Aging

Dale Marsh has not been enamored with his health insurance since the Affordable Care Act took effect. Premiums for Marsh, 53, and his wife, Tammy, rose, their deductibles grew, and they gave up access to their regular doctors to keep costs down. This year, facing monthly premiums of $1,131 — a 47 percent increase from […]

For months, Teresa Christensen’s 87-year-old mother, Genevieve, complained of pain from a nasty sore on her right foot. She stopped going to church. She couldn’t sleep at night. Eventually, she stopped walking except when absolutely necessary. Her primary care doctor prescribed three antibiotics, one after another. None worked. “Doctor, can’t we do some further tests?” […]

SOBRE NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL Noticias en español es una sección de KFF Health News que contiene traducciones de artículos de gran interés para la comunidad hispanohablante, y contenido original enfocado en la población hispana que vive en los Estados Unidos. Durante meses, Genevieve, la madre de 87 años de Teresa Christensen, se quejó del dolor […]

FORT WORTH, Texas — Her mother’s breathing had become labored in the wee hours of the night, during what would prove to be the Fort Worth woman’s final days living with lung cancer. Distraught, the daughter called 911. “Her mother was having some pretty severe shortness of breath,” said Tim Gattis, the third paramedic to […]

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Carolyn Thompson’s tight-lipped smile hides a health care problem the 81-year-old retired nurse can’t afford to correct and Medicare won’t pay for. She needs dentures. Her missing bottom teeth make chewing difficult, so she avoids hard fruits and foods that provide valuable nutrients. Thompson hasn’t seen a dentist in years, even though […]

SOBRE NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL Noticias en español es una sección de KFF Health News que contiene traducciones de artículos de gran interés para la comunidad hispanohablante, y contenido original enfocado en la población hispana que vive en los Estados Unidos. BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — La sonrisa apretada de Carolyn Thompson esconde un problema de salud que […]

CHICAGO — At least once a day, Dr. Lee Ann Lindquist gets an urgent phone call. “Mom fell and is in the hospital,” a concerned middle-aged son might report. “Dad got lost with the car, and we need to stop him from driving,” a distraught middle-aged daughter may explain. “We don’t know what to do.” Lindquist, […]

Under a new federal law, hospitals across the country must now alert Medicare patients when they are getting observation care and why they were not admitted — even if they stay in the hospital a few nights. For years, seniors often found out only when they got surprise bills for the services Medicare doesn’t cover for […]

Darvin Bentlage’s health insurance plan used to be the same as all the other cattle farmers in Barton County, Mo., he said: to stay healthy until he turned 65, then get on Medicare. But when he turned 50, things did not go according to plan. “Well, I had a couple of issues,” he said. That’s putting it […]

Before nursing home patient Carmencita Misa became bedridden, she was a veritable “dancing queen,” says her daughter, Charlotte Altieri. “Even though she would work about 60 hours a week, she would make sure to go out dancing once a week — no matter what,” Altieri, 39, said. “She was the life-of-the-party kind of person, the […]