Medicare & Aging: Feb. 2, 2023
Did Your Health Plan Rip Off Medicare?
By Fred Schulte
KHN has released never-before-seen details of federal audits as the government weighs action against dozens of Medicare Advantage plans.
Government Lets Health Plans That Ripped Off Medicare Keep the Money
By Fred Schulte
In a surprise decision, U.S. officials yield to insurance industry demands — at least for now.
Nursing Home Owners Drained Cash During Pandemic While Residents Deteriorated
By Jordan Rau
As the federal government debates whether to require higher staffing levels at nursing homes, financial records show owners routinely push profits to sister companies while residents are neglected. “A dog would get better care than he did,” one resident’s wife said.
Wave of Rural Nursing Home Closures Grows Amid Staffing Crunch
By Tony Leys
Many small-town care facilities that remain open are limiting admissions, citing a lack of staff, while a wave of others shutter. That means more patients are marooned in hospitals or placed far away from their families.
What Older Americans Need to Know About Taking Paxlovid
By Judith Graham
Covid-19 continues to hit seniors with disproportionate severity. Experts say Paxlovid is an effective therapy that is being underprescribed for people 65 and older.
Rural Seniors Benefit From Pandemic-Driven Remote Fitness Boom
By Christina Saint Louis
When the pandemic began, senior service agencies hustled to rework health classes to include virtual options for older adults. Now that isolation has ended, virtual classes remain. For seniors in rural areas, those classes have broadened access to supervised physical activity.
Ending Involuntary Commitments Would Shift Burden of Dementia Care to Strapped Communities
By Keely Larson
Health department officials anticipate having to transfer two dozen patients from the Montana State Hospital to another state-run facility if a bill to end involuntary commitments passes.
More Californians Are Dying at Home. Another Covid ‘New Normal’?
By Phillip Reese
The proportion of Californians dying at home, rather than in a hospital or nursing home, accelerated during the pandemic, a trend that has outlasted the rigid lockdowns linked to the initial shift.
Readers and Tweeters Diagnose Greed and Chronic Pain Within US Health Care System
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Lo que necesitan saber los adultos mayores sobre covid y Paxlovid
By Judith Graham
Expertos dicen que la terapia de primera elección debe ser Paxlovid, un tratamiento antiviral para personas con covid leve a moderado con alto riesgo de enfermarse gravemente.