Health and Disability

When someone has a decline (small or large) in hearing, it creates communication barriers on both sides. The person is unable to hear adequately, so he or she may become confused about what is being said or happening around them. This confusion may result in them providing an inappropriate response or lack of response when prompted.

We often times assume a person is developing dementia, or worse, when he or she offers confusing or inappropriate responses. Before making this assumption, I would recommend reviewing their medical record to find out the following:

In an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, a team of University of Michigan Medical School researchers publish the first analysis of the initial results from the Healthy Michigan Plan, which launched this past April.

In its first 100 days, the authors write, the plan enrolled 327,912 people with incomes below or just above the poverty level - beating projections for its entire first year. Almost 80 percent of them hadn't been enrolled in other state health programs for the poor. And 36 percent of those enrolled in the first two months had used their insurance to visit a doctor or clinic by the end of the fourth month.

The federal government’s five-star quality rating system for nursing homes has been scandalously easy for home operators to cheat by simply failing to report evidence of poor patient care.

That should change starting in January, when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services imposes tougher reporting requirements nationwide. Reform is critical. The system, considered the gold standard in the industry since 2009, is used by families as a guide to safe, capable care for their loved ones. It needs to be trustworthy.

Staffing levels are reported once a year, often in connection with an inspection. There is no way to detect if a home operator adds staff just for that period and reports those inflated numbers.

The administrator of the Medford nursing home allegedly said as much in 2010 in an email recounted in the New York attorney general’s lawsuit against the home in February. Questioned about overtime hours, the administrator assured the home’s owner that it was just for the state inspection survey. “All hands on deck during the survey,” he wrote. “It’s our superbowl and only lasts one week. The staffing hours will be a little high for this week but will drop the following week.”

Self-reporting of quality measures also can be unreliable. Since 2008, only 60 of 5,000 incidents and accidents at Medford were reported as the law requires, according to the state’s lawsuit.

Unlike having cancer or being hurt in an accident, most people do not understand even a little about chronic pain and its effects, and of those that think they know, many are actually misinformed.In the spirit of informing those who wish to understand: These are the things that I would like you to understand about me before you judge me.

Unlike having cancer or being hurt in an accident, most people do not understand even a little about chronic pain and its effects, and of those that think they know, many are actually misinformed.In the spirit of informing those who wish to understand: These are the things that I would like you to understand about me before you judge me.

2015 marks the 50th anniversary of Medicare, Medicaid, and the Older Americans Act, as well as the 80th anniversary of Social Security. The 2015 White House Conference on Aging is an opportunity to recognize the importance of these key programs as well as to look ahead to the issues that will help shape the landscape for older Americans for the next decade.

In the past, conference processes were determined by statute with the form and structure directed by Congress through legislation authorizing the Older Americans Act. To date, Congress has not reauthorized the Older Americans Act, and the pending bill does not include a statutory requirement or framework for the 2015 conference.

However, the White House is committed to hosting a White House Conference on Aging in 2015 and intends to seek broad public engagement and work closely with stakeholders in developing the conference. We also plan to use web tools and social media to encourage as many older Americans as possible to participate. We are engaging with stakeholders and members of the public about the issues and ideas most important to older individuals, their caregivers, and families. We also encourage people to submit their ideas directly through the Get Involved section on this website.

Prior to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), individuals with pre-existing conditions and chronic illnesses routinely faced discrimination in the individual market in the form of higher premiums or, even outright denials for coverage through a tactic known as medical underwriting. That meant that children with asthma or a woman in remission from breast cancer could be denied health insurance.  Thanks to the ACA, we now have limits on this industry practice which prohibit insurers from charging higher premiums or imposing coverage exclusions based on factors such as health status, use of health services, or gender. 

During our Consumer Voices for Coverage Annual Meeting in September, Community Catalyst facilitated a workshop on advocacy strategies to address discrimination in health plans.  In this blog we will focus on how stronger network adequacy standards can play a role in addressing discrimination concerns, and later in part 2 we will highlight how discrimination in health plans affects people living with HIV/AIDS, as one example. 

Ofev is a kinase inhibitor that blocks multiple pathways that may be involved in the scarring of lung tissue and these capsules will be available to patients within 10 days, the company said.

These twice daily oral capsules have been granted fast track, priority review, orphan product and breakthrough designations by the FDA.

IPF is a condition in which the lungs become progressively scarred over time.This fatal lung disease affects as many as 132,000 people in the US.

Most people with IPF only live three to five years after diagnosis. The disease affects men over the age of 65.

The financial planning firm that focuses on military service members and federal employees found that 33 percent of middle-class military families (those with household incomes of at least $50,000) are currently providing elderly care. That’s up significantly from 13 percent in 2012.

The cost of providing care is proving to be sizable for many families, says First Command. Fifty-two percent of military families said the cost was more than they expected. The average monthly estimate for providing care was $1,467, the survey found.

To make it easier for vets to get care, the VA started a program called Access Received Closer to Home, or ARCH. A trial program began three years ago in five states.

This summer, Congress extended the program for two years, as part of a law aimed at reforming the VA. It will allow veterans to use private doctors if they live far from a VA hospital or can't get a VA appointment within 30 days.

It means Michaud can make appointments only 10 miles up the road, at the 65-bed Cary Medical Center in the town of Caribou. Kris Doody, a registered nurse, and the center's CEO, says getting care near home and family is healthier for vets, and helps them avoid that 400-mile round trip.

"We actually keep track for the VA the number of patients who are seen every month and what their distance would have been. And the savings — and that's just savings in mileage — was $600,000," Doody says.