Category: Aging

Older Men’s Connections Often Wither When They’re on Their Own

Older men who find themselves living alone tend to have fewer close personal relationships than older women. They’re vulnerable, physically and emotionally, but often reluctant to ask for help.

The Medicare Advantage Influence Machine

New court filings and lobbying reports reveal an industry drive to tamp down critics — and retain billions of dollars in overcharges.

Historic Numbers of Americans Live by Themselves as They Age

Longer life spans, rising rates of divorce, widowhood, and childlessness, and smaller, far-flung families are fueling a “gray revolution” in older adults’ living arrangements. It can have profound health consequences.

In Montana, 911 Calls Reveal Impact of Heat Waves on Rural Seniors

State and local governments are struggling to keep up with the increasing burden of heat-related illness as summers get hotter because of climate change. In Missoula County, Montana, officials are working with researchers to understand trends in heat-related 911 calls.

Watch: Tips on Finding a Good Nursing Home

KFF Health News’ Jordan Rau explains how to tell the good nursing homes from the bad ones.

Feds Killed Plan To Curb Medicare Advantage Overbilling After Industry Opposition

A private 2014 decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services faces new scrutiny in a multibillion-dollar Justice Department fraud case against UnitedHealth Group.

Violent Dementia Patients Leave Nursing Home Staffers and Residents ‘Scared to Death’

Clashes between residents — verbal, physical, and sexual — can be spontaneous and too unpredictable to prevent. But the chance of an altercation increases when memory care homes admit and retain residents they can’t manage, according to a KFF Health News examination of inspection and court records and interviews with researchers.

Harris, Once Biden’s Voice on Abortion, Would Take an Outspoken Approach to Health

If she grabs the baton from President Joe Biden to become the new presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris would widely be expected to take an aggressive stance in support of abortion access — hitting former President Donald Trump on an issue that could undermine his chances of victory.

Trump Is Wrong in Claiming Full Credit for Lowering Insulin Prices

Though the Trump administration established a voluntary, temporary program lowering insulin costs for some older Americans on Medicare, the mandatory price caps implemented through Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act go significantly further.

Despite Past Storms’ Lessons, Long-Term Care Residents Again Left Powerless

Even after multiple massive power outages — including one from a 2021 winter storm in Texas that prompted a U.S. Senate investigation — little has changed for older Americans in senior living facilities when natural disasters strike.