All posts by rebecca

KFF Health News: Resources Are Expanding for Older Adults on Their Own

Jeff Kromrey, 69, will sit down with his daughter the next time she visits and show her how to access his online accounts if he has an unexpected health crisis. Gayle Williams-Brett, 69, plans to tackle a project she’s been putting off for months: organizing all her financia... Read more

House Budget Committee Advances “Fiscal Commission” Legislation

On Thursday, the House Budget Committee approved three pieces of legislation that pave the way for cuts to Social Security and Medicare: the Fiscal Commission Act (H.R. 5779), the Fiscal State of the Nation Act (H.R. 6952), and the Debt-to-GDP Transparency and Stabilization Act (... Read more

KFF Health News: America’s Health System Isn’t Ready for the Surge of Seniors With Disabilities

The number of older adults with disabilities — difficulty with walking, seeing, hearing, memory, cognition, or performing daily tasks such as bathing or using the bathroom — will soar in the decades ahead, as baby boomers enter their 70s, 80s, and 90s. But the health care ... Read more

KFF Health News: Deep Flaws in FDA Oversight of Medical Devices, and Patient Harm, Exposed in Lawsuits and Records

Living with diabetes, Carlton “PeeWee” Gautney Jr. relied on a digital device about the size of a deck of playing cards to pump insulin into his bloodstream. The pump, manufactured by device maker Medtronic, connected plastic tubing to an insulin reservoir, which Gautney s... Read more

KFF Health News: Extra Fees Drive Assisted Living Profits

Assisted living centers have become an appealing retirement option for hundreds of thousands of boomers who can no longer live independently, promising a cheerful alternative to the institutional feel of a nursing home. But their cost is so crushingly high that most Americans ... Read more

KFF Health News: Save Billions or Stick With Humira? Drug Brokers Steer Americans to the Costly Choice

Tennessee last year spent $48 million on a single drug, Humira — about $62,000 for each of the 775 patients who were covered by its employee health insurance program and receiving the treatment. So when nine Humira knockoffs, known as biosimilars, hit the market for as little a... Read more

Rally for Social Security with Mark Kelly

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Government Watchdogs Attack Medicare Advantage for Denying Care and Overcharging

Congress should crack down on Medicare Advantage health plans for seniors that sometimes deny patients vital medical care while overcharging the government billions of dollars every year, government watchdogs told a House panel Tuesday. Witnesses sharply criticized the fast-gr... Read more

Apple, Bose and Others Pump Up the Volume on Hearing Aid Options, Filling Void Left by FDA

Spurred by decades of complaints about the high cost of hearing aids, Congress passed a law in 2017 to allow over-the-counter sales, with hopes it would boost competition and lower prices. Four years later, federal regulators have yet to issue rules to implement the law. B... Read more