Sorting Out Covid Vaccine Confusion: New and Conflicting Federal Policies Raise Questions
Should you get vaccinated? Will your insurer pay for it? And will you still be able to find a vaccine? KFF Health News tries to sort out where things stand.
KFF Health News’ coverage related to aging and improving care of older adults is supported in part by The John A. Hartford Foundation.
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This Test Tells You More About Your Heart Attack Risk
Coronary artery calcium scans can offer a more precise estimate of a patient’s chances for major cardiac events. Some cardiologists say it remains underused.
By Paula Span -
Republicans Call Medicaid Rife With Fraudsters. This Man Sees No Choice but To Break the Rules.
Congressional Republicans successfully pushed to add hurdles to qualify for Medicaid by saying they would eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse. This is the story of a Montana man who explains why he said he is breaking the rules to keep his health insurance and his job.
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Perspective
Surprise Medical Bills Were Supposed To Be a Thing of the Past. Surprise — They’re Not.
The No Surprises Act, which was signed in 2020 and took effect in 2022, was heralded as a landmark piece of legislation that would protect people who had health insurance from receiving surprise medical bills. And yet bills that take patients by surprise keep coming.
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Maybe It’s Not Just Aging. Maybe It’s Anemia.
Significant numbers of older people have the condition. Many find relief with an effective treatment that is being more widely prescribed.
By Paula Span -
Los Angeles Weighs a Disaster Registry. Disability Advocates Warn Against False Assurances.
Amid increasingly frequent natural disasters, several states have turned to registries to prioritize help for vulnerable residents. But while some politicians see these registries as a potential solution to a public health problem, many disability advocates say they endanger residents with mobility problems by giving a false sense of security.
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In Rush To Satisfy Trump, GOP Delivers Blow to Health Industry
The health industry couldn’t persuade GOP lawmakers to oppose big Medicaid cuts in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill for many reasons. A big one: Congressional Republicans were more worried about angering Trump than a backlash from hospitals and low-income constituents back home.
By Phil Galewitz and Stephanie Armour Digesting Trump’s Big Budget Law
Episode 405President Donald Trump’s big budget bill became his big budget law on July 4, codifying about $1 trillion in cuts to the Medicaid program. But the law includes many less-publicized provisions that could reshape the way the nation pays for and receives health care. Meanwhile, at the Department of Health and Human Services, uncertainty reigns as both staff and outside recipients of federal funds face cuts. Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, Tami Luhby of CNN, and Rachel Cohrs Zhang of Bloomberg News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Julie Appleby, who reported the latest KFF Health News’ “Bill of the Month” feature, about some very pricey childhood immunizations.
The Prescription Drug Playbook, Part II
Season 13, Episode 10In this second part of a two-part series on dealing with the high price of prescription drugs, experts share their insider tips.
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GOP Governors Mum as Congress Moves To Slash Medicaid Spending for Their States
In 2017, when President Donald Trump tried to repeal Obamacare and roll back Medicaid coverage, Republican governors helped turn Congress against it. Now, as Trump tries again to scale back Medicaid, Republican governors — whose constituents stand to lose federal funding and health coverage — have gone quiet on the health consequences.
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Dual Threats From Trump and GOP Imperil Nursing Homes and Their Foreign-Born Workers
Understaffed nursing homes face a workforce crisis if President Donald Trump and Republicans further curtail immigration and cut Medicaid.
By Jordan Rau -
Many Older People Embrace Vaccines. Research Is Proving Them Right.
Newer formulations are even more effective at preventing illnesses that commonly afflict seniors — perhaps even dementia.
By Paula Span -
Nurse Practitioners Critical in Treating Older Adults as Ranks of Geriatricians Shrink
The number of nurse practitioners specializing in geriatrics has more than tripled since 2010.
By Jariel Arvin -
As Federal Health Grants Shrink, Memory Cafes Help Dementia Patients and Their Caregivers
Memory cafes are small social gatherings for individuals with memory loss and their caregivers. The events are cheap to run and can offer measurable benefits. Memory loss experts say they may become an even more important tool in the face of federal cuts to health programs.
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As Cannabis Users Age, Health Risks Appear To Grow
More older people are using cannabis products regularly, but research suggests their cannabis-related health problems are also on the rise.
By Paula Span -
A Ministroke Can Have Major Consequences
What are known as transient ischemic attacks can eventually lead to cognitive declines as steep as those following a full-on stroke, new research finds.
By Paula Span -
Trump’s DOJ Accuses Medicare Advantage Insurers of Paying ‘Kickbacks’ to Brokers
Get our weekly newsletter, The Week in Brief, featuring a roundup of our original coverage, Fridays at 2 p.m. ET.
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Trump’s DOJ Accuses Medicare Advantage Insurers of Paying ‘Kickbacks’ for Primo Customers
The Department of Justice alleges that several major health insurers paid brokerages “hundreds of millions of dollars in kickbacks” to get agents to steer consumers into their Medicare Advantage plans, allegations the insurers strongly dispute.
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Honey, Sweetie, Dearie: The Perils of Elderspeak
A new training program teaches workers to stop the baby talk and address older people as adults.
By Paula Span -
At Social Security, These Are the Days of the Living Dead
In recent weeks, Social Security has been plagued by problems related to technology, system errors, and even the marking of living people as dead.
By Darius Tahir