Medicare&Aging091621
Census: Insured Population Holds Steady, With a Slight Shift From Private to Public Coverage
By Victoria Knight and Julie Appleby
The Census Bureau on Tuesday released its 2020 findings regarding Americans’ income, poverty and health insurance coverage.
Justice Department Targets Data Mining in Medicare Advantage Fraud Case
By Fred Schulte
The feds’ civil suit links exaggerated patient bills to “tens of millions” in overcharges.
Apple, Bose and Others Pump Up the Volume on Hearing Aid Options, Filling Void Left by FDA
By Phil Galewitz
A 2017 law designed to help lower the cost of hearing aids mandated that federal officials set rules for a new class of devices consumers could buy without needing to see an audiologist. But those regulations are still on hold.
Biden’s No-Jab-No-Job Order Creates Quandary for Nursing Homes
By Jordan Rau and Andy Miller
Nursing home operators acknowledge that large numbers of staff members are not getting the shots but fear a federal vaccination mandate could drive away workers in a tight labor market.
Minister for Seniors at Famed Church Confronts Ageism and the Shame It Brings
By Judith Graham
Lynn Casteel Harper, a minister at the interdenominational Riverside Church in New York City, discusses the spiritual dimension of aging.
‘My Time to Live’: Through Novel Program, Kidney Patients Get Palliative Care, Dialysis ’Til the End
By JoNel Aleccia
Seattle’s Northwest Kidney Centers, which pioneered kidney failure treatment 50 years ago, now pairs dying patients with hospice services, without forcing them to forgo the comfort dialysis can provide.
After Pandemic Ravaged Nursing Homes, New State Laws Protect Residents
By Susan Jaffe
This year, 23 states passed more than 70 pandemic-related provisions affecting nursing homes, including measures setting minimum staffing levels, expanding visitation protections and limiting owners’ profit margins.
Readers and Tweeters Ponder Vaccines and Points of Fairness
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Booster Time
As the delta variant continues to spread around the U.S., the Biden administration is taking steps to authorize covid vaccine boosters, require nursing home workers to be vaccinated and protect school officials who want to require masks despite state laws banning those mandates. Meanwhile, the U.S. House is returning from its summer break early to start work on its giant budget bill, which includes a long list of health policy changes. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Kimberly Leonard of Business Insider join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: The Senate Acts
The U.S. Senate worked well into its scheduled August recess to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill and a budget blueprint that outlines a much larger bill — covering key health priorities — to be written this fall. Meanwhile, the latest surge of covid is making both employers and schools rethink their opening plans. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Mary Ellen McIntire of CQ Roll Call and Yasmeen Abutaleb of The Washington Post join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest their favorite health policy stories of the week they think you should read, too.