Blog

• KHN: Over Half of States Have Rolled Back Public Health Powers in Pandemic

  September 17, 2021: Republican legislators in more than half of U.S. states, spurred on by voters angry about lockdowns and mask mandates, are taking away the powers state and local officials use to protect the public against infectious diseases. People celebrate...Read more >

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

  August 31, 2021: 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...Read more >

• Calming Computer Jitters: Help for Seniors Who Aren’t Tech-Savvy

  July 01, 2021: Six months ago, Cindy Sanders, 68, bought a computer so she could learn how to email and have Zoom chats with her great-grandchildren. It’s still sitting in a box, unopened. “I didn’t know how to set it up or how to get help,” said ...Read more >

• Members of Congress Suggest Expanding Medicare Telehealth Options

  May 24, 2021: Early on in the pandemic, the federal government expanded telehealth services covered under traditional Medicare on a temporary, emergency basis. Before, only patients who lived in rural areas could access telehealth options from certain providers an...Read more >

• Hearing Exposes Greed of Drug Corporation AbbVie

  May 24, 2021: According to a study released on May 18 by the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee, the pharmaceutical corporation AbbVie has raised prices 470% in the United States for its widely used drugs Humira and Imbruvica over the past two decades. The ...Read more >

• KHN: Biden Seeks $400 Billion to Buttress Long-Term Care. A Look at What’s at Stake.

  April 12, 2021: There’s widespread agreement that it’s important to help older adults and people with disabilities remain independent as long as possible. But are we prepared to do what’s necessary, as a nation, to make this possible? That’s the challenge...Read more >

• ‘I Can Breathe Again’: Older Adults Begin to Test Freedom After Covid Vaccinations

  April 05, 2021: With a mix of relief and caution, older adults fully vaccinated against covid-19 are moving out into the world and resuming activities put on hold during the pandemic. Many are making plans to see adult children and hug grandchildren they have...Read more >

• KHN: Under New Cost-Cutting Medicare Rule, Same Surgery, Same Place, Different Bill

  March 29, 2021: A cost-saving change in Medicare launched in the final days of the Trump administration will cut payments to hospitals for some surgical procedures while potentially raising costs and confusion for patients. For years, the Centers for Medicare...Read more >

• KHN: Covid Cases Plummet 83% Among Nursing Home Staffers Despite Vaccine Hesitancy

  March 15, 2021:   Joan Phillips, a certified nursing assistant in a Florida nursing home,  loved her job but dreaded the danger of going to work in the pandemic. When vaccines became available in December, she jumped at the chance to get one. Months ...Read more >

• KHN: Reopening of Long-Term Care Facilities Is ‘an Absolute Necessity for Our Well-Being’

  March 08, 2021:   For nearly a year, nursing homes and assisted living centers have been mostly closed to visitors. Now, it’s time for them to open back up and relieve residents of crushing isolation, according to a growing chorus of long-term care exp...Read more >