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The potential benefits of Aduhelm are small, its effectiveness is not certain, and even the FDA Thursday shifted its guidance on who should get the drug. But physicians are dealing with an onslaught of interest from patients and their families, and figuring out which patients are best positioned to be helped by the drug will be difficult.
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 Biden administration is moving to undo many of the changes the Trump administration made to the enrollment process for the Affordable Care Act to encourage more people to sign up for health insurance. Meanwhile, Congress is opening investigations into the controversial approval by the Food and Drug Administration of an expensive drug that might (or might not) slow the progression of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Joanne Kenen of Politico, Kimberly Leonard of Insider and Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Marshall Allen of ProPublica about his new book, 鈥淣ever Pay the First Bill: And Other Ways to Fight the Health Care System and Win.鈥
The covid pandemic and President Joe Biden's agenda 鈥 a planned $400 billion infusion of support 鈥 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.
Millions of older adults want to be comfortable going online and using digital tools to enhance their lives. But many need help. A number of groups around the country offer assistance.
Despite a hearts-and-minds campaign and millions spent in incentives, managers struggle to get staffs vaccinated against covid. Some workers have threatened to quit over the pressure to get a shot, which employers can鈥檛 afford.
Federal officials say that some of the money changing hands has corrupted doctors and endangered patients.
Across the country, doctors report that those hospitalized with covid now are largely unvaccinated. New York City lags the rest of the nation in vaccinating people 65 and older, and its efforts to reach the homebound and disabled have been late in coming and disorganized.
Criminal charges filed against two officers who injured a Colorado woman with dementia don鈥檛 address the fact that police often lack the skills to effectively deal with suspects with mental disabilities.
Phone visits became an option for many Medicare and Medicaid patients during the pandemic. Now policymakers are deciding whether they鈥檙e worth the money.
The federal approval of a controversial drug to treat Alzheimer鈥檚 disease has reignited the debate over drug prices and the way the Food and Drug Administration makes decisions. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden seeks to gain goodwill overseas as he announces the U.S. will provide 500 million doses of covid vaccine to international health efforts. Sarah Karlin-Smith of the Pink Sheet, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times and Joanne Kenen of Politico join KHN鈥檚 Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also, Rovner interviews Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the new administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. And to mark the podcast鈥檚 200th episode, the panelists discuss what has surprised them most and least over the past four years.
Connecticut residents who learned how to communicate with family and friends through digital technology when their nursing homes closed to visitors last year used that skill to testify remotely during legislative hearings on bills affecting them.
Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the new head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said the administration will focus on getting more people insured and is interested in finding a way to alleviate the gap keeping low-income families in states that haven鈥檛 expanded Medicaid from enrolling in Affordable Care Act health plans.
Kaiser Health News gives readers a chance to comment on a recent batch of stories.
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.
In the latest sign that in-home acute care is catching on, two big players 鈥 Kaiser Permanente and the Mayo Clinic 鈥 announced plans to collectively invest $100 million into the company Medically Home to help scale up their programs.
Experts offer advice on how seniors struggling with physical, emotional and cognitive challenges following a year of being cooped up can address issues such as muscle weakness, poor nutrition, disrupted sleep, anxiety and social isolation.
A little-discussed, long-term toll of the pandemic is that large numbers of older adults have become physically and cognitively debilitated and less able to care for themselves after sheltering in place.
When the covid pandemic hit, Dr. Rebecca Elon was thrust into a new role, primary caregiver for her severely ill husband and her elderly mother. 鈥淩eading about caregiving of this kind was one thing. Experiencing it was entirely different,鈥 she says.
There is no public national data source that tracks vaccination rates based on a combination of race or ethnicity as well as age. Most state-level data shows that disparities exist in vaccine rates between white people and people of color.
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