Category: Aging

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Our 200th Episode!

The federal approval of a controversial drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease has reignited the debate over drug prices and the way the Food and Drug Administration makes decisions. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden seeks to gain goodwill overseas as he announces the U.S. will provide 500 million doses of covid vaccine to international health efforts. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. And to mark the podcast’s 200th episode, the panelists discuss what has surprised them most and least over the past four years.

Zooming Into the Statehouse: Nursing Home Residents Use New Digital Skills to Push for Changes

Connecticut residents who learned how to communicate with family and friends through digital technology when their nursing homes closed to visitors last year used that skill to testify remotely during legislative hearings on bills affecting them.

Expanding Insurance Coverage Is Top Priority for New Medicare-Medicaid Chief

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the new head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said the administration will focus on getting more people insured and is interested in finding a way to alleviate the gap keeping low-income families in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid from enrolling in Affordable Care Act health plans.

Tips for Older Adults to Regain Their Game After Being Cooped Up for More Than a Year

Experts offer advice on how seniors struggling with physical, emotional and cognitive challenges following a year of being cooped up can address issues such as muscle weakness, poor nutrition, disrupted sleep, anxiety and social isolation.

Is Your Living Room the Future of Hospital Care?

In the latest sign that in-home acute care is catching on, two big players — Kaiser Permanente and the Mayo Clinic — announced plans to collectively invest $100 million into the company Medically Home to help scale up their programs.

As Pandemic Eases, Many Seniors Have Lost Strength, May Need Rehabilitative Services

A little-discussed, long-term toll of the pandemic is that large numbers of older adults have become physically and cognitively debilitated and less able to care for themselves after sheltering in place.

Aiding Her Dying Husband, a Geriatrician Learns the Emotional and Physical Toll of Caregiving

When the covid pandemic hit, Dr. Rebecca Elon was thrust into a new role, primary caregiver for her severely ill husband and her elderly mother. “Reading about caregiving of this kind was one thing. Experiencing it was entirely different,” she says.

Biden Boasts About Equitable Senior Vaccination Rate by Race Without Data to Back It Up

There is no public national data source that tracks vaccination rates based on a combination of race or ethnicity as well as age. Most state-level data shows that disparities exist in vaccine rates between white people and people of color.

Trouble Managing Money May Be an Early Sign of Dementia

Long before they receive a dementia diagnosis, many people begin to mismanage their finances as their memory, organizational skills and self-control falter.

The Vulnerable Homebound Are Left Behind on Vaccination

Even as the nation has moved on to vaccinating everyone 16 and older, the vast majority of people homebound due to frailty or age — and among the most vulnerable to covid’s devastation — have not yet been vaccinated. California offers a sharp lens on the challenges.