National Council on Aging’s Jim Firman on the impact of the Community Living Assistance Service and Supports (CLASS) Act that creates a federal insurance program for long-term care.
Buried within the new health law is the first federal insurance program to help Americans meet the often crushing costs of long-term care.
Efforts to get Americans to buy private long-term care insurance have largely failed.
A new study says, yes, it would made a real difference.
The number of facilities has fallen by nearly 1,000 to about 15,700 since 2000. More than 80,000 beds have been shuttered over those nine years. And the number of Medicaid-only beds—those certified for long-term care stays– has plunged by half since 1995, to about 114,000.
Unapproved hormone used to prevent premature births
Seattle Times health reporter Kyung Song writes in today’s issue of the paper about a program in which Washington state’s largest Medicaid contractor is promoting the use of a synthetic hormone that is thought to prevent premature births.
But the hormone, called 17P, has not been approved by the U.S. [...]
Howard Gleckman, Senior Research Associate at the Urban Institute
August 14, 2009
We live in a time when seemingly no subject is taboo. People discuss, in excruciating detail, their weight, sex lives, and bank accounts on reality TV. Kids tweet about their dates—in real time. And we happily blog away on our latest medical diagnosis. It is apparently no [...]
By Phil Galewitz
August 11, 2009
When Congress and the White House began talking about a health care overhaul, the industries that profit from the $2.5 trillion system were understandably nervous.
But as the legislation takes shape, it appears much of the anxiety was misplaced. Most of the major health care players, including hospitals, health insurers and pharmaceutical [...]
FDA may require glucose monitors to be more accurate
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration may soon require glucose monitors used by more than 11 million diabetics in the U.S. to be more accurate, Gardiner Harris reports in the New York Times.
Under current standards, these monitors can be off by as much as 20 percent putting [...]
Howard Gleckman, Senior Research Associate at the Urban Institute
July 20, 2009
Advocates of including long-term care services in health reform usually focus on two issues: How many Medicaid dollars should be spent on home care and whether to create a national long-term care insurance program, such as Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., has proposed in his CLASS [...]
By Elizabeth G. Olson
July 14, 2009
(This story is a collaboration between Kaiser Health News and The Washington Post.)
When 81-year-old Sally Darr needed nursing home care after injuring herself in a fall, her family turned to a new federal rating system for help.
The online tool uses movie-review-style ratings – one to five stars – to compare [...]
Medicare covers little long-term care. Long-term care insurance, which pays benefits for a stay in a nursing home or assisted living facility as well as for home care, could offer some financial security.
By Joseph Shapiro
NPR – a Kaiser Health News partner
July 08, 2009
Until recently, it looked like long-term care was not going to be a serious part of any potential health care overhaul.
But that changed when the Obama administration this week endorsed a new government social insurance program that would help people put aside money [...]
Health costs can bankrupt even those with insurance
Seattle Times Health Reporter Kyung Song tells the story of Mark Moody and Glenda Krull, an Edmonds couple struggling to cover their health care expenses even though they are middle class and have health insurance.
Moody’s case is complicated by the fact that he needs a second liver transplant, [...]
If you or a loved one needs nursing home care, how can you find about about the quality of various nursing homes? In this column, Dr. Carolyn Clancy, director of the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, describes a new easy-to-use Web tool called Nursing Home Compare.
“The tool provides information on nursing homes that have [...]
How do you find long-term care for a family member? And how do you pay for it?
In this column, Dr. Carolyn Clancy, director of the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, reviews your options.
A nursing home isn’t the only answer, Dr. Clancy writes: often there are other services, such as adult day care, meals [...]
More than 90 percent of US nursing homes were cited for violation of federal health and safety standards last year, according to a new report. Among the violations identified were medication errors, poor nutrition, inadequate staffing, and abuse and neglect.
For-profit nursing homes were more likely to be cited with 94 percent being found to be in [...]
Invisible Families: The homeless you don't see
They squeeze in with relatives, couch surf with friends or camp out in cars. More families are quietly becoming homeless, driven to the edge by a lack of jobs and affordable housing. The Seattle Times and its local news partners tackle the topic together. Project home
E-Health Records: Seattle is ahead of the curve
Health News from the Seattle Times
