Aging
Officials Warn Some Older Marketplace Customers To Switch To Medicare
Ever since the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces opened for business in 2014, the Obama administration has worked hard to make sure Americans sign up. Yet officials now are telling some older people they might have too much insurance and they should cancel their marketplace policies. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services […]
Staying Out Of The Closet In Old Age
Partners Edwin Fisher, 86, and Patrick Mizelle, 64, moved to Rose Villa in Portland, Oregon, from Georgia about three years ago. Fisher and Mizelle worried residents of senior living communities in Georgia wouldn’t accept their gay lifestyle. (Anna Gorman/KHN) Patrick Mizelle and Edwin Fisher, who have been together for 37 years, were planning to grow […]
Big Raises For Many Home Care Workers Won’t Necessarily Help Senior Citizens
In recent months, health aides who care for elderly Americans at home appeared at scores of rallies calling for better pay and workplace conditions. President Barack Obama and some of the presidential candidates have pledged to improve the lives of these workers, who often struggle on the poverty-level wages they are paid. Now, thanks to […]
For Seniors, Teeth Need Care — But Insurance Coverage Is Rare
Aging can take a toll on teeth, and for many seniors paying for dental services is a serious concern because they can’t rely on their Medicare coverage. Low-income seniors, in particular, are struggling. More than a third with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level (about $23,000 annually) had untreated tooth decay between […]
Terminally Ill Patients Don’t Use Aid-In-Dying Laws To Relieve Pain
Supporters of “death with dignity” have succeeded in legalizing medical aid-in-dying in five states by convincing voters, lawmakers and courts that terminally ill patients have the right to die without suffering intractable pain in their final days or weeks. When Gov. Jerry Brown signed California’s law in 2015, he said: “I do not know what I […]
How To Enroll In Medicare And Avoid Costly Mistakes
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that a special eight-month enrollment period is not available to seniors who work for small employers when they leave their jobs. Your 65th birthday is coming up. Soon, you think, the government will send you a packet explaining how to enroll in Medicare — its vast health […]
Medicare Bars New ‘Seamless Conversion’ Efforts For Some Seniors
The federal government is temporarily blocking more health insurance companies from automatically moving customers who become eligible for Medicare into Medicare Advantage plans while officials review the controversial practice. They also will issue rules soon for plans that already have permission to make these switches, known as “seamless conversion,” according to a memo from Michael Crochunis, […]
Seniors Suffer Amid Widespread Fraud By Medicaid Caretakers
An Alaska man developed gangrenous toes. A Philadelphia woman froze to death on the street. An Illinois woman died emaciated, covered in excrement. These patients suffered as their government-paid caretakers neglected them, collecting paychecks under a Medicaid program that gives elderly and disabled people non-medical assistance at home. In some cases, the caretakers convicted of […]
How To Spend Your Final Months At Home, Sweet Home
There’s no mystery about what older adults want when they become seriously ill near the end of their lives. They want to be cared for at home. For as long as possible. It’s easy to understand why. Home represents familiarity, safety and identity — the place where we belong. Yet health systems aren’t rewarded financially for […]
Dementia Rates Decline Sharply Among Senior Citizens
A new study finds that the prevalence of dementia has fallen sharply in recent years, most likely as a result of Americans’ rising educational levels and better heart health, which are both closely related to brain health. Dementia rates in people over age 65 fell from 11.6 percent in 2000 to 8.8 percent in 2012, […]