Latest Morning Briefing Stories
In Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta, Millions Face Long Drives to Stroke Care
Across Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta, where death rates from stroke are above the national average, routing patients from rural areas to the right level of care can be an intricate jigsaw puzzle. The closest hospital might not offer the full scope of stroke treatments, but hospitals with more advanced care could be hours away.
The Vulnerable Homebound Are Left Behind on Vaccination
Even as the nation has moved on to vaccinating everyone 16 and older, the vast majority of people homebound due to frailty or age — and among the most vulnerable to covid’s devastation — have not yet been vaccinated. California offers a sharp lens on the challenges.
Covid Forces Cohousing Communities to Examine Shared Values and Relationships
How do dozens of people living communally decide what to do during a public health crisis when members have varying tolerance for risk and different opinions about safe practices?
Humana Health Plan Overcharged Medicare by Nearly $200 Million, Federal Audit Finds
Medicare Advantage company may face record penalty over alleged billing errors.
Biden Seeks $400 Billion to Buttress Long-Term Care. A Look at What’s at Stake.
Long-term care options are expensive and often out of reach for seniors and people with disabilities. The president has proposed a massive infusion of federal funding for home and community-based health services that advocates say will go a long way toward helping individuals and families.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Health Care as Infrastructure
President Joe Biden’s infrastructure proposal includes items not traditionally considered “infrastructure,” including a $400 billion expansion of home and community-based services for seniors and people with disabilities, and a $50 billion effort to replace water pipes lined with lead. Meanwhile, the politics of covid-19 are turning to how or whether Americans will need to prove they’ve been vaccinated. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, Rovner interviews KFF’s Mollyann Brodie about the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor.
California Counties a Hodgepodge of Highs and Lows in Vaccinating Vulnerable Seniors
Like many states, California is seeing huge regional variations in covid vaccination rates for people 65 and older. Remote rural counties are in some cases struggling to give away doses to vulnerable seniors, while metropolitan areas often have more demand than supply.
‘I Can Breathe Again’: Older Adults Begin to Test Freedom After Covid Vaccinations
Whether it’s making plans to hug their grandchildren, scheduling long-overdue medical appointments or just petting the neighbor’s dog, seniors are inching back to a lifestyle they’ve missed during the pandemic.
Web Event: The Crucial Role of Home Health Workers, Unsung Heroes of the Pandemic
Watch an intimate conversation about this workforce, which provides vital care to vulnerable people. Our panel included those doing the work and those who rely on them, as well as expert insight on improving the jobs, honoring the care and paying for it all.
Covid Cases Plummet 83% Among Nursing Home Staffers Despite Vaccine Hesitancy
Federal records show a steep decline in staff covid cases since December, when health care workers at thousands of nursing homes began getting their shots. Still, many are reluctant to get vaccinated.
Texas Winter Storm Exposes Gaps in Senior Living Oversight
As the recent winter storm disaster in Texas showed, many long-term care sites aren’t required to have backup power supplies or other redundancies to keep residents safe when disaster strikes.
Behind The Byline: Reporting Road Trip
Check out KHN’s video series — Behind The Byline: How the Story Got Made. Come along as journalists and producers offer an insider’s view of health care coverage that does not quit.
Por el bienestar de los abuelos, buscan reabrir hogares de adultos mayores
Ahora es el momento de aliviar a los residentes del abrumador y brutal aislamiento, dice un grupo cada vez más grande de expertos, cuidadores, consumidores y médicos.
Reopening of Long-Term Care Facilities Is ‘an Absolute Necessity for Our Well-Being’
Relatives and advocates are calling for federal authorities to relax restrictions in long-term care institutions and grant special status to “essential caregivers” — family members or friends who provide critically important hands-on care — so they have the opportunity to tend to relatives in need.
Sorting Out How Politics, Policies Figure in Flap Over New York Nursing Home Covid Death Rates
The debate begins with the covid death tallies. But the issues go beyond basic numbers.
Connecticut Is Doling Out Vaccines Based Strictly on Age. It’s Simpler, but Is it Fair?
On Monday, Connecticut will be the first state to begin vaccinating anyone from age 55 to 64 — instead of people with chronic health issues and essential workers.
Journalists Weigh In on Biden’s HHS Pick
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.
Countless Homebound Patients Still Wait for Covid Vaccine Despite Seniors’ Priority
Health organizations have begun sending doctors and nurses to apartment buildings and private homes to vaccinate homebound seniors, but the efforts are slow and spotty.
Companies Pan for Marketing Gold in Vaccines
Some assisted living facilities, pharmacy chains and health care providers are luring new customers with covid shots.
Medicare Cuts Payment to 774 Hospitals Over Patient Complications
Renowned medical centers are among the quarter of general hospitals that will lose 1% of Medicare payments for one year because their patients have high rates of bedsores, sepsis and other preventable complications.
