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Families Worried About Alzheimer’s Turn To Expensive PET Scans For Early Diagnosis, But Test Has Downsides, Experts Warn

August 5, 2019 Morning Briefing

The test, which reveals if amyloid is forming in the brain, can cost $5,000 to $7,000 and isn’t covered by insurance. But don’t rush to judgement, experts warn: amyloid occurs commonly in older people’s brains, yet not everyone with amyloid will develop dementia. Nor does a negative PET scan mean someone won’t develop dementia. Public health news also looks at: racism, binge drinking, trust in science, stylish clothes for disabled teens, heatstroke, sun screen safety, alternative pain management, art therapy, unproven stem cell injections, hospice care, nut allergies and dying well.

Emotions Flow After Senate Overwhelmingly Passes Bill To Extend 9/11 Victims Fund: ‘Today Is That Day That They Can Exhale’

July 24, 2019 Morning Briefing

The legislation would ensure that the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund is funded for the next seven decades at a cost of $10.2 billion over the next 10 years. Emotions were high in recent weeks after comedian Jon Stewart shamed Congress for how it treated the first responders. “The country has moved on, and rightfully so,” said Michael O’Connell, a retired lieutenant with the New York Fire Department. But “it’s in front of our eyes,” he added. “We’re in hospices. We’re seeing people pass away right in front of our very eyes.”

Assisted Living Kicks Out The Frail ’Cause ‘We Can’t Take Care Of You Any Longer’

By Judith Graham September 6, 2018 KFF Health News Original

Is there anything families can do to fight these evictions?

Crear rituales para honrar a los muertos en los centros de vida asistida

By Judith Graham September 4, 2018 KFF Health News Original

Nuevos programas de ayuda abordan un problema pocas veces tratado: el dolor de amigos de residencia y personal cuando muere un adulto mayor en un centro de vida asistida.

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.

No Gaps In Understanding: Here’s Your Primer On Medigap Coverage

By Judith Graham July 26, 2018 KFF Health News Original

Seniors often don’t realize that private insurers are required to offer Medigap policies, or supplemental insurance, only when people first sign up for Medicare.

Creating Rituals To Honor The Dead At Long-Term Care Facilities

By Judith Graham September 4, 2018 KFF Health News Original

Death and its companion, grief, are often ignored at nursing homes and assisted living centers. Yet ignoring the loss can lead to depression, staff burnout and other problems.

Suspension Of California’s Aid-In-Dying Law Leaves Sick Patients In Limbo

By JoNel Aleccia June 5, 2018 KFF Health News Original

Doctors have stopped writing lethal prescriptions and pharmacists have stopped filling them after a court fight over how the law was enacted.

Medicare Financial Outlook Worsens

By Phil Galewitz June 5, 2018 KFF Health News Original

The Medicare board of trustees said the program’s hospital insurance trust fund could run out of money by 2026, three years earlier than previously forecast.

A Hospital’s Human Touch: Why Taking Care In Discharging A Patient Matters

By Judith Graham July 12, 2018 KFF Health News Original

Patients and caregivers often feel abandoned and lose trust in health care professionals when they sense a lack of caring during transitions. With it, they feel better able to handle concerns and act on their doctors’ recommendations.

Barbara Bush’s End-Of-Life Decision Stirs Debate Over ‘Comfort Care’

By Melissa Bailey and JoNel Aleccia April 16, 2018 KFF Health News Original

The former first lady’s announcement “not to seek additional medical treatment” and to focus on “comfort care” shone a light on end-of-life choices.

Avoidable Sepsis Infections Send Thousands Of Seniors To Gruesome Deaths

By Fred Schulte and Elizabeth Lucas and Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune September 5, 2018 KFF Health News Original

No one tracks sepsis cases closely enough to know how often these severe infections turn fatal. But the toll — both human and financial — is enormous, finds an investigation by KHN and the Chicago Tribune.

Choosing Between Death And Deportation

By Dan Gorenstein May 18, 2018 KFF Health News Original

What happens when an undocumented immigrant has a life-threatening diagnosis? Much depends on where the person lives. And even in states with generous care for a dire illness, a patient can face difficult life-and-death choices.

At Some Veterans Homes, Aid-In-Dying Is Not An Option

By JoNel Aleccia February 13, 2018 KFF Health News Original

Citing fears of losing federal funds, California is the latest state to require discharge of terminally ill residents from state veterans homes if they plan to end their lives with lethal drugs.

As Doctors Drop Opposition, Aid-In-Dying Advocates Target Next Battleground States

By Melissa Bailey January 26, 2018 KFF Health News Original

Will efforts to expand the practice to Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Hawaii succeed this year?

Never Too Late To Operate? Surgery Near End Of Life Is Common, Costly

By Liz Szabo February 28, 2018 KFF Health News Original

Nearly 1 in 3 Medicare patients undergo an operation in their final year of life.

‘No One Is Coming’: Hospice Patients Abandoned At Death’s Door

By JoNel Aleccia and Melissa Bailey Photos by Heidi de Marco October 26, 2017 KFF Health News Original

U.S. hospice agencies promise to be available around-the-clock to help patients dying in their homes. But a Kaiser Health News investigation shows that in an alarming number of cases, that promise is broken.

Reverberations From War Complicate Vietnam Veterans’ End-Of-Life Care

By April Dembosky, KQED January 4, 2018 KFF Health News Original

Vietnam veterans’ wartime experiences — and their lasting psychological toll — can make it harder to treat their physical and emotional pain as they approach death.

Hospice Workers Who Care For The Dying Don’t Plan Ahead Themselves

By JoNel Aleccia November 7, 2017 KFF Health News Original

Fewer than half of health care workers at a nonprofit Florida hospice had completed advance directives for end-of-life care.

Seeking A Peaceful Death Amid The Flames

By April Dembosky, KQED October 27, 2017 KFF Health News Original

During Northern California’s recent wildfires, dozens of hospice patients who had hoped to spend their last days in the comfort of their homes had to be relocated to evacuation shelters, assisted living facilities and relatives’ homes instead.

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