Blog

• Covid Booster Rates are Sluggish in Nursing Homes

  December 21, 2021: In a troubling sign, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reporting that booster rates were just 22% among fully vaccinated nursing home staff as of December 5. In addition, the CDC says that just over half (51%) of fully vaccinate...Read more >

• Senate Republicans and Chamber of Commerce Double Down on Opposition to the Build Back Better Act

  December 21, 2021: Last week, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (NY) said that a Senate vote on the Build Back Better Act will not happen this year. The House-passed version of Build Back Better would provide guaranteed hearing care for all Medicare beneficiari...Read more >

• KHN: ‘The Charges Seem Crazy’: Hospitals Impose a ‘Facility Fee’ — For a Video Visit

  December 17, 2021: When Arielle Harrison’s 9-year-old needed to see a pediatric specialist at Yale New Haven Health System in June, a telehealth visit seemed like a great option. Since her son wasn’t yet eligible to be vaccinated against covid-19, they could co...Read more >

• Medicare Beneficiaries’ Telehealth Visits Increased 63-Fold in 2020

  December 13, 2021: When the COVID-19 pandemic prevented many Medicare recipients from going to their in-person routine medical appointments, the Medicare program responded in 2020 by offering temporary waivers to increase telehealth visits. Those waivers expanded teleh...Read more >

• House Oversight Committee: Drug Prices are “Unsustainable, Unjustifiable and Unfair”

  December 13, 2021: The pharmaceutical industry relies on drug-pricing practices that are “unsustainable, unjustified and unfair,” according to findings from a nearly three-year investigation by the House Oversight Committee. The conclusions, released Friday, sho...Read more >

• President Biden Outlines the Ways “Build Back Better” will Lower Drug Prices

  December 13, 2021: President Biden, citing the "outrageously expensive" cost of insulin and other prescription medications, called on Congress last week to pass his Build Back Better bill, which contains multiple provisions to lower drug prices. In his brief remarks...Read more >

• President Roach Pushes for a Vote on Social Security Expansion at Congressional Hearing

  December 13, 2021: Rep. John Larson (CT), House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman, and Alliance President Robert Roach, Jr. urged lawmakers to support H.R. 5723, “The Social Security 2100 Act: A Sacred Trust,” during a hearing on the bill Tuesday...Read more >

• Older Homeowners Experience Surge in Predatory Solicitations

  December 07, 2021: As a historic housing shortage tightens the market, more homebuilders, real estate companies, and other speculators are using aggressive methods to try and persuade people to sell their homes. Tactics include incessant phone calls and voice messag...Read more >

• Health Officials Urge Booster Shots for Older Americans to Combat Omicron Variant

  December 07, 2021: Officials are preparing for another possible surge in COVID-19 infections now that the Omicron variant is circulating and colder winter months approach. President Biden has said that the new variant is a cause for concern but not alarm and health exp...Read more >

• KHN: For Older Adults, Smelling the Roses May Be More Difficult

  December 02, 2021: (FLASHPOP/GETTY IMAGES) The reports from covid-19 patients are disconcerting. Only a few hours before, they were enjoying a cup of pungent coffee or the fragrance of flowers in a garden. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, those smells disappea...Read more >