Readers and Tweeters: Give Nurse Practitioners Their Due
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
¿Por qué Medicare no paga por las pruebas caseras para covid?
Las mismas leyes del programa para los adultos mayores previenen que puedan comprar medicamentos de venta libre y obtener este tipo de pruebas sin una orden médica.
Why Medicare Doesn’t Pay for Rapid At-Home Covid Tests
The laws governing Medicare don’t provide coverage for self-administered diagnostic tests, which is precisely what the rapid antigen tests are and why they are an important tool for containing the pandemic.
Families Complain as States Require Covid Testing for Nursing Home Visits
Relatives say it is important they be allowed to go into nursing homes because staff shortages are affecting care. And many are still upset about lengthy separations from loved ones during lockdowns earlier in the pandemic.
Muchos familiares dicen que no pueden conseguir las pruebas ante la enorme demanda y la escasez de suministros, lo que les impide ver a sus seres queridos.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Dealing With Drug Prices
Medicare officials tentatively plan to restrict the use of a controversial Alzheimer’s drug to only those patients participating in clinical trials, while the Department of Health and Human Services looks into lowering the monthly Medicare Part B premium. Meanwhile, covid confusion still reigns, as the Biden administration moves, belatedly, to make more masks and tests available. Joanne Kenen of Politico and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet and Rachel Cohrs of Stat join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Black-Owned Hospice Seeks to Bring Greater Ease in Dying to Black Families
National data shows that Black Medicare patients and their families are not making the move to comfort care as often as white patients are. Experts speculate it’s related to spiritual beliefs and widespread mistrust in the medical system due to decades of discrimination.
A New Paradigm Is Needed: Top Experts Question the Value of Advance Care Planning
Prominent researchers say the nationwide effort to get people to spell out how they want to be treated as they die is not improving patients’ care.
As Covid Hits Nursing Homes’ Finances, Town Residents Fight to Save Alzheimer’s Facility
Fear of covid has kept some adults from moving to nursing homes, and many facilities are in trouble financially. When Nevada, Missouri, officials announced they were planning to close a home specializing in dementia care, members of the community rose up in protest.
Nursing Homes Bleed Staff as Amazon Lures Low-Wage Workers With Prime Packages
Add nursing homes to the list of industries jolted by Amazon’s handsome hourly wages. Enticed by an average starting pay rate of $18 an hour and the potential for benefits and signing bonuses, low-wage workers are fleeing entry-level elder care for jobs packing boxes.
Seeking Refills: Aging Pharmacists Leave Drugstores Vacant in Rural America
Independent pharmacists who want to retire often have trouble attracting new pharmacists to take over their practices, particularly in rural areas. That can cause smaller towns to lose their pharmacies. With many pharmacists near retirement, the problem may only get worse.
After ‘Truly Appalling’ Death Toll in Nursing Homes, California Rethinks Their Funding
California wants to hold nursing homes accountable for the quality of care they provide by tying Medicaid funding more directly to performance. But the nursing home industry, an influential player in the Capitol, is gearing up for a fight.
Wartime Trauma Hits Close to Home for Scholar of Dementia
The federal government is putting up $7.2 million for a study into the correlation between war trauma and dementia in Vietnamese immigrants. Oahn Meyer, an associate professor at the University of California-Davis who is leading the study, wonders whether her mother’s dementia is linked to trauma she suffered during the Vietnam War.
West Virginia Sen. Manchin Takes the Teeth Out of Democrats’ Plan for Seniors’ Dental Care
In West Virginia, older residents often go without dental care, and a quarter of people 65 and older have no natural teeth, the highest rate of any state in the country. But a powerful senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin, has rebuffed efforts to add a dental benefit to Medicare.
Nueva ley de California facilita el proceso de ayuda para morir
Una modificación a la ley vigente reduce el tiempo entre las peticiones necesarias para obtener los medicamentos para terminar con la vida. También protege más a los pacientes.
New California Law Eases Aid-in-Dying Process
Nearly 2,000 terminally ill Californians have used a 2015 law to end their lives with a doctor’s assistance. A revision of the law will make it easier to do so.
For Older Adults, Smelling the Roses May Be More Difficult
The loss of smell is a common issue for many seniors and is often overlooked. Yet it can have serious consequences.
It Takes a Team: A Doctor With Terminal Cancer Relies on a Close-Knit Group in Her Final Days
Dr. Susan Massad created a “health team” after learning she had metastatic breast cancer. These friends and family members help her make difficult decisions and lead the most fulfilling life possible.
When the Eye on Older Patients Is a Camera
High-tech tools ease caregivers’ stress but can raise sticky privacy questions and concerns about cost.
Fabricantes de medicamentos se niegan a ofrecer descuentos a miles de farmacias contratadas por los hospitales, diciendo que el programa ha crecido más allá de su uso previsto.
