Latest Morning Briefing Stories
While Inflation Takes a Toll on Seniors, Billions of Dollars in Benefits Go Unused
With prices of necessities rising dramatically, many older Americans are having trouble making ends meet. They often don’t know that help is available from a variety of programs, and some sources of financial assistance are underused.
‘An Arm and a Leg’: The New Cap on Medicare Drug Costs
In this episode, Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for KHN, guides listeners through decades of dealings between Congress and Big Pharma.
‘It’s Becoming Too Expensive to Live’: Anxious Older Adults Try to Cope With Limited Budgets
Three women explain how life’s surprises can catapult their efforts to carefully manage limited budgets and lead to financial distress.
‘Science Friday’ and KHN: Examining Definition of Death Informs Abortion Debate
Why is it so hard to agree when life begins? As state abortion laws define it, science, politics, and religion are clashing. KHN’s Sarah Varney shared her reporting with the “Science Friday” radio program.
Unraveling the Interplay of Omicron, Reinfections, and Long Covid
The omicron variant has proved adept at finding hosts, often by reinfecting people who recovered from earlier bouts of covid. But whether omicron triggers long covid as often and severe as previous variants is a matter of heated study.
Watch: How Nursing Homes Put Friends and Families on the Hook for Residents’ Debts
In pursuit of unpaid bills, nursing homes across Rochester, New York, have been suing relatives and friends of their residents. This CBS News report, done in partnership with a KHN-NPR investigation, takes a look at the practice and tells the stories of some of the people affected.
Para las familias médicamente vulnerables, la presión de la inflación es inevitable
Para millones de familias que viven con enfermedades crónicas, trastornos cardíacos, diabetes y cáncer, u otras condiciones debilitantes, la inflación está demostrando ser un doloroso flagelo que podría perjudicar su salud.
For Medically Vulnerable Families, Inflation’s Squeeze Is Inescapable
Inflation hasn’t hit Americans like this in decades. And families living with chronic diseases have little choice but to pay more for the medicine, supplies, and food they need to stay healthy.
No, the Senate-Passed Reconciliation Bill Won’t Strip $300 Billion From Medicare
Under the Medicare drug negotiations provisions in the reconciliation bill, the federal government would see its outlays reduced by about $300 billion. That reduction wouldn’t result from cuts in benefits. Instead, Medicare would be empowered to leverage its market power to pay lower prices for certain drugs.
Cognitive Rehab May Help Older Adults Clear Covid-Related Brain Fog
People whose brains have been injured by concussions, traumatic accidents, strokes, or neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s disease can benefit from targeted therapy. Experts also employ therapies for long-covid patients with memory and language problems.