Blog

• KHN: As Covid Slogs On, Seniors Find Fortitude Waning and Malaise Growing

  February 24, 2022: Late one night in January, Jonathan Coffino, 78, turned to his wife as they sat in bed. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this,” he said, glumly. Coffino was referring to the caution that’s come to define his life during t...Read more >

• KHN: Why Millions on Medicaid Are at Risk of Losing Coverage in the Months Ahead

  February 17, 2022: The Biden administration and state officials are bracing for a great unwinding: millions of people losing their Medicaid benefits when the pandemic health emergency ends. Some might sign up for different insurance. Many others are bound to get lo...Read more >

• For Older Patients, Exercise Could Speed Recovery Following Hospitalization

  February 14, 2022: Even though bed rest is commonly prescribed for older adults recovering from a hospital stay, many health care professionals are highlighting the risks associated with such inactivity. In one study on older hospital patients from 2008, scientists ...Read more >

• Census Report Highlights Older Households’ Sources of Income

  February 14, 2022: While Social Security makes up the largest share of most older adults’ incomes, other sources also provide earnings to people 65 and older. A new report from the United States Census Bureau analyzed older households’ sources of income, the amount...Read more >

• Alliance Cheers House Passage of Bipartisan Postal Reform Bill

  February 14, 2022: On Wednesday the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3076, the 2021 Postal Reform Act, on a bipartisan 342-92 vote, repealing the Congressional mandate that the United States Postal Service (USPS) spend billions of dollars every year to prefund...Read more >

• KHN: Health Care Paradox: Medicare Penalizes Dozens of Hospitals It Also Gives Five Stars

  February 10, 2022: The federal government has penalized 764 hospitals — including more than three dozen it simultaneously rates as among the best in the country — for having the highest numbers of patient infections and potentially avoidable complications. ...Read more >

• Medicare to Pay for Home Covid Tests

  February 04, 2022: On Thursday the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced plans to make over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 tests available to people with Medicare at no cost by “early spring.” CMS's initial OTC testing policy applied to privat...Read more >

• COVID-19 Widows Struggle to Get Survivors Benefits as Social Security Offices Remain Closed

  February 04, 2022: In addition to causing pain, misery and death to millions of infected Americans, the coronavirus pandemic has forced Social Security offices to close in-person operations, and many children and spouses are experiencing long delays in processing their...Read more >

• Florida Alliance’s Lawsuit Against the State’s Restrictive Voting Law Goes to Court

  February 04, 2022: Witness testimony began Monday in a lawsuit challenging the state of Florida’s restrictive voting law. The Florida Alliance is a plaintiff in the suit, which is being held by teleconference due to the pandemic. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sign...Read more >

• The Alliance and the AFL-CIO Celebrate Black History Month, Lunar New Year

  February 04, 2022: "We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now," Martin Luther King Jr. famously said. Since February 1 was both the Lunar New Year — also known as the Chinese New Year — and the first day of Black History Month, the ...Read more >