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KHN staff writers Julie Appleby and Mary Agnes Carey report that federal officials have effectively shut down part of the health care law aimed to help consumers pay for long-term care.
Medicare's open enrollment season begins
Star ratings are bleeding into bottom lines, board rooms and corporate strategy as Medicare Advantage plans chase top scores.
The prospects for this voluntary long-term care insurance program appear increasingly complicated.
Nearly two-thirds of seniors don't know that the Medicare enrollment period is early this year, a survey shows, and that could cost them.
Critics say there is little evidence of benefit -- and considerable risk -- from common screening tests for colon, breast and prostate cancer, particularly in people older than 70, especially those with other serious health problems.
With the real estate market depressed, thousands of seniors are unable to move because they can't sell their homes.
Aiken, with nearly 22 percent of the residents aged 65 or older, is taking some innovative approaches to serving the community, but still finds the job daunting.
Aiken, S.C.'s aging population also presents opportunities. To help older people pass their wisdom along to younger generations, Aiken has adopted the Foster Grandparents program, which pays seniors $2.65 an hour to read with children during the school year and chaperone summer recreation programs.
Aiken's Public Safety Department uses GPS bracelets and anklets from Project Lifesaver International, a nonprofit organization, to track dementia patients who wander.
Significant cuts to Aiken, S.C.'s Council on Aging have diminished its ability to serve the needs of its senior population. Since 2008, the Meals on Wheels budget has been cut by 20 percent each year and the waiting list has doubled to nearly 650 people.
Internet long-term care placement services are the cyberspace era's quick fix solution for many Americans seeking non-nursing home institutional care for their aging parents or relatives. But their expertise in navigating this bewildering world of assisted living is, at best, a hit-or-miss proposition.
Seven experts explore what it would take to muster the political will to revamp the popular health care program.
Since the 1990s, nearly every developed country on the planet has reformed the way it finances long-term care for the frail elderly and adults with disabilities. Among the handful of exceptions: The U.S. and the United Kingdom.
But John Castellani, who came to the drugmakers' lobbying group after the health care debate, also warns officials against further cuts to the industry.
Although the benefit is intended for patients who have no more than six months to live, 19 percent now receive hospice services for longer.
Congressional advisory group recommends that doctors who order a lot of MRIs, CT scans and other such procedures be forced to get prior approval.
Embattled CMS administrator says partnering with providers will improve care and reduce costs.
Even critics of managed care are warming to the idea of including nearly 400,000 seniors and disabled person now receiving health care through the traditional Medi-Cal program. The shift to managed care begins today and will be phased in.
Even as some Republicans distance themselves from the House-passed budget that would fundamentally change the Medicare program, the conservative seniors group 60 Plus' celebrity spokesman Pat Boone is boosting the plan.
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