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Lawmakers are faulting the Social Security Administration for issuing billions of dollars of payments that beneficiaries weren’t entitled to receive — and then demanding the money back — in the wake of an investigation by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group.
KFF Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
As more seniors opt for Medicare Advantage, a few small insurers have begun offering plans that provide culturally targeted benefits for cohorts including Asian Americans, Latinos, and LGBTQ+ people. The approach, policy researchers say, has potential and perils.
“People want covid-19 to be in the rearview mirror,” one nursing home official says. Faced with a slow rollout of the updated covid vaccines, and without state mandates for workers to get vaccinated, most skilled nursing facilities are relying on persuasion to boost vaccination rates among staff and residents.
Americans think losing their eyesight would be one of the worst possible health outcomes, yet millions lack a fundamental understanding of eye health.
The Biden administration says a recently proposed minimum staffing standard would help ensure quality care, but nursing home leaders predict many rural facilities would struggle to meet it.
Beneficiaries in five states described what happened when they received letters calling on them to return overpayments that can reach tens of thousands of dollars or more.
As covid-19 hospitalizations tick upward with fall approaching, the CDC says it’s time for new boosters — and not only for those at highest risk of serious disease. Here are seven things you need to know.
Congress returns from its summer recess with a long list of tasks and only a few work days to get them done. On top of the annual spending bills needed to keep the government operating, on the list are bills to renew the global HIV/AIDS program, PEPFAR, and the community health centers program. Meanwhile, over the recess, the Biden administration released the names of the first 10 drugs selected for the Medicare price negotiation program.
The proposal would require major hiring at the most sparsely staffed homes. But the proposal is already badly received by the nursing home industry, which claims it can’t boost wages enough to attract workers.
Research commissioned by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services analyzed only staffing levels below what experts have previously called ideal. Patient advocates have been pushing for more staff to improve care.
The federal government is proposing having Medicare pay professionals to train family caregivers how to perform tasks like bathing and dressing their loved ones, and properly use medical equipment.
Clinics serving Alzheimer’s patients are working out the details of who will get treated with the new drug Leqembi. It won’t be for everyone with memory-loss symptoms.
The annual cost of lecanemab treatment quadruples if the expense of brain scans to monitor for bleeds and other associated care is factored in. The full financial toll likely puts it beyond reach for low-income seniors at risk of Alzheimer’s, experts say.
Although nearly 40% of Americans 60 and older are obese, Medicare doesn’t cover weight loss medications. Meanwhile, studies haven’t thoroughly examined new drugs’ impact on older adults.
Researchers have found that while obesity at any age risks harming health, a few extra pounds in later life isn’t cause for concern.
Black patients and other minorities tend to be diagnosed at later stages of the disease, which would exclude them from use of Leqembi. Few Black people were included in the main trial of the drug.
Last month, Florida joined a growing number of states in banning sales taxes on diapers to make them more affordable for older adults and families with young children. Though diapers are essential for many, they are not covered by food stamps. Nor are incontinence products for older adults typically covered by Medicare. The cost can easily add up on a fixed income.
People with dementia and their families often find themselves with few legal rights when dealing with financial scams or the mismanagement of their assets. Research reveals financial troubles can be both an early sign and a painful symptom of cognitive decline.
The pandemic disrupted the massage industry. Now those who specialize in hospice massage therapy are in demand and redefining their roles.
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