Latest Morning Briefing Stories
Buy and Bust: When Private Equity Comes for Rural Hospitals
Noble Health swept into two small Missouri towns promising to save their hospitals. Instead, workers and vendors say it stopped paying bills and government inspectors found it put patients at risk. Within two years — after taking millions in federal covid relief and big administrative fees — it locked the doors.
Journalists Delve Into Vaccine Mandates and Surprise Billing
KHN and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media this week to discuss their stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.
Medicaid Weighs Attaching Strings to Nursing Home Payments to Improve Patient Care
The Biden administration is considering whether Medicaid, which pays the bills for 62% of nursing home residents, should require that most of that funding be used to provide care, rather than for maintenance, capital improvements, or profits.
¿Recibes, pagas o brindas cuidado a largo plazo?
The New York Times y Kaiser Health News investigan si las personas en los Estados Unidos reciben la atención que necesitan a medida que envejecen.
With its latest venture into primary care clinics, is America’s leading organization for seniors selling its trusted seal of approval?
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Washington’s Slow Churn
Stemming gun violence is back on the legislative agenda following three mass shootings in less than a month, but it’s hard to predict success when so many previous efforts have failed. Meanwhile, lawmakers must soon decide if they will extend current premium subsidies for those buying health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and the Biden administration acts, belatedly, on Medicare premiums. Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times, Sandhya Raman of CQ Roll Call, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat News join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KHN’s Michelle Andrews, who reported and wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a too-common problem: denial of no-cost preventive care for a colonoscopy under the Affordable Care Act.
Despite a First-Ever ‘Right-to-Repair’ Law, There’s No Easy Fix for Wheelchair Users
Colorado lawmakers approved a measure that will make it easier for people to fix their power wheelchairs when they wear out or break down, but arcane regulations and manufacturers create high hurdles for nationwide reform.
Her First Colonoscopy Cost Her $0. Her Second Cost $2,185. Why?
Preventive care, like screening colonoscopies, is supposed to be free of charge to patients under the Affordable Care Act. But some hospitals haven’t gotten the memo.
Got Long Covid? Medical Expertise Is Vital, and Seniors Should Prepare to Go Slow
Although identifying long covid in older adults can be tricky, experts say there are good strategies for getting medical advice and fighting the impact of the virus.
¿Eres mayor y tienes síntomas de covid persistente? Esto es lo que deberías hacer
Pero hay que tener en cuenta que muchos médicos de atención primaria no saben cómo identificar y tratar covid persistente. Si tu médico no puede ayudarte, considera que te remita a un especialista que atienda a pacientes con covid a largo plazo. Además, ármate de paciencia: las esperas para las citas son largas.
Betting on ‘Golden Age’ of Colonoscopies, Private Equity Invests in Gastro Docs
An aging population in need of regular cancer screenings has driven private equity companies, seeking profits, to invest in many gastroenterology practices and set up aggressive billing practices. Steep prices on routine tests are one consequence for patients.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: Private Equity Is Everywhere in Health Care. Really.
Private equity companies are the house-flippers of the investment world, and they’ve found their way into many areas of our lives — including your local gastroenterologist’s office.
‘That’s Just Part of Aging’: Long Covid Symptoms Are Often Overlooked in Seniors
Millions of older adults are grappling with long covid, yet the impact on them has received little attention even though research suggests seniors are more likely to develop the poorly understood condition than younger or middle-aged adults.
After the Pandemic Hit Nursing Homes Hard, California Lawmakers Push to Tighten Licensing Rules
Legislators are proposing an overhaul of California’s licensing system for nursing homes that would make it the most stringent in the country. They argue that disreputable and unlicensed owners and operators have harmed residents. The industry describes the proposed requirements as excessive.
¿Por qué más adultos mayores no reciben los refuerzos contra covid?
Según los CDC, aproximadamente 1 de cada 3 estadounidenses mayores de 65 años que completaron su ronda inicial de vacunación aún no han recibido la primera vacuna de refuerzo. Investigadores enfatizan que este grupo sigue teniendo el mayor riesgo de enfermedad grave y muerte por covid-19.
Why Won’t More Older Americans Get Their Covid Booster?
Approximately 1 in 3 Americans 65 and older who completed their initial vaccination round still have not received a first booster shot. The numbers dismay researchers, who say the lag has cost tens of thousands of lives.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Leaked Abortion Opinion Rocks Washington’s World
The unprecedented early leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn the landmark abortion-rights ruling Roe v. Wade has heated the national abortion debate to boiling. Meanwhile, the FDA, after years of consideration, moves to ban menthol flavors in cigarettes and cigars. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Shefali Luthra of the 19th, and Jessie Hellmann of CQ Roll Call join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KHN’s Paula Andalo, who wrote the latest KHN-NPR “Bill of the Month” episode about a family whose medical debt drove them to seek care south of the border.
Medicare Surprise: Drug Plan Prices Touted During Open Enrollment Can Rise Within a Month
Even the savviest Medicare drug plan shoppers can get a shock when they fill prescriptions: That great deal on medications is no bargain after prices go up.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: More Covid Complications for Congress
Congress is back in session, but covid diagnoses for Vice President Kamala Harris and two Democratic senators have temporarily left the Senate without a working majority to approve continued covid funding. Meanwhile, opponents of the Affordable Care Act have filed yet another lawsuit challenging a portion of the law, and we say goodbye to the late Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, who left a long legacy of health laws. Rachel Cohrs of STAT News, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Rebecca Adams of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Advance Care Planning for Guns: Owners Can Help Ensure Safe Use and Transfer of Weapons
Colorado researchers publish a tool to help gun owners and family members plan ahead for safe firearm use and transfers in the event of disability or death.
