Medicare and Aging 10/28
Older COVID Patients Battle ‘Brain Fog,’ Weakness and Emotional Turmoil
Judith Graham
Seniors tend to have more serious symptoms than younger coronavirus patients, including the aftereffects of hospital-based delirium. Doctors recommend physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and cognitive rehabilitation.
Most Home Health Aides ‘Can’t Afford Not to Work’ — Even When Lacking PPE
Eli Cahan
Home health aides flattened the curve by keeping the most vulnerable patients — seniors, the disabled, the infirm — out of hospitals. But they’ve done it mostly at poverty wages and without overtime pay, hazard pay, sick leave or health insurance.
‘No Mercy’ Explores the Fallout After a Small Town Loses Its Hospital
Sarah Jane Tribble
Listen to “Where It Hurts,” each episode debuting on Tuesdays, from Sept. 29 through Nov. 10. When Mercy Hospital Fort Scott shut its doors, locals lost care. Health workers lost jobs. The hole left behind is bigger than a hospital. Season One is “No Mercy.”
Lifetime Experiences Help Older Adults Build Resilience to Pandemic Trauma
Judith Graham
These seniors use coping strategies to keep them socially active yet safe from the coronavirus.
Pandemic Erects Barriers for Prized Bloc of Voters in Nursing Homes, Senior Facilities
Rachel Bluth
Voting is a point of pride for many older Americans, and senior living facilities in past years have encouraged the civic act by hosting voting precincts, providing transportation to the polls and bringing in groups to help explain election issues. But fears of the spread of the coronavirus among this vulnerable population make voting more difficult this year.
Pandemia obstaculiza al preciado bloque de votantes en centros de adultos mayores
Rachel Bluth
Muchos seniors que necesitan ayuda para obtener o llenar sus boletas podrían sufrir la consecuencias por el cambio de las reglas sobre visitas familiares.
As Californians Get Older and Less Mobile, Fires Get Hotter and Faster
Rachel Scheier
Retirement areas are increasingly being built in the idyllic wooded fringe of towns and cities. Being close to nature also means being in the path of wildfires.
Arguing to Undo the ACA. Harming Medicare. Do They Go Hand in Hand?
Stephanie Stapleton
A Biden campaign ad out this month attacks President Donald Trump for pushing to slash Medicare benefits. A campaign spokesperson said the claim comes from the administration’s support for a legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act that seeks to nullify the entire law.
Biden’s Big Health Agenda Won’t Be Easy to Achieve
Julie Rovner
Much like President Barack Obama, a President Biden could find his health policies initially sidelined by economic issues — in his case, caused by the pandemic.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Election Preview: What’s Next for Health?
How will health issues affect voter choices? What will happen if President Donald Trump is reelected or the White House goes to Joe Biden? In this special election preview episode, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Rebecca Adams of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Promises Kept? On Health Care, Trump’s Claims of ‘Monumental Steps’ Don’t Add Up
Julie Rovner and Phil Galewitz
The president entered office seeking to overturn the Affordable Care Act, revamp Medicaid and drive down prescription drug prices, among other things. He’s hit some stone walls.