Nursing Homes Wield Pandemic Immunity Laws To Duck Wrongful Death Suits
More than 172,000 nursing home residents died of covid. In lawsuits, some families who lost loved ones say they were misled about safety measures or told that covid wasn鈥檛 a danger in their facilities.
Biden鈥檚 Nursing Home Staffing Rule Surfaces Horror Stories
The Biden administration鈥檚 plan to set minimum staffing levels for nursing homes prompted comments from more than 46,500 people and organizations 鈥 including residents of homes and nurses with harrowing stories about conditions inside. Hundreds of comments like these cemented the resolve of officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last month to […]
Stranded in the ER, Seniors Await Hospital Care and Suffer Avoidable Harm
Many older adults who need hospital care are getting stuck in emergency room limbo 鈥 sometimes for more than a day. The long ER waits for seniors who are frail, with multiple medical issues, lead to a host of additional medical problems.
Biden Administration Sets Higher Staffing Mandates. Most Nursing Homes Don鈥檛 Meet Them.
The staffing regulation was disparaged by the industry as unattainable. Patient advocates say it doesn鈥檛 go far enough. Labor unions welcomed the requirement.
Biden Is Right About $35 Insulin Cap but Exaggerates Prior Costs for Medicare Enrollees
Most Medicare enrollees likely were not paying a monthly average of $400 鈥 as President Joe Biden stated 鈥 before the insulin cap took effect. However, because costs and other factors result in widely varying prices, some Medicare enrollees might have paid that much in a given month.
The Burden of Getting Medical Care Can Exhaust Older Patients
It鈥檚 estimated that an older patient can spend three weeks of the year getting care 鈥 and that doesn鈥檛 count the time it takes to arrange appointments or deal with insurance companies.
Some Medicaid Providers Borrow or Go Into Debt Amid 鈥楿nwinding鈥 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 atenci贸n m茅dica
Un nuevo estudio revela que los pacientes de Medicare dedican aproximadamente tres semanas al a帽o a hacerse pruebas m茅dicas, ver a doctores, someterse a tratamientos o procedimientos m茅dicos, o pasar tiempo en el hospital o en centros de rehabilitaci贸n.
Social Security Chief Testifies in Senate About Plans to Stop 鈥楥lawback Cruelty鈥
Commissioner Martin O鈥橫alley testifies to two Senate panels that his agency will stop the 鈥渋njustices鈥 of suspending people鈥檚 monthly benefits to recover alleged overpayments. The burden will be on the Social Security Administration to prove the beneficiary was to blame.
Health Workers Fear It鈥檚 Profits Before Protection as CDC Revisits Airborne Transmission
Four years since the covid pandemic emerged, health care workers want rules that protect them during outbreaks. They worry the CDC is repeating past mistakes as it develops a crucial set of guidelines for hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and other facilities that provide health care.
Exclusive: Social Security Chief Vows to Fix 鈥楥ruel-Hearted鈥 Overpayment Clawbacks
New Social Security Commissioner Martin O鈥橫alley is promising to change how the agency reclaims billions of dollars it wrongly pays to beneficiaries, saying the existing process is 鈥渃ruel-hearted and mindless.鈥
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 鈥淎n Arm and a Leg,鈥 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 rural hospitals are losing money, and many are struggling to stay open. Researchers and advocates worry the hospitals鈥 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.
America Worries About Health Costs 鈥 And Voters Want to Hear From Biden and Republicans
The presidential election is likely to turn on the simple question of whether Americans want Donald Trump back in the White House. But health care tops the list of household financial worries for adults from both parties.
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.
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鈥檚 most notorious prisons, he is trying to spread the idea.
Patients See First Savings From Biden鈥檚 Drug Price Push, as Pharma Lines Up Its Lawyers
A restructuring of the Medicare drug benefit has wiped out big drug bills for people who need expensive medicines. But the legal battle over drug negotiations means uncertainty over long-term savings.
