Medicare and Aging: 090624

Feds Killed Plan To Curb Medicare Advantage Overbilling After Industry Opposition
By Fred Schulte A private 2014 decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services faces new scrutiny in a multibillion-dollar Justice Department fraud case against UnitedHealth Group.

Turning 26 and Struggling To Find Health Insurance? Tell Us About It.
By Elisabeth Rosenthal KFF Health News and The New York Times are looking into a dreaded “adulting” milestone: finding your own medical insurance at 26.

For Pharma, Trump vs. Harris Is a Showdown Between Two Industry Foes
By Stephanie Armour Vice President Kamala Harris is seen as more aggressive than former President Donald Trump in taking on pharmaceutical companies, but Trump allies say he would also make lowering drug costs a top priority.

Bipartisan Effort Paves Way for Reviving Shuttered Hospitals in Georgia
By Andy Miller and Sam Whitehead “Certificate of need” laws, largely supported by the hospital industry, limit health facility construction in 35 states and Washington, D.C. Georgia lawmakers decided its law was complicating the reviving of two hospitals critical to their communities.

Urgent Care or ER? With ‘One-Stop Shop,’ Hospitals Offer Both Under Same Roof
By Phil Galewitz Hospitals in several states are partnering with a private equity-backed company to offer combined emergency and urgent care in a single building. But patients may not realize prices vary between the two services — often by a lot.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Abortion Heats Up Presidential Race 
The elevation of Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the presumed Democratic presidential ticket is newly energizing the debate over abortion, while former President Donald Trump attempts to distance himself from more sweeping proposals in the “Project 2025” GOP blueprint put together by his former administration officials and the conservative Heritage Foundation. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Elisabeth Rosenthal, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” about a preauthorized surgery that generated a six-figure bill.

New Lines of Attack Form Against the Affordable Care Act
By Julie Appleby While fighting potential fraud in government programs has long been a conservative rallying cry, recent criticisms of the Affordable Care Act represent a renewed line of attack on the program when repealing it is unlikely.

Biden Administration Blocks Two Private Sector Enrollment Sites From ACA Marketplace
By Julie Appleby Regulators have been under the gun to curb unauthorized Obamacare enrollment and switching of plans. Separately, a pending lawsuit was amended with additional defendants and new allegations regarding tactics to garner greater ACA sales commissions.

Watch: Tips on Finding a Good Nursing Home
By Jordan Rau Video by Hannah Norman KFF Health News’ Jordan Rau explains how to tell the good nursing homes from the bad ones.

Harris Did Not Vote To ‘Cut Medicare,’ Despite Trump’s Claim
By Jacob Gardenswartz Former President Donald Trump’s claim that Vice President Kamala Harris voted to “cut Medicare” is false, experts say.

Harris-Walz Ticket Sharpens Contrast With Trump-Vance on Health Care
By Stephanie Armour As Democrats convene in Chicago to make official their presidential and vice presidential nominees, Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz together are raising the prominence of health care as a 2024 election issue.

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Let the General Election Commence
Abortion and reproductive health issues headlined the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as expected. But what Vice President Kamala Harris has in mind for other health policies as the Democratic nominee remains something of a mystery. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump says he would not use the 19th-century Comstock Act to impose, in effect, a national ban on abortion, which angered his anti-abortion backers. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins University, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Tony Leys, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a woman who fought back after being charged for two surgeries despite undergoing only one.

Para las farmacéuticas, la pelea entre Trump y Harris es entre dos enemigos de la industria
By Stephanie Armour Legisladores de ambos partidos atacan cada vez más a la industria, por los precios de los medicamentos que la mayoría de los estadounidenses consideran irrazonables.

Los contrastes de las fórmulas Harris-Walz y Trump-Vance en la atención de salud
By Stephanie Armour La elección de la vicepresidenta Kamala Harris del gobernador de Minnesota, Tim Walz, como su compañero de fórmula está poniendo el tema de la atención médica en primer plano en la recta final hacia las elecciones presidenciales de noviembre.

‘Scared to Death’: Nurses and Residents Confront Rampant Violence in Dementia Care Facilities
By Jordan Rau Clashes between residents — verbal, physical, and sexual — can be spontaneous and too unpredictable to prevent. But the chance of an altercation increases when memory care homes admit and retain residents they can’t manage, according to a KFF Health News examination of inspection and court records and interviews with researchers.

Exercise Is Key for Parkinson’s Relief. But Bias, Underdiagnosis Hold Black Patients Back.
By Elizabeth Cohen Exercise is considered fundamental treatment for Parkinson’s disease, a progressive condition that attacks the central nervous system. But there’s a huge equity gap, researchers say, with Black people missing from popular treatment programs.

La actividad física es clave para aliviar el Parkinson, pero las minorías no acceden a estos programas
By Elizabeth Cohen Cuando se presenta el mal de Parkinson, las neuronas que producen dopamina se destruyen lentamente. Un pequeño estudio realizado por investigadores de la Universidad de Yale demostró que, si los pacientes hacen seis meses de ejercicios, las neuronas productoras de dopamina crecen más sanas.