Aging
Midnight Munchies Keep Elderly Safer In NY Nursing Home
This story also appeared on NPR’s health blog, Shots Midnight snacks aren’t just for college students anymore. Like many nursing homes, the Parker Jewish Institute in New Hyde Park, N.Y., was having problems with some of its patients with dementia wandering at night. The staff worried about falls, but they didn’t want to hand out […]
Drug Prices Rise For Seniors Who Reach Medicare Part D Coverage Gap
Seniors who hit the coverage gap in their Medicare prescription drug plans and must use their own money to buy drugs are facing price increases that are far outpacing inflation, a new study finds. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, prices paid by enrollees in standalone Part D plans who enter the coverage gap increased […]
Long-Term Care Program Debuts In New Health Law
This story comes from our partner It got precious little debate in either the House or Senate, and President Obama didn’t even mention it when he signed the huge health bill into law. But buried within the new health care overhaul is the first-ever federal insurance program to help Americans meet the often crushing costs […]
Tennessee Removes About 100,000 People From Medicaid Rolls
Jessica Pipkin and her daughter Emma, 6. Jessica received around-the-clock nursing care through Tennessee’s Medicaid program. But she lost her benefits in September as part of a state reassessment. The TennCare cuts affected approximately 37,000 who had relied on the state program for all their health care needs. (Chris Berkey/KHN) LYNNVILLE, Tenn. — After losing […]
New Long-Term Care Insurance Will Provide Flexible Cash Benefits
Millie Toda of Toledo, Ohio, takes care of her husband Richard so he doesn’t have to be in a nursing home. (JD Pooley) Millie Toda of Toledo, Ohio, takes cares of her husband Richard, 83, who is severely disabled from Parkinson’s Disease. She’s grateful that with the help of government-paid home health aides and […]
In Kansas, Small Medicaid Cuts Have Big Impact On Some Seniors
This story comes from our partner TOPEKA – State officials haven’t yet fully gauged the consequences of reducing in-home services for the elderly. But Sharon Hansen’s perspective is up-close and personal. She says the budget cuts killed her 92-year-old mother. “She’d fallen and hit her head,” Hansen said. “She’d been approved for what they call […]
New Law Could Help Hospice Patients Continue Aggressive Medical Treatments
This story was produced in collaboration with Pennsylvanian Linda Meisenhelder gave up aggressive treatment of colon cancer last fall to enter end-of-life hospice care. (April Saul/Philadelphia Inquirer) After an excruciating bout of chemotherapy, Linda Meisenhelder gave up fighting colon cancer and last fall entered end-of-life hospice care. She was willing to quit curative treatments – […]
Advocacy Group Details Treatment Needs For Older Patients
As the “silver tsunami” prepares to hit the U.S. health care system, some officials worry that there aren’t enough professionals who have been properly trained to work with the unique needs of these senior patients. Today, the Partnership for Health in Aging, a coalition of more than 20 organizations dealing with care of seniors, released a […]
Spouses Face Hurdles When Caring For Themselves, Ill Loved Ones
This story was produced in collaboration with They met on a blind date in 1949 and married two years later. They lived in the same Cape Cod-style house in Silver Spring for nearly 50 years. So when Leonard Crierie was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2005, there was no question that his wife, Betty, would […]
In Sickness and In Health: Elderly Caregivers
Caring for a sick or disabled elderly relative exacts a toll — physical, emotional, financial — on any family member, but being a spousal caregiver brings particular challenges. Today’s longer life spans, in which once-fatal conditions such as heart disease have become manageable, mean that the “sickness” part of “in sickness and in health” can […]