Health Care

Why Do So Few Doctors Want To Specialize In Caring For Older Adults?

You might think that the aging of the Baby Boom generation, with the Gen Xers following close behind, would make geriatric medicine a popular specialty. Almost as attractive, perhaps, as orthopedic surgery. But you’d be very, very wrong. In 2000, there were only about 10,000 board-certified geriatricians to care for 35 million Americans age 65 or older.  That was bad [...]

By |2023-08-15T10:56:51-04:00August 15th, 2023|Health Care|0 Comments

The US Predicts Big Increases In Skilled Nursing And Long-Term Care Costs

New government projections estimate significant increases in both overall and out-of-pocket costs for home care, nursing facilities, and continuing care communities (CCRCs) through this decade. The projected steep rise in costs will lead to tough decisions for both consumers and government. The latest annual projections, by analysts at the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) forecast overall health [...]

By |2023-04-04T09:59:47-04:00April 4th, 2023|Health Care, Uncategorized|0 Comments

What The End Of The Covid-19 Public Health Emergency Will Mean for Older Adults

President Biden’s announcement that the Covid-19 public health emergency (PHE) will end on May 11 will have a significant impact on older adults. Some changes will be immediate, others won’t occur for nearly two years. Some may improve care for older adults, others could cost seniors more money and end some important benefits they received during the pandemic. Biden’s decision [...]

By |2023-02-01T13:20:13-05:00February 1st, 2023|Health Care|0 Comments

Don’t Let Anyone Tell You Severe Depression Is Normal For Seniors. It Isn’t, And You Can Get Help

Twice over the past few weeks I’ve heard a variation of the same story: An older adult tells her primary care doctor she is feeling severely depressed. Each time, the physician responds by saying depression is normal for seniors. Something like, “What do you expect? You’ve got aches and pains. Your friends are dying. It is what happens.” That response [...]

By |2023-01-06T13:36:08-05:00January 6th, 2023|Health Care|0 Comments

FDA Upends The Hearing Aid Market By Permitting Sales Of Non-Prescription Devices

After years of internal debate, the FDA has approved the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids. The move will make the devices available to consumers with mild to moderate hearing loss as soon as mid-October. The move not only could save a typical buyer several thousand dollars, it also opens the door to potential new technologies that could improve the quality [...]

By |2022-08-16T14:53:39-04:00August 16th, 2022|Health Care|0 Comments

Biden’s Plan To Expand Broadband Will Be A Huge Help To Older Adults

On Monday, President Biden announced a deal with 20 Internet service providers, such as AT&T and Comcast, to provide high-speed broadband  to low-income households for no more than $30-a-month. That’s less than half the average 2021 cost of $61 and far less in many areas. That initiative, and an even bigger companion program to build out broadband in communities that [...]

By |2022-05-12T11:14:07-04:00May 12th, 2022|Health Care|0 Comments

How Nursing Home Staff Shortages Are Hurting Hospital Care

By now, you’ve probably heard about the desperate shortage of nurses and aides in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. This workforce crisis not only hurts their residents, it also is creating severe backups in hospitals, putting both patients and the facilities themselves at risk and increasing health care costs. As those staffing shortages course through the entire health care [...]

By |2022-02-17T12:00:01-05:00February 17th, 2022|Health Care|0 Comments

Biden’s Vaccine Order Will Require Most, But Not All, Long-Term Care Providers To Get Jabbed

In an attempt to get a handle on the persistent Covid-19 pandemic, President Biden yesterday issued a broad executive order mandating vaccines for a large segment of the US economy, including most of the medical and long-term care industries. His order should give families comfort that most licensed providers, from doctors to home health aides, will be vaccinated. But it [...]

By |2021-09-10T14:52:56-04:00September 10th, 2021|Health Care|0 Comments

How Can States Get Timely Covid-19 Vaccine to Family Caregivers Of Frail Seniors? It Is Complicated

Many experts have written about the importance of making covid-19 vaccines available to family caregivers of frail older adults and younger people with disabilities. But how can states do this? It turns out to be really complicated. Massachusetts shows what happens when one state decides to vaccinate not only older adults, but also the people who bring them to get [...]

By |2021-02-17T10:23:03-05:00February 17th, 2021|Health Care|0 Comments