Aging

[UPDATED on Oct. 14] Federal health officials have agreed to make public 90 audits of private Medicare Advantage health plans for seniors that are expected to reveal hundreds of millions of dollars in overcharges to the government. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services agreed to release the records to settle a lawsuit filed by […]

A dozen years ago, at age 70, Marna Clarke had a dream. She was walking on a sidewalk and rounded a corner. Ahead of her, she saw an end to the path and nothing beyond. It was a turning point for Clarke. “I realized, ‘Oh my God, I’m nearer the end than the beginning,’” she […]

After 11 days in a St. Paul, Minnesota, skilled nursing facility recuperating from a fall, Paula Christopherson, 97, was told by her insurer that she should return home. But instead of being relieved, Christopherson and her daughter were worried because her medical team said she wasn’t well enough to leave. “This seems unethical,” said daughter […]

I woke up in a strange bedroom with 24 electrodes glued all over my body and a plastic mask attached to a hose covering my face. The lab technician who watched me all night via video feed told me that I had “wicked sleep apnea” and that it was “central sleep apnea” — a type […]

LONDON — A little over a decade ago, Four Seasons Health Care was among the largest long-term care home companies in Britain, operating 500 sites with 20,000 residents and more than 60 specialist centers. Domestic and global private equity investors had supercharged the company’s growth, betting that the rising needs of aging Britons would yield […]

[UPDATED on Sept. 22] Private equity firms are investing in health care from cradle to grave, and in that latter category quite literally. A small but growing percentage of the funeral home industry — and the broader death care market — is being gobbled up by private equity-backed firms attracted by high profit margins, predictable […]

The past decade has witnessed a rapid expansion of genetic tests, including new instruments to inform patients who have been diagnosed with breast cancer about the risk of recurrence and to guide their treatment. But the clinical significance of many of the inherited mutations that can now be identified remains unclear, and experts are torn […]

Millions of older adults are having trouble making ends meet, especially during these inflationary times. Yet many don’t realize help is available, and some notable programs that offer financial assistance are underused. A few examples: Nearly 14 million adults age 60 or older qualify for aid from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (also known […]

Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen. Click here for a transcript of the episode. On a Sunday afternoon in August, health services researcher Stacie Dusetzina was sitting alone in her office at Vanderbilt University, watching C-SPAN and crying. The U.S. Senate was voting on the Inflation Reduction Act, which among other things is designed […]