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The condition can be an early signal of Alzheimer’s disease, but not always. Other health concerns could be causing thinking or memory problems, and the new drug, Aduhelm, would not be appropriate for those patients.
The ad, advanced by a right-leaning seniors advocacy organization, mischaracterizes proposals to bargain on drug prices, regarding both the effects on the Medicare program and on beneficiaries.
Here’s an out-of-the-box idea: Have letter carriers spend less time delivering mail and take time to perform home visits and basic health checks on the growing population of frail and elderly.
Dr. Kingsley R. Chin and SpineFrontier were the subject of a recent KHN “Spinal Tap” investigation.
Lynn Casteel Harper, a minister at the interdenominational Riverside Church in New York City, discusses the spiritual dimension of aging.
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.
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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.
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.
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.
When the program began half a century ago, backers believed the benefits would expand over time, but politics and concerns about money have stymied most efforts. Now congressional Democrats are looking to add vision, dental and hearing care.
Aggressive sales tactics have allegedly led surgeons to use defective or wrong-size implants, screws or other products on patients, including former Olympian Mary Lou Retton.
The latest research shows that although deaths in nursing homes received enormous attention, far more older adults who perished from covid lived outside of institutions. People with dementia and other severe neurological conditions, chronic kidney disease and immune deficiencies were hit especially hard.
The success in getting shots to older adults is likely due to states prioritizing that effort when the vaccines became available and motivation among the elderly after the virus killed so many in their age group.
Relationships with people you know only superficially can help develop a sense of belonging and provide motivation to engage in activities. Research has found that older adults who have a broad array of “weak” as well as “close” ties enjoy better physical and psychological well-being and live longer than people with less diverse social networks.
The state says it will look at the levels of disease-fighting antibodies among nursing home residents vaccinated against covid, which could help indicate whether they need a booster shot.
Pharmaceutical companies routinely cover the cost of patient copays for expensive drugs under private insurance. A federal judge could make the practice legal for millions on Medicare as well.
The makers of Aduhelm, a drug approved last month despite concerns raised by experts about its effectiveness, have launched a website and ads designed to urge people who are worried about their memory to ask doctors about testing. But some health advocates say it is misleading because some memory loss with aging is normal.
Doctors in Washington state used human body bags filled with ice and water to rapidly cool the sickest patients affected by record heat last month.
Medicare has proposed revamping its payment rules to get more people into a diabetes prevention plan that helps them eat better, exercise more and maintain a healthier lifestyle. Out of an estimated 16 million Medicare beneficiaries whose excess weight and other risk factors make them eligible, only 3,600 have participated since 2018.
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