Are you ready for a new debate over what to call old people? This happens every few years: We’ve tried senior citizens, seniors, the elderly, elders, retirees, and even gerontos. Lately, “older adults” seemed to be catching on. That’s the phrase I mostly use though it is not entirely satisfying either. Older than who? Then there are the euphemisms for [...]
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) promises that 2018 will be the year Congress attempts to reduce spending on big federal programs like Medicare. As that debate unfolds, keep this in mind: A 65-year old woman will need to have put aside $95,000 to have a just a 50/50 chance of paying her Medicare premiums and prescription drug costs over her [...]
Congress is nearing passage of a $1.5 trillion tax cut that would mostly benefit businesses and high-income households. For older adults, the effects are complicated. Some will receive large tax cuts. Some will be no better off and a few will be worse off. But beyond the immediate tax changes in the bill, the measure sets the stage for what [...]
As board chair of a community hospital, I am often confronted with the dozens of quality and safety measures that state and federal regulators use to score and pay us, and private organizations use to rate us. And as someone who works to improve the quality of care for older adults, I am struck by how much all these measures [...]
Socially-isolated older adults are likely to be sicker and die sooner, and have higher health care expenses, than seniors who retain their social connections. A new study by researchers from the AARP Public Policy Institute, Stanford University, and Harvard finds that Medicare spends an estimated $6.7 billion more each year on seniors who have little social contact with others. About [...]
Health experts often focus on the needs of a relatively small number of people who are the heaviest users of medical treatment. You know: that five percent of Medicare beneficiaries who account for half the program’s costs. But a new study published in the October volume of the journal Health Affairs (paywall) looks at another cost-driver in our health care [...]
Two of the many major changes House Republicans would make to the federal tax code could make it harder for fail older adults, younger people with disabilities, and their families to receive badly-needed services. Repeal of the medical expense deduction would severely hurt those who face major uninsured expenses for medical treatment or long-term supports and services, including care at [...]
Want to know if an older adult is likely to use lots of medical care? Just ask if she needs help with living activities such as bathing, dressing, or getting out of bed. In a new study with important implications for both caregivers and policymakers, researchers at the Long-Term Quality Alliance (LTQA) found that Medicare spends an average of three [...]
Enrolling in Medicare Part B should be simple. But for years the government has been making enrollment nearly impossible for millions of seniors, especially those who are still working or who have delayed taking their Social Security benefits. They are never told that are eligible for Medicare, they don’t know that they face still penalties if they don’t enroll by [...]
President Trump’s multi-pronged administrative attack on the Affordable Care Act would sharply increase premiums for middle-aged people who purchase insurance in the individual market, likely driving many to drop coverage. Most would not feel the effects until 2019, though some will face sharply higher premiums in 2018—rate hikes they’ll see when the open enrollment season begins next month. The President [...]