Category: Aging

Democrats Plan to Expand Medicare Hearing Benefits. What Can Consumers Expect?

KHN answers questions for seniors about how this new benefit might work.

‘Covid Hit Us Over the Head With a Two-by-Four’: Addressing Ageism With Urgency

In light of the pandemic’s shocking death toll among seniors, organizations are trying new strategies to help older Americans get better care.

Few Acute Care Hospitals Escaped Readmissions Penalties

More than 9 in 10 general acute-care hospitals have been penalized at least once in the past decade.

Nursing Home Residents Overlooked in Scramble for Covid Antibody Treatments

A federal allocation plan meant to ensure equitable distribution of powerful monoclonal antibody treatments for high-risk patients fails to prioritize nursing home residents, a population that remains particularly vulnerable even after vaccination.

If Congress Adds Dental Coverage to Medicare, Should All Seniors Get It?

Health equity advocates see a once-in-a-generation opportunity to provide a dental benefit to millions of older Americans as Congress considers expanding Medicare services. But complicating that push is a debate over how many of the more than 60 million Medicare recipients should receive dental coverage.

Democrats’ Plans to Expand Medicare Benefits Put Pinch on Advantage Plans’ Funding

As lawmakers weigh new spending provisions to cover dental, hearing and vision services for Medicare beneficiaries, a group supporting Medicare Advantage plans is airing commercials that raise concerns about the funding for those private plans.

Medicare Plans’ ‘Free’ Dental, Vision, Hearing Benefits Come at a Cost

The ads for supplemental Medicare Advantage plans describe vision and dental benefits, even grocery discounts and food deliveries. But look at the fine print.

‘They Treat Me Like I’m Old and Stupid’: Seniors Decry Health Providers’ Age Bias

Ageism in health care settings, which can result in inappropriate or dangerous treatment, is getting new attention during the covid pandemic, which has killed more than half a million Americans age 65 and older.

What Will It Take to Boost Vaccinations? The Scene From Kentucky’s Back Roads

With Kentucky in the grip of a covid surge, public health workers are taking their vaccination campaign house to house and church to church, trying to outmaneuver the fantastical tales spread on social media and everyday hurdles of hardship and isolation.

The Public Backs Medicare Rx Price Negotiation Even After Hearing Both Sides’ Views

But Americans generally have little confidence that the White House or Congress will recommend the right thing, a new poll shows.