Home Care Agencies Often Wrongly Deny Medicare Help To The Chronically Ill
Agencies sometimes turn away Medicare beneficiaries with chronic health problems by incorrectly claiming Medicare won't pay for their services, say patient advocates.
The SCAN Foundation
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For Elder Health, Trips To The ER Are Often A Tipping Point
Experts provide tips for older patients and their caregivers to cope with the physical and mental declines associated with emergency room visits.
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‘Put The Fire Under Us’: Church Spurs Parishioners To Plan For Illness And Death
Pastor Gloria White-Hammond wants to get all 600 congregants to write down their end-of-life wishes and discuss them with their families.
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Care Suffers As More Nursing Homes Feed Money Into Corporate Webs
Increasingly, owners of nursing homes outsource services to companies in which they also have financial interest or control. That allows the nursing homes to claim to be in the red while owners reap hidden profits.
By Jordan Rau -
Trump Administration Relaxes Financial Penalties Against Nursing Homes
Medicare is discouraging regional offices from levying fines for “one-time mistakes” or from using daily fines that seek to put pressure on nursing homes to make changes.
By Jordan Rau -
Infection Lapses Rampant In Nursing Homes But Punishment Is Rare
A Kaiser Health News analysis of federal inspection records shows that nursing home inspectors labeled mistakes in infection control as serious for only 161 of the 12,056 homes they have cited since 2014.
By Jordan Rau -
The Long Goodbye: Coping With Sadness And Grief Before A Loved One Dies
For those confronting the string of losses that accompany frailty or serious illness, experts offer salves.
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Doing More Harm Than Good? Epidemic of Screening Burdens Nation’s Older Patients
Patients are often aggressively screened for cancer, even if they won’t live long enough to benefit.
By Liz Szabo -
Good Friends Might Be Your Best Brain Booster As You Age
SuperAgers, men and women over age 80 with extraordinary memories, share a commitment to sustaining friendships.
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These Annual Checkups Help Seniors Not Only Survive But Thrive
Seniors are living longer and defying predictions of cognitive and functional decline. Wellness coaches guide them in setting goals for the year — whether physical, social, intellectual or spiritual.
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An Overlooked Epidemic: Older Americans Taking Too Many Unneeded Drugs
Researchers estimate that 25 percent of people ages 65 to 69 take at least five prescription drugs to treat chronic conditions. But some doctors are trying to teach others about “deprescribing” or systematically discontinuing medicines that are inappropriate, duplicative or unnecessary.
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Retirement’s Revolving Door: Why Some Workers Can’t Call It Quits
Baby boomers are deciding to return to the workplace because they miss the challenges, the accomplishments — and, most important, the people.
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Health Risks To Farmworkers Increase As Workforce Ages
Harvesting U.S. crops has been left to an aging population of farmworkers whose health has suffered from decades of hard labor. Older workers have a greater chance of getting injured and of developing chronic illnesses.
By Sarah Varney -
Straight From The Patient’s Mouth: Videos Can Clearly State Your End-Of-Life Wishes
Video advance directives enable people to speak directly to their families and physicians about their wishes for end-of-life care.
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This Thanksgiving, Carve Out Time To Talk About End-Of-Life Wishes
A vital tradition is gaining steam as more families use the holiday gathering to discuss and document advance-care plans.
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Shingles: Don’t Let It Get You The Way It Got Me
The painful condition caused by the chickenpox virus will strike 1 in 3 Americans during their lifetimes — most between ages 60 and 70, but those in their 50s have reason to arm themselves.
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How Older Patients Can Dodge Pitfalls Entrenched In Health Care System
What being old and sick in America can mean — and ways to navigate the often treacherous journey through the system.
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For Active Seniors, Cohousing Offers A Cozier Alternative To Downsizing
Far from a commune or coop, these planned villages are no less about cooperation and community.
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Hospice Workers Who Care For The Dying Don’t Plan Ahead Themselves
Fewer than half of health care workers at a nonprofit Florida hospice had completed advance directives for end-of-life care.
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New ‘Instructions’ Could Let Dementia Patients Refuse Spoon-Feeding
Patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias can say in advance if and when they want caregivers to stop offering food and fluids by hand.