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A combination of factors has led to an “astronomical” increase in mentally ill inmates, followed by increased efforts to identify those who need prescriptions. Some say the meds are underprescribed; others, that they are given inappropriately, without the benefit of comprehensive treatment.
For more than 50 years, the program for the poor and sick has been required to ferry certain clients to and from medical appointments. But a few states have sought — and received — waivers to that rule.
Across the country, community groups, hospitals and government agencies are stepping in to support the estimated 42 million family caregivers.
States that opt to change their Medicaid program must figure out how to delineate who is covered by the new mandate, how to enforce the rules and how to handle the people seeking exemptions.
Supporters call it the strongest move yet to document a patient’s advance wishes in cases of severe dementia. Critics say it would deny basic care to society’s most vulnerable.
California health officials do not dispute most of the findings, saying they have already made improvements in determining eligibility.
The program will also set monthly premiums for Medicaid coverage and penalties for those who don’t make the payments.
Some hospitals try to avoid sharp declines in the health of elderly patients by treating them in special units geared to their specific needs. This story is the first in a KHN series on the challenges hospitals face with an aging population.
State says its new site is easier to navigate, though it remains a work in progress. Advocates for nursing home patients call it “a huge step in the wrong direction” that could endanger people’s lives.
California officials should have obtained federal approval before they cut reimbursement rates for dental hygienists who serve frail Californians living in nursing homes and board-and-care facilities, a judge has ruled.
HHS officials sign off on a plan that could lock out for six months thousands of people who fail to get their paperwork done promptly.
Allowing states to mandate that non-disabled Medicaid enrollees work as a condition for coverage would mark one of the biggest changes to the program since it began more than 50 years ago. A decision on the first of the state requests could come within days.
Treatment has been terminated for some seniors because therapists told them they weren’t making enough progress or that they had reached their annual limit. We examine the treatment benefits and the barriers under Medicare’s coverage rules for therapy.
A new social movement in the U.S. tackles the stigma of living with Alzheimer’s.
Last month’s budget deal means Medicare beneficiaries are eligible for physical and occupational therapy indefinitely. Plus, prescription drug costs will fall for more seniors.
The deadly storm turned a health challenge into a full-blown medical crisis for one young man with unconfirmed multiple sclerosis. And still he waits to see a neurologist.
President Trump, speaking Monday, called for a tough-on-crime federal approach. Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, legislative strategies to combat this pressing public health problem are gaining momentum, but experts are not certain these approaches will make a difference.
Elderly black women suffer most from shorter active life expectancy free of disabilities, showing no improvement since the early 1980s, Health Affairs study finds.
The state’s ambitious payment overhaul has begun to demonstrate savings and a change in culture, say new reports.
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