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Programs assisting people with dementia ā and their caregivers ā improve quality of life and care. But millions of unpaid family and friend caregivers may not know where or how to find help.
Turnover ails a program that allows low-income people who are older or disabled to age in place. To attract new workers and improve retention, the state is paying caregivers to develop new skills.
The death of a sharp but frail patriarch just days before Thanksgiving casts a shadow on a familyās holiday season.
Assisted living was meant to be a home-like setting where older adults could interact with other residents while receiving help with daily tasks such as bathing and dressing. But as the concept has become more popular, residents are now older and sicker than in the past, and a panel of experts is calling for more focus on their medical and mental health needs.
Many Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities do not have long-term plans for when family members can no longer care for them. Families, researchers, and advocates worry that has set the stage for a crisis in which people with disabilities could end up living in institutional settings.
An Indiana man's family sued a state-owned nursing home for alleged mistreatment. A U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case could determine the right of many Americans to sue government agencies.
Debt lawsuits ā long a byproduct of Americaās medical debt crisis ā can ensnare not only patients but also those who help sick and older people be admitted to nursing homes, a KHN-NPR investigation finds.
The WA Cares Fund program, which would provide workers in the state a lifetime benefit of $36,500, was set to begin collecting money through a payroll tax in January, but it was delayed while lawmakers made adjustments to address equity problems. Now the payroll deductions will begin in July 2023, and benefits will become available in 2026.
To contain the spread of covid, hospitals and nursing homes barred visits. The separation and isolation took a toll on patients and families. Florida is one of the latest states to ensure access for visitors.
Add nursing homes to the list of industries jolted by Amazonās handsome hourly wages. Enticed by an average starting pay rate of $18 an hour and the potential for benefits and signing bonuses, low-wage workers are fleeing entry-level elder care for jobs packing boxes.
A federal allocation plan meant to ensure equitable distribution of powerful monoclonal antibody treatments for high-risk patients fails to prioritize nursing home residents, a population that remains particularly vulnerable even after vaccination.
As covid case numbers rise nationwide, Georgia and some other states have restricted the case count data they share publicly.
Aduhelm, approved by the Food and Drug Administration last month despite questions about its efficacy, could be prescribed to at least 1 million patients a year, for a price tag of about $56 billion. Experts suggest there might be better ways to spend that money.
The covid pandemic and President Joe Biden's agenda ā a planned $400 billion infusion of support ā have focused national attention on the need to expand home- and community-based long-term care services designed to keep people out of nursing homes. But the need far outpaces the staffing.
Democrats in Congress and the states are devising strategies to expand health coverage ā through the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid and a āpublic option.ā But progress remains halting, at best. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Washington may have to agree on how to control prescription drug prices if they wish to finance their coverage initiatives. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Tami Luhby of CNN and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KHNās Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Michelle Andrews, who reported and wrote last monthās KHN-NPR āBill of the Monthā episode about a very expensive sleep study.
The number of Americans 65 and older is expected to nearly double in the next 40 years. Finding a way to provide and pay for the long-term health services they need won't be easy.
The underfunding of public health and political backlash destabilized Missouriās vaccine rollout, creating racial inequity and forcing some residents to drive hours to get shots.
As the recent winter storm disaster in Texas showed, many long-term care sites arenāt required to have backup power supplies or other redundancies to keep residents safe when disaster strikes.
Relatives and advocates are calling for federal authorities to relax restrictions in long-term care institutions and grant special status to āessential caregiversā ā family members or friends who provide critically important hands-on care ā so they have the opportunity to tend to relatives in need.
Some assisted living facilities, pharmacy chains and health care providers are luring new customers with covid shots.
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