarlos se desmembra.
KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Impeachment And The Health Agenda
Washington is abuzz with impeachment talk, but what impact would such a move have on congressional action on prescription drug prices and surprise bills? Also, a study out this week shows that health insurance costs for both employers and workers continue to rise. This week, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Starving Seniors: How America Fails To Feed Its Aging
Laura Ungar and Trudy Lieberman
One out of every 13 older Americans struggles to find enough food to eat while the federal program intended to help hasn’t kept pace with the graying population.
Watch: Five Things To Know About Hunger Among America’s Aging
One out of every 13 seniors in America struggles to get enough food to eat while the federal program intended to help hasn’t kept pace with the graying population. KHN Midwest editor/correspondent Laura Ungar explains what you need to know about this largely hidden problem.