Missed Visits, Uncontrolled Pain And Fraud: Report Says Hospice Lacks Oversight
By Melissa Bailey
July 31, 2018
KFF Health News Original
A new government watchdog report outlines vulnerabilities in Medicare’s $17 billion hospice program, pointing to inadequate services, inappropriate billing and outright fraud.
In Secret, Seniors Discuss ‘Rational Suicide’
By Melissa Bailey
June 25, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Running counter to the efforts of suicide prevention experts and many religious and social norms, some seniors are quietly exploring the option of turning to suicide when they feel they’ve lived long enough.
Must-Reads Of The Week From Brianna Labuskes
By Brianna Labuskes
May 3, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Newsletter editor Brianna Labuskes wades through hundreds of health care policy stories each week, so you don’t have to.
Lawmakers Want To Give Medicare Beneficiaries More Time To Pick Drug Plans Following Reports Of Website Errors
December 9, 2019
Morning Briefing
And Medicare officials hinted Friday that they would be amenable to providing a window for beneficiaries who are worried about their plans. Other news on Medicare focuses on: prescription drug prices, hospital and hospice payments, and increasing costs.
VA Hospices Face Unique Challenges In Providing End-Of-Life Care For Veterans
November 12, 2019
Morning Briefing
Veterans tend to be more chronically ill compared to the general population, with higher rates of disability, intricate psychiatric issues, post-traumatic stress disorders and depression. That can add complexities to end-of-life care beyond what the rest of the population faces. Other news from Veterans Day focuses on the 2020 Democratic candidates’ stances on the VA, organizations helping veterans transition back into civilian life, homelessness, and more.
More States Say Doctors Must Offer Overdose Reversal Drug Along With Opioids
By Barbara Feder Ostrov
February 21, 2019
KFF Health News Original
In an emerging new tactic against the rising toll of opioid deaths, California, Ohio, Virginia and Arizona are among the states requiring physicians to offer patients naloxone when they give them prescriptions for the powerful painkillers. The Food and Drug Administration is weighing a national recommendation to do so.
Pharmacy Chains Won’t Face Charges In Sprawling Bellwether Opioid Lawsuits, Appeals Court Rules
April 16, 2020
Morning Briefing
A U.S. appeals court rules that large pharmacy chains, like CVS, Rite-Aid and Walgreens, will not face liability charges in ongoing opioid litigation for their alleged role in the opioid epidemic as dispensaries. Many cities, counties and states have joined together to sue drug makers, wholesalers, and pharmacies–though progress on the cases filed in Ohio have slowed due to the pandemic. In drug-related news, hospices have trouble disposing of opioids once a patient has died.
Study Reveals Long-Lasting, Wide-Ranging Negative Health Effects Of Those Who Have Been In Foster System
January 23, 2020
Morning Briefing
The analysis is “the latest in a long, long line of studies showing the harm done to children when they are consigned to the chaos of foster care,” said Richard Wexler of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. In other public health news: smoking, chronic loneliness, tech and wildfire safety, ancient DNA, a fly’s brain, hospice care, and more.
Hundreds Of Hospice Care Facilities Across Country Found To Have ‘Unacceptable’ Life-Threatening Deficiencies
July 9, 2019
Morning Briefing
Citing cases of unmanaged pain, maggots, bed sores and other failures, the inspector general report takes Medicare to task for what it describes as weak oversight and enforcement of the growing number of hospice providers and recommends stronger safeguards “to protect Medicare hospice beneficiaries from harm.”
More Than 800 To Be Laid Off As Humana Looks To Cut 2% Of Workforce By End Of Year
October 30, 2019
Morning Briefing
Humana spokeswoman Kate Marx stated the company began evaluating its “work and cost structure” this year but didn’t say where cuts will be made. Other news on the health industry and systems looks at: hospices, acquisitions, hospitals, new clinics, and more.
When Needs Arise, These Older Women Have One Another’s Backs
By Judith Graham
December 20, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Many women aging alone want to hold on to their independence. But, when illness or disability strikes, they often need assistance. A program in New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco offers numerous ways to help.
Dealing With Hospital Closure, Pioneer Kansas Town Asks: What Comes Next?
By Sarah Jane Tribble
Photos by Christopher Smith
May 14, 2019
KFF Health News Original
After depending on the local hospital for more than a century, Fort Scott residents now are trying to cope with life without it.
California’s Medical Systems Brace For Historic Power Blackouts Aimed At Preventing Wildfires
October 9, 2019
Morning Briefing
Beyond worries about hospitals, hospices and medical care facilities, officials are warning residents to formulate plans to ensure their health needs are met. That ranges from keeping food and water on hand to knowing how to manually open your garage. The blackouts will impact 34 counties in Central and Northern California.
A Late-Life Surprise: Taking Care Of Frail, Aging Parents
By Judith Graham
August 23, 2018
KFF Health News Original
More and more older adults, age 60 and older, care for their elderly parents and face physical, emotional and financial stress.
‘No One Is Ever Really Ready’: Aid-In-Dying Patient Chooses His Last Day
By JoNel Aleccia
August 14, 2018
KFF Health News Original
With its expansion to Hawaii this year, medical aid-in-dying is now approved in eight U.S. jurisdictions. Even when legal, the controversial practice of choosing to die after a terminal diagnosis is difficult, said one Seattle man who shared his final deliberations.
Will Maine Voters Decide To Make Aging In Place Affordable?
By Judith Graham
October 11, 2018
KFF Health News Original
A ballot initiative in Maine proposes that free home care services be available to all residents who need help with at least “one daily activity.”
Medical Marijuana’s ‘Catch-22’: Federal Limits On Research Hinder Patients’ Relief
By Marisa Taylor and Melissa Bailey
April 12, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Suffering Americans seek medical marijuana as an alternative to opioids and other powerful pharmaceuticals. Though legal in 29 states, some doctors say the lack of strong data makes it hard to recommend.
How A Little Pharmacy Shop In Tennessee That Touted Its Great Milkshakes Became State’s Largest Opioid Purchaser
August 29, 2019
Morning Briefing
The Nashville Tennessean dives into the story of the Reeves-Sain shop in Murfreesboro, Tenn., where DEA data shows that even if the company supplied every single nursing home and hospice patient in the Southern U.S., the pharmacy would have outnumbered patients with opioid pills by about 13 to 1. Other news on the opioid crisis comes out of Washington state and North Carolina.
Pediatric Hospice Can Be A Godsend For Heartbroken Parents. But The Facilities Often Struggle To Stay Afloat.
May 16, 2019
Morning Briefing
By some estimates, around half a million children have serious medical conditions that are expected to shorten their lives. For too many of them, death will most likely happen amid the fluorescence and thrumming machinery of an intensive-care unit. For the lucky families, there’s pediatric hospice care. In other public health news: the mysterious illness in diplomats, liver transplants, snakebites, exercise for transgender people, tuberculosis, and more.
Health Insurers’ Stocks Are Holding Up Surprisingly Well Despite Choppy Political Waters
August 2, 2019
Morning Briefing
The industry is even outpacing others when it comes to profit growth, and UnitedHealth and Anthem, the two largest insurers, each beat Wall Street estimates with their second quarter results. Other health industry news looks at medical device litigation, a lab’s court challenge of a multi-billion dollar Medicare cut, hospices, and more.