Aging
Harris, Once Biden’s Voice on Abortion, Would Take an Outspoken Approach to Health
Throughout Joe Biden’s presidency, he leaned on the outspoken former prosecutor and senator he selected as his vice president, Kamala Harris, to be the White House’s voice of unflinching support for reproductive health rights. Now, as Democrats rebuild their presidential ticket just a few months before Election Day, Harris would widely be expected to take […]
Trump Is Wrong in Claiming Full Credit for Lowering Insulin Prices
“Low INSULIN PRICING was gotten for millions of Americans by me, and the Trump Administration, not by Crooked Joe Biden. He had NOTHING to do with it.” Former President Donald Trump in a Truth Social post, June 8 Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that he — and not President Joe Biden — deserves credit […]
How to Find a Good, Well-Staffed Nursing Home
Few people want to go into a nursing home, but doing so can be the right choice if you or a loved one is physically or cognitively disabled or recovering from surgery. Unfortunately, homes vary greatly in quality, and many don’t have enough nurses and aides to give residents the care they need. Q: How […]
States Set Minimum Staffing Levels for Nursing Homes. Residents Suffer When Rules Are Ignored or Waived.
For hours, John Pernorio repeatedly mashed the call button at his bedside in the Heritage Hills nursing home in Rhode Island. A retired truck driver, he had injured his spine in a fall on the job decades earlier and could no longer walk. The antibiotics he was taking made him need to go to the […]
1st Biden-Trump Debate of 2024: What They Got Wrong, and Right
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Democratic and Republican presidential nominees, shared a debate stage June 27 for the first time since 2020, in a confrontation that — because of strict debate rules — managed to avoid the near-constant interruptions that marred their previous encounters. Biden, who spoke in a raspy […]
Federal Budget Constraints May Hurt Older Americans With HIV
Researchers say that by the end of the decade, 70 percent of people in the United States living with HIV will be older than 50. Thanks to advances in medicine, the diagnosis is no longer a death sentence. “I’ve been fortunate to take care of some people with HIV for over 30 years,” said Melanie Thompson, a physician […]
Older Women Are Different Than Older Men. Their Health Is Woefully Understudied.
Medical research has shortchanged women for decades. This is particularly true of older women, leaving physicians without critically important information about how to best manage their health. Late last year, the Biden administration promised to address this problem with a new effort called the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research. That inspires a compelling […]
Americans With HIV Are Living Longer. Federal Spending Isn’t Keeping Up.
DECATUR, Ga. — Malcolm Reid recently marked the anniversary of his HIV diagnosis on Facebook. “Diagnosed with HIV 28 years ago, AND TODAY I THRIVE,” he wrote in a post in April, which garnered dozens of responses. Reid, an advocate for people with HIV, said he’s happy he made it to age 66. But growing […]
California Lawmakers Preserve Aid to Older, Disabled Immigrants
California lawmakers on Thursday passed a 2024-25 budget that rejected Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to cut in-home supportive services for low-income older, blind, and disabled immigrants lacking legal residency. However, the Democratic governor has not said whether he’ll use his line-item veto authority to help close the state’s $45 billion deficit. The legislature, controlled by […]
Biden Plan To Save Medicare Patients Money on Drugs Risks Empty Shelves, Pharmacists Say
Months into a new Biden administration policy intended to lower drug costs for Medicare patients, independent pharmacists say they’re struggling to afford to keep some prescription drugs in stock. “It would not matter if the governor himself walked in and said, ‘I need to get this prescription filled,’” said Clint Hopkins, a pharmacist and co-owner […]