Medicare and Aging: Nov. 2, 2022

Hurricane Ian’s Deadly Impact on Florida Seniors Exposes Need for New Preparation Strategies
By Judith Graham Lengthy checklists from public health officials on handling emergencies miss vulnerable seniors who can’t always follow the recommendations.

Despite Katie Couric’s Advice, Doctors Say Ultrasound Breast Exams May Not Be Needed
By Michelle Andrews When Katie Couric announced she had breast cancer, she urged women to get a mammogram — and, if they have dense breasts, to get supplemental screening by ultrasound. But medical experts point out that ultrasound and other auxiliary screenings haven’t been proven to do more than regular mammography in reducing mortality.

Drivers in Decline: A Shortage of Volunteers Complicates Access to Care in Rural America
By Christina Saint Louis Public transit is already insufficient in rural areas, leaving residents with few options as they travel greater distances to access health care. But older residents who depend on volunteer drivers to get them to appointments face another challenge: The number of those volunteers is declining.

Listen: How Does Human Composting Work?
California Healthline’s Bernard J. Wolfson went on the air to explain a new California law that will allow people to have their bodies reduced to compost after death, an alternative to the traditional-but-toxic methods of cremation and burial.

Watch: What Experts Advise for Seniors Living Under the Long Shadow of Covid
For older people, the pandemic is as taxing and worrisome as ever. Experts in geriatric care, mental health, social services, and infectious disease joined a KHN-Hartford Foundation panel to talk about a third covid winter and its outsize toll on seniors.

Blind to Problems: How VA’s Electronic Record System Shuts Out Visually Impaired Patients
By Darius Tahir Veterans Affairs’ electronic health records aren’t friendly to blind- and low-vision users, whether they’re patients or employees. It’s a microcosm of America’s health care system.

Photographer’s 12-Year Quest to Document Her Life Produces a Rich Portrait of Aging
By Judith Graham Twelve years ago, Marna Clarke was seized by a desire to examine what she looked like at age 70 — and to document the results. This creative project has sustained and engaged her since.

Say What? Hearing Aids Available Over-the-Counter for as Low as $199, and Without a Prescription
By Phil Galewitz The cheaper over-the-counter aids are for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss — a market of tens of millions of people, many of whom have until now been priced out because prescription devices can cost thousands of dollars.

Family Caregivers Find Support on #dementia TikTok
By Kate Wells, Michigan Public The TikTok hashtag "dementia" has billions of views. Caregivers of people with Alzheimer's and other dementias have been using the site to swap tips and share the burdens of life with dementia.

Medicare Fines for High Hospital Readmissions Drop, but Nearly 2,300 Facilities Are Still Penalized
By Jordan Rau Federal officials said they are penalizing 2,273 hospitals, the fewest since the fiscal year that ended in September 2014. Driving the decline was a change in the formula to compensate for the chaos caused by the covid-19 pandemic.

This Open Enrollment Season, Look Out for Health Insurance That Seems Too Good to Be True
By Bram Sable-Smith Complaints about misleading health insurance marketing are soaring. State insurance commissioners are taking notice. They’ve created a shared internal database to monitor questionable business practices, and, in the future, they hope to provide a public-facing resource for consumers. In the meantime, consumers should shop wisely as open enrollment season begins.

Look Up Your Hospital: Is It Being Penalized by Medicare?
By 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.

Journalists Talk Medicare and Public Health Infrastructure
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Hospitals Said They Lost Money on Medicare Patients. Some Made Millions, a State Report Finds.
By Fred Clasen-Kelly A North Carolina state treasurer’s report found hospitals give conflicting information about whether they profit from Medicare patients. Experts said the findings are significant because they suggest the federal government has failed to closely watch the billions of dollars in tax breaks that nonprofit hospitals have received.

After Congress Fails to Add Dental Coverage, Medicare Weighs Limited Benefit Expansion
By Susan Jaffe Medicare can pay for some dental care if it is medically necessary to safely treat another covered medical condition, and federal officials have asked for suggestions on whether that list of conditions should be expanded.

Lawsuit by KHN Prompts Government to Release Medicare Advantage Audits
By Fred Schulte The lawsuit was filed three years ago to learn about vast overcharges by the popular health plans that are detailed in audits the government refused to release to the public.

BMI: The Mismeasure of Weight and the Mistreatment of Obesity
By Julie Appleby The human body mass index — a simple mathematical equation — is tied to a measure of obesity invented almost 200 years ago. On the downside, it can stand between patients and treatment for weight issues. It particularly mismeasures Black women and Asians.

Abortion Bans Are Motivating Midterm Voters, Poll Shows
By Emmarie Huetteman A new KFF poll shows Democrats and those living in states where abortion is illegal say the issue has made them more motivated to vote. It also shows that 70% of Republicans oppose total abortion bans.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Looking Ahead to the Lame-Duck Session
Congress won’t be back in Washington until after Election Day, but lawmakers have left themselves a long list of items to finish up in November and December, including unfinished health care policies. Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call; Jessie Hellmann, also of CQ Roll Call; and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Sam Whitehead, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a family who tried to use urgent care to save money, but ended up with a big emergency room bill anyway.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Finally Fixing the ‘Family Glitch’
The Biden administration has decided to try to fix the so-called “family glitch” in the Affordable Care Act without an act of Congress. The provision has prevented workers’ families from getting subsidized coverage if an employer offer is unaffordable. Meanwhile, Medicare’s open enrollment period begins Oct. 15, and private Medicare Advantage plans are poised to cover more than half of Medicare’s 65 million enrollees. Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Biden Hits the Road to Sell Democrats’ Record
With the midterm elections rapidly approaching, President Joe Biden has taken to the road to convince voters that he and congressional Democrats have delivered for them during two years in power. Among the health issues highlighted by the administration this week are pandemic preparedness and the availability of over-the-counter hearing aids. The president also promised to sign a bill codifying the abortion protections of Roe v. Wade if Democrats maintain control of the House and Senate — even though it’s a long shot that there will be enough votes for that. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Mary Agnes Carey of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these topics and more. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists recommend their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.

Índice de masa corporal: una medida errónea del peso que afecta el tratamiento de la obesidad
By Julie Appleby Los tratamientos actuales para la obesidad y los trastornos alimentarios, y sus costos, muchas veces se basan en esta medida que no está amparada en la ciencia.

Votantes, más motivados para ir a las urnas tras prohibición del aborto, revela encuesta
By Emmarie Huetteman El sondeo también mostró que la mayoría de los votantes, ya sean demócratas o republicanos, no cree que el aborto deba prohibirse en casos de violación o incesto, ni apoyan las leyes que establecen condenas para los proveedores de abortos y las mujeres que abortan.

Pese al consejo de Katie Couric, médicos dicen que las ecografías de seno pueden no ser necesarias
By Michelle Andrews Expertos advierten sobre los falsos positivos que puede generar más temor que certezas médicas.

Comienzan a estar disponibles audífonos de venta libre desde $199
By Phil Galewitz Los audífonos de venta libre cuestan menos en parte porque no incluyen los servicios de un experto para una evaluación auditiva, ajuste y afinación del dispositivo. En cambio, los nuevos dispositivos deben ser configurados por los propios consumidores.