Joanne Lynn

A New Vision For Medicare: Breaking Down Barriers Between Medical Treatment And Personal Care

Since July 1 was the 50th anniversary of Medicare first enrolling (and paying benefits for) seniors, it’s a good time to think about modernizing the half-century old program. A couple of weeks ago I tried to make the case for why we should improve Medicare. Now, let’s think about how. Medicare needs to better serve a population of older adults [...]

By |2016-07-13T11:49:39-04:00July 13th, 2016|Medicare|1 Comment

Like A 1965 Ford Mustang, Medicare Needs a Redesign

Medicare is the 1965 Ford Mustang of healthcare. It was cutting-edge back in the day. But, like that half-century old car, Medicare no longer runs very well and needs a remake. The real issue is not its finances, which is what most of Medicare’s 50th anniversary commentary is about. It’s about redesigning how it delivers care, which is what really [...]

By |2015-08-12T13:25:05-04:00August 12th, 2015|Medicare|0 Comments

Senators Want To Improve Medicare For Seniors With Chronic Diseases, But Are Ignoring Half The Problem

A powerful bipartisan group of U.S. senators wants to improve medical care for older Americans with chronic disease. By doing so, they are taking an important step in improving the health and quality of life of these seniors. But so far at least, they are focusing on only half the problem. While older people with chronic conditions do need improved [...]

How Teamwork Across the Health System Can Keep Seniors Out of the Hospital

Broad-based, integrated, community-wide initiatives can help keep seniors out of the hospital, says an important new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study, done by a team led by Dr. Joanne Lynn of the Altarum Institute’s Center on Elder Care and Advanced Illness is new evidence that by working together, hospitals, physicians, social workers, nursing homes, [...]

What Happens After CLASS?

My best guess is that Congress will formally repeal the CLASS Act in 2012. Already abandoned by the Obama Administration, CLASS has no champion on Capitol Hill and is likely to fall victim to implacable Republican opposition and a lack of Democratic support. Thanks to technical budget rules, Congress can now kill the national, voluntary long-term care insurance program without [...]

Three Great New Palliative Care Resources

I am a huge fan of efforts to increase awareness of palliative care among physicians, health systems, patients and their families. And I wanted to pass on information about three major efforts to do that. The first is a landmark study by the prestigious Institute of Medicine on the importance of managing pain. The report, Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint [...]

By |2011-07-14T00:49:38-04:00July 14th, 2011|End of life, family caregivers|3 Comments