Medicare & Aging: June 9, 2022

AARP’s Billion-Dollar Bounty
By Fred Schulte With its latest venture into primary care clinics, is America’s leading organization for seniors selling its trusted seal of approval?

Despite a First-Ever ‘Right-to-Repair’ Law, There’s No Easy Fix for Wheelchair Users
By Markian Hawryluk Colorado lawmakers approved a measure that will make it easier for people to fix their power wheelchairs when they wear out or break down, but arcane regulations and manufacturers create high hurdles for nationwide reform.

‘That’s Just Part of Aging’: Long Covid Symptoms Are Often Overlooked in Seniors
By Judith Graham Millions of older adults are grappling with long covid, yet the impact on them has received little attention even though research suggests seniors are more likely to develop the poorly understood condition than younger or middle-aged adults.

Got Long Covid? Medical Expertise Is Vital, and Seniors Should Prepare to Go Slow
By Judith Graham Although identifying long covid in older adults can be tricky, experts say there are good strategies for getting medical advice and fighting the impact of the virus.

Why Won’t More Older Americans Get Their Covid Booster?
By Liz Szabo Approximately 1 in 3 Americans 65 and older who completed their initial vaccination round still have not received a first booster shot. The numbers dismay researchers, who say the lag has cost tens of thousands of lives.

After the Pandemic Hit Nursing Homes Hard, California Lawmakers Push to Tighten Licensing Rules
By Samantha Young Legislators are proposing an overhaul of California’s licensing system for nursing homes that would make it the most stringent in the country. They argue that disreputable and unlicensed owners and operators have harmed residents. The industry describes the proposed requirements as excessive.

Taco Bowls and Chicken Curry: Medi-Cal Delivers Ready Meals in Grand Health Care Experiment
By Heidi de Marco and Angela Hart California has embarked on an ambitious five-year initiative to improve the health of its sickest Medicaid patients by introducing nontraditional services. In the Inland Empire, where many residents have diabetes, one health plan is diving into the experiment by delivering healthy, prepared meals to those lucky enough to get them.

Betting on ‘Golden Age’ of Colonoscopies, Private Equity Invests in Gastro Docs
By Emily Pisacreta and Emmarie Huetteman An aging population in need of regular cancer screenings has driven private equity companies, seeking profits, to invest in many gastroenterology practices and set up aggressive billing practices. Steep prices on routine tests are one consequence for patients.

‘An Arm and a Leg’: Private Equity Is Everywhere in Health Care. Really.
By Dan Weissmann Private equity companies are the house-flippers of the investment world, and they’ve found their way into many areas of our lives — including your local gastroenterologist's office.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Washington’s Slow Churn
Stemming gun violence is back on the legislative agenda following three mass shootings in less than a month, but it’s hard to predict success when so many previous efforts have failed. Meanwhile, lawmakers must soon decide if they will extend current premium subsidies for those buying health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and the Biden administration acts, belatedly, on Medicare premiums. Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Michelle Andrews, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a too-common problem: denial of no-cost preventive care for a colonoscopy under the Affordable Care Act.

¿Recibes, pagas o brindas cuidado a largo plazo?
The New York Times y Kaiser Health News investigan si las personas en los Estados Unidos reciben la atención que necesitan a medida que envejecen.

¿Por qué más adultos mayores no reciben los refuerzos contra covid?
By Liz Szabo Según los CDC, aproximadamente 1 de cada 3 estadounidenses mayores de 65 años que completaron su ronda inicial de vacunación aún no han recibido la primera vacuna de refuerzo. Investigadores enfatizan que este grupo sigue teniendo el mayor riesgo de enfermedad grave y muerte por covid-19.