Latest Morning Briefing Stories
The Burden of Getting Medical Care Can Exhaust Older Patients
It’s estimated that an older patient can spend three weeks of the year getting care — and that doesn’t count the time it takes to arrange appointments or deal with insurance companies.
Some Medicaid Providers Borrow or Go Into Debt Amid ‘Unwinding’ Payment Disruptions
Used to operating with scarce resources, Montana Medicaid providers say gaps in state payments have left them struggling further.
Adultos mayores, agotados por tener que organizar tanta atención médica
Un nuevo estudio revela que los pacientes de Medicare dedican aproximadamente tres semanas al año a hacerse pruebas médicas, ver a doctores, someterse a tratamientos o procedimientos médicos, o pasar tiempo en el hospital o en centros de rehabilitación.
Social Security Chief Testifies in Senate About Plans to Stop ‘Clawback Cruelty’
Commissioner Martin O’Malley testifies to two Senate panels that his agency will stop the “injustices” of suspending people’s monthly benefits to recover alleged overpayments. The burden will be on the Social Security Administration to prove the beneficiary was to blame.
Sitios de telesalud prometen una cura para la “menopausia masculina” a pesar de prohibiciones
En anuncios de Google, Facebook y otros medios, los sitios web de telemedicina sobre testosterona pueden prometer una solución rápida para la “lentitud” y la libido baja en los hombres. Pero los médicos dicen que no hay pruebas de su eficacia.
Exclusive: Social Security Chief Vows to Fix ‘Cruel-Hearted’ Overpayment Clawbacks
New Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley is promising to change how the agency reclaims billions of dollars it wrongly pays to beneficiaries, saying the existing process is “cruel-hearted and mindless.”
Concerns Grow Over Quality of Care as Investor Groups Buy Not-for-Profit Nursing Homes
For-profit groups own more than 70% of U.S. nursing homes. Industry leaders and researchers wonder whether corporations and investors can succeed where not-for-profit organizations have struggled. Or, will quality of care suffer in the name of making money?
An Arm and a Leg: The Medicare Episode
On this episode of “An Arm and a Leg,” host Dan Weissmann breaks down the complicated and expensive world of Medicare with practical tips to pick the right plan and avoid penalties.
Biden Said State of the Union Is Strong and Made Clear His Campaign Is Off and Running
President Joe Biden used his roughly 68-minute address to Congress to counter lackluster public approval ratings and draw clear contrasts between his administration’s policies and those of Donald Trump and some congressional Republicans. Abortion and health care were in the spotlight.
Operating in the Red: Half of Rural Hospitals Lose Money, as Many Cut Services
A recent report finds half of America’s rural hospitals are losing money, and many are struggling to stay open. Researchers and advocates worry the hospitals’ financial spiral will have immediate and long-term health effects on their communities.
Whistleblower Accuses Aledade, Largest US Independent Primary Care Network, of Medicare Fraud
A recently unsealed lawsuit alleges Aledade Inc. developed billing software that boosted revenues by making patients appear sicker than they were.
Say That Again: Using Hearing Aids Can Be Frustrating for Older Adults, but Necessary
Hearing loss is more than a nuisance. It also raises the risk of cognitive decline, dementia, falls, depression, and social isolation.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Alabama Court Rules Embryos Are Children. What Now?
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, the Alabama Supreme Court has determined that embryos created for in vitro fertilization procedures are legally people. The decision has touched off massive confusion about potential ramifications, and the University of Alabama-Birmingham has paused its IVF program. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to endorse a national 16-week abortion ban, while his former administration officials are planning further reproductive health restrictions for a possible second term. Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News, and Victoria Knight of Axios join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
Death and Redemption in an American Prison
More than a quarter century after an inmate helped start a hospice program in one of the nation’s most notorious prisons, he is trying to spread the idea.
KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': Biden Wins Early Court Test for Medicare Drug Negotiations
A federal district court judge dismissed a lawsuit attempting to invalidate the Biden administration’s Medicare prescription-drug price negotiation program. But the suit turned on a technicality, and several more court challenges are in the pipeline. Meanwhile, health policy pops up in Super Bowl ads, as Congress approaches yet another funding deadline. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Lauren Weber of The Washington Post, and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week they think you should read, too.
Nuevas normas de elegibilidad son un alivio financiero para casi 2 millones de personas en Medi-Cal
Este grupo se equiparará a los aproximadamente 12 millones de otros beneficiarios que no tienen límites de activos.
New Eligibility Rules Are a Financial Salve for Nearly 2 Million on Medi-Cal
Nearly 2 million Medi-Cal enrollees, mainly people who are aged, disabled, or in long-term care, can now accumulate savings and property without limitations and still qualify for the state’s health insurance program for low-income residents. They join an additional roughly 12 million enrollees who already had no asset limits.
Do We Simply Not Care About Old People?
Recently, thousands of older Americans have been dying weekly of covid. But most Americans aren’t wearing masks in public, a move that could prevent infections. Many at-risk seniors aren’t getting antiviral therapies, and older adults in nursing homes aren’t getting vaccines. Why?
For the first time, a jury has convicted a parent of a school shooter of charges related to the child’s crime, finding a mother in Michigan guilty of involuntary manslaughter and possibly opening a new legal avenue for gun control advocates. Meanwhile, as the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case challenging the FDA’s approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, a medical publisher has retracted some of the journal studies that lower-court judges relied on in their decisions. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, and Rachana Pradhan of KFF Health News join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Plus, for “extra credit,” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too.
Senate Probes the Cost of Assisted Living and Its Burden on American Families
In the wake of a KFF Health News-New York Times series, members of the Special Committee on Aging are asking residents and their families to submit their bills and are calling for a Government Accountability Office study.
