Latest California Healthline Stories
Seeking to Shift Costs to Medicare, More Employers Move Retirees to Advantage Plans
Private and public employers are increasingly using the government’s Medicare Advantage program as an alternative to their existing retiree health plan and traditional Medicare coverage. As a result, the federal government is paying the “overwhelming majority” of medical costs, according to an industry analyst.
Biden Pledges Better Nursing Home Care, but He Likely Won’t Fast-Track It
CMS chief Chiquita Brooks-LaSure says the agency reserves its power to quickly institute new regulations for “absolute emergencies.” On staffing, nursing home residents might need to wait years to see any real change.
Biden’s Promise of Better Nursing Home Care Will Require Many More Workers
The president wants to set minimum staffing levels for the beleaguered nursing home industry. But, given a lack of transparency surrounding the industry’s finances, it’s a mystery how facilities will shoulder the added costs.
Readers and Tweeters Have Mental Health Care on Their Minds
KHN gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
Watch: Seniors Share How They’ve Made It Through the Pandemic
Nine seniors from across the country talk frankly about feeling alone and constrained, missing church, and family routines. They also share newfound hope and discoveries that arose from the crisis.
As Covid Slogs On, Seniors Find Fortitude Waning and Malaise Growing
The spread of the omicron variant has dashed the hopes of many older adults that the country was exiting the worst of the pandemic, leaving them anxious while their patience wears thin.
Inside the Tactical Tug of War Over the Controversial Alzheimer’s Drug
An epic battle is playing out behind the scenes over whether the government should pay for Aduhelm, an FDA-approved Alzheimer’s drug that scientists say has not been proven to work.
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: FDA Takes Center Stage
Congress is set to start its once-every-five-years review of the law that authorizes user fees to finance the hiring of personnel to speed the FDA review of drugs. The periodic renewals of “PDUFA” also give lawmakers a chance to make other changes to the agency at the hub of the pandemic. Meanwhile, the FDA could also find itself at the center of the abortion debate and a controversial new medication to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more.
Pandemic-Fueled Shortages of Home Health Workers Strand Patients Without Necessary Care
Home health and hospice agencies are experiencing extreme worker shortages, which means they can’t provide services to all the patients seeking care.
In California Nursing Homes, Omicron Is Bad, but So Is the Isolation
Omicron infections are surging in residential care facilities, causing massive sickouts among staff members and an uptick in hospitalizations and deaths. The latest visitor restrictions and testing requirements are also compounding the isolation that residents have suffered for almost two years.