Pneumonia Vaccine: How Things May Change for People 65+
(An update on the May 2019 Next Avenue story, below, about a potential change in the rules about a pneumonia vaccine: On Wednesday, June 26, a key U.S. government panel recommended the Centers for...
View ArticleDrug Prices in TV Ads: How Transparent Are They?
(Update: On July 8, 2019, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration order that would have required drug companies to include prices in their TV ads. A Health and Human Services spokeswoman said...
View Article2020 Election: What Democrats Told Older Voters at the AARP Forums
Until recently, aside from talking about Medicare for All, most Democratic presidential hopefuls haven’t said much about issues of keen interest to older voters. That all changed last week, though,...
View Article2020 Election: The Issues That Matter Most to Our Readers
At Next Avenue, a public media website for people 50+, we know our readers care deeply about the 2020 presidential election. To find out which election issues matter most to them, we asked readers to...
View Article2020 Election: Takeaways for Older Voters From the CNN Debates
Much of the media attention over the Democratic presidential candidates’ two-night showdown in Motown focused on who had the knockout jabs and lines. I was watching to hear what the 20 White House...
View ArticleLawsuit Seeks to Let Medicare Patients Appeal Coverage Gap
Medicare paid for Betty Gordon’s knee replacement surgery in March, but the 72-year-old former high school teacher needed a nursing home stay and care at home to recover. Yet Medicare wouldn’t pay for...
View ArticleHow to Find Low-Cost Care for What Medicare Doesn’t Cover
Medicare covers most health care services, including preventative care. But as new users of the federal health insurance program soon find out, it typically does not cover routine dental, vision and...
View Article2020 Election: How the Democrats Say They’d Lower Drug Prices
All 10 Democratic candidates for president who’ve qualified for the debate on Thursday, September 12 have voiced support for various pieces of legislation to lower drug prices. Some of their ideas even...
View ArticleShopping for Medicare? What to Know About the New Plan Finder
(The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services updated its Medicare Plan Finder on October 9, 2019, to address one of the flaws that the Next Avenue story on October 8 had pointed out. The story now...
View ArticleOPINION: How the U.S. Could Afford Medicare for All
(This article originally appeared on The Conversation site.) Health care is Americans’ No. 1 priority, based on recent polls, so it’s no wonder it’s been a hot topic in the Democratic primary. Every...
View ArticleLISTEN: What to Know About Buying Long-Term Care Insurance
Here are two eye-popping facts: Someone turning 65 will have a nearly 70% chance of needing long-term care in the future. And the annual cost of a private room in a nursing home (national median) is...
View ArticleShopping for the New Medicare Advantage Supplemental Benefits
Beginning this year and continuing into 2020, Medicare Advantage plans (ones from private insurers) have increased flexibility to provide coverage for what the government calls supplemental benefits....
View Article3 Things Women Must Know About Social Security Benefits
(Understanding the rules about Social Security benefits and when to start claiming Social Security can be difficult. But they’re critically important, especially for women — since women typically live...
View ArticleMedicare Scams to Watch Out For
“Hello, this is Medicare calling. Your coverage is about to be cancelled.” This type of fraudulent call and others like it happen every day. According to AARP, Medicare fraud losses hit $60 billion in...
View ArticleWhy a New Medicare Policy Could Cut Back on Physical Therapy
Medicare changed its payment policy for physical, occupational and speech therapy in skilled nursing facilities Oct. 1, 2019, moving to a new system called the Patient-Driven Payment Model (P.D.P.M.)....
View ArticleWhy Some Home Health Agencies Are Cutting Patients’ Services
(This article appeared previously in Kaiser Health News.) Craig Holly was determined to fight when the home health agency caring for his wife decided to cut off services Jan. 18. The reason he was...
View ArticleOne Way to Avoid Surprise Hospital Bills
(This article appeared previously in Kaiser Health News.) When Stacey Richter’s husband recently landed in a New Jersey emergency room, fearing a heart attack, she had an additional reason for alarm: a...
View ArticleA Pandemic Lesson: The Importance of Person-Centered Care
(Across caregiving and community, business and intergenerational attitudes, the pandemic and how we respond to it could change us forever. Next Avenue turned to some of our Influencers in Aging, a...
View ArticleYou Can Still See a Doctor, Through Telemedicine
Social distancing and stay-at-home orders due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis have led many health care providers to conduct visits with patients through telemedicine — providing medical and...
View Article25 Years After the 1995 White House Aging Conference, Where We Are Now
This week marks the 25th anniversary of the end of President Clinton’s 1995 White House Conference on Aging, where I was executive director. Delegates at such conferences (3,000 in 1995) make...
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