Aging Archives - Page 18 of 65

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: FDA Takes Center Stage

Congress is set to start its once-every-five-years review of the law that authorizes user fees to finance the hiring of personnel to speed the FDA review of drugs. The periodic renewals of “PDUFA” also give lawmakers a chance to make other changes to the agency at the hub of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the FDA could also find itself at the center of the abortion debate and a controversial new medication to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Feb. 10, 2022

Navigating Aging

Pandemic-Fueled Shortages of Home Health Workers Strand Patients Without Necessary Care

Home health and hospice agencies are experiencing extreme worker shortages, which means they can’t provide services to all the patients seeking care.

By Judith Graham

Feb. 3, 2022

COVID-19

At Nursing Homes, Long Waits for Results Render Covid Tests ‘Useless’

As omicron surges, more nursing homes are facing a double whammy: Lab tests are taking too long, and fast antigen tests are in short supply.

By Rachana Pradhan

Feb. 2, 2022

COVID-19

In California Nursing Homes, Omicron Is Bad, but So Is the Isolation

Omicron infections are surging in residential care facilities, causing massive sickouts among staff members and an uptick in hospitalizations and deaths. The latest visitor restrictions and testing requirements are also compounding the isolation that residents have suffered for almost two years.

By Linda Marsa

Jan. 31, 2022

Medium shot of a elderly male patient in a wheelchair looking out a window at night

Medicare Patients Win the Right to Appeal Gap in Nursing Home Coverage

If federal officials accept a court’s decision, some patients will get a chance to seek refunds for their nursing home and other expenses.

By Susan Jaffe

Jan. 28, 2022

Letters to the Editor

Readers and Tweeters: Give Nurse Practitioners Their Due

KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.

Jan. 27, 2022

COVID-19

Why Medicare Doesn’t Pay for Rapid At-Home Covid Tests

The laws governing Medicare don’t provide coverage for self-administered diagnostic tests, which is precisely what the rapid antigen tests are and why they are an important tool for containing the pandemic.

By Michelle Andrews

Jan. 24, 2022

Navigating Aging

Families Complain as States Require Covid Testing for Nursing Home Visits

Relatives say it is important they be allowed to go into nursing homes because staff shortages are affecting care. And many are still upset about lengthy separations from loved ones during lockdowns earlier in the pandemic.

By Judith Graham

Jan. 20, 2022

Podcast

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Dealing With Drug Prices

Medicare officials tentatively plan to restrict the use of a controversial Alzheimer’s drug to only those patients participating in clinical trials, while the Department of Health and Human Services looks into lowering the monthly Medicare Part B premium. Meanwhile, covid confusion still reigns, as the Biden administration moves, belatedly, to make more masks and tests available. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.

Jan. 13, 2022

Black-Owned Hospice Seeks to Bring Greater Ease in Dying to Black Families

National data shows that Black Medicare patients and their families are not making the move to comfort care as often as white patients are. Experts speculate it's related to spiritual beliefs and widespread mistrust in the medical system due to decades of discrimination.

By Blake Farmer, Nashville Public Radio

Jan. 10, 2022

Navigating Aging

A New Paradigm Is Needed: Top Experts Question the Value of Advance Care Planning

Prominent researchers say the nationwide effort to get people to spell out how they want to be treated as they die is not improving patients’ care.

By Judith Graham

Jan. 6, 2022

Navigating Aging

As Covid Hits Nursing Homes’ Finances, Town Residents Fight to Save Alzheimer’s Facility

Fear of covid has kept some adults from moving to nursing homes, and many facilities are in trouble financially. When Nevada, Missouri, officials announced they were planning to close a home specializing in dementia care, members of the community rose up in protest.

By Judith Graham

Jan. 4, 2022

Nursing Homes Bleed Staff as Amazon Lures Low-Wage Workers With Prime Packages

Add nursing homes to the list of industries jolted by Amazon’s handsome hourly wages. Enticed by an average starting pay rate of $18 an hour and the potential for benefits and signing bonuses, low-wage workers are fleeing entry-level elder care for jobs packing boxes.

By Sarah Varney

Dec. 23, 2021

The Last Drugstore

Seeking Refills: Aging Pharmacists Leave Drugstores Vacant in Rural America

Independent pharmacists who want to retire often have trouble attracting new pharmacists to take over their practices, particularly in rural areas. That can cause smaller towns to lose their pharmacies. With many pharmacists near retirement, the problem may only get worse.

By Markian Hawryluk

Dec. 17, 2021

After ‘Truly Appalling’ Death Toll in Nursing Homes, California Rethinks Their Funding

California wants to hold nursing homes accountable for the quality of care they provide by tying Medicaid funding more directly to performance. But the nursing home industry, an influential player in the Capitol, is gearing up for a fight.

By Samantha Young

Dec. 16, 2021

Q&A

Wartime Trauma Hits Close to Home for Scholar of Dementia

The federal government is putting up $7.2 million for a study into the correlation between war trauma and dementia in Vietnamese immigrants. Oahn Meyer, an associate professor at the University of California-Davis who is leading the study, wonders whether her mother’s dementia is linked to trauma she suffered during the Vietnam War.

By Grace Galletti

Dec. 13, 2021

West Virginia Sen. Manchin Takes the Teeth Out of Democrats’ Plan for Seniors’ Dental Care

In West Virginia, older residents often go without dental care, and a quarter of people 65 and older have no natural teeth, the highest rate of any state in the country. But a powerful senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin, has rebuffed efforts to add a dental benefit to Medicare.

By Phil Galewitz

Dec. 10, 2021

Asking Never Hurts

New California Law Eases Aid-in-Dying Process

Nearly 2,000 terminally ill Californians have used a 2015 law to end their lives with a doctor’s assistance. A revision of the law will make it easier to do so.

By Bernard J. Wolfson

Dec. 3, 2021

Navigating Aging

For Older Adults, Smelling the Roses May Be More Difficult

The loss of smell is a common issue for many seniors and is often overlooked. Yet it can have serious consequences.

By Judith Graham

Dec. 1, 2021

Navigating Aging

It Takes a Team: A Doctor With Terminal Cancer Relies on a Close-Knit Group in Her Final Days

Dr. Susan Massad created a “health team” after learning she had metastatic breast cancer. These friends and family members help her make difficult decisions and lead the most fulfilling life possible.

By Judith Graham

Nov. 24, 2021

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