Between half and three-quarters of older adults are diagnosed with pre-diabetes. But what does it mean? And what should you do if you get such a diagnosis? Increasingly, many experts say older patients should not overreact. A diagnosis of pre-Type 2 diabetes often produces anxiety and confusion in seniors. It can lead to unnecessary tests and medications. And, if poorly [...]
The US health system focuses an enormous amount of money and attention on post-acute care—the medical treatment patients receive after they have been discharged from a hospital. But it would more cost effective, and far better for patients, to refocus on what you might call pre-acute care: What the US can do to prevent those hospitalizations in the first place. [...]
We’ve Got You Covered: Rebooting American Health Care is a study in contrast. On one hand it is a chatty, easily accessible look at the failings of the US health insurance system by two of the nation’s best young health economists. But behind the one-liners and informal presentation, it proposes a highly provocative, radical alternative to our current mess. Liran [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
A great misconception of aging in America is the belief that Medicare will pay for your health care needs in old age. It won’t. It will pay for some of those medical costs. But a typical senior can expect to foot the bill for a substantial portion of their health care, even if they are enrolled in Medicare. Half of [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]