Blog

• KHN: Pandemic-Fueled Shortages of Home Health Workers Strand Patients Without Necessary Care

  February 03, 2022: Frail older adults are finding it harder than ever to get paid help amid acute staff shortages at home health agencies. Several trends are fueling the shortages: Hospitals and other employers are hiring away home health workers with better pay and...Read more >

• Nursing Home Staff Shortage Worsens as the Pandemic Continues

  January 28, 2022: Staff members of nursing homes across the country continue to quit in droves as a result of low wages and poor working conditions during the pandemic. Poor working conditions and lack of COVID-19 protections in long term care facilities have pushe...Read more >

• Key Senator Still Pushing for Legislation to Lower Drug Prices

  January 28, 2022: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (OR) told Bloomberg News this week that a new version of the Build Back Better Act could be reintroduced with a focus on lowering prescription drug costs, expanding access to health care and increasing clea...Read more >

• Alliance Takes More Action to Protect Voting Rights

  January 28, 2022: The Alliance called on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) on Thursday to stop permitting state elections offices to require that people provide their full Social Security numbers when submitting a voter registration form, explaining in a p...Read more >

• KHN: Why Medicare Doesn’t Pay for Rapid At-Home Covid Tests

  January 25, 2022: What group is especially vulnerable to the ravages of covid-19 even if fully vaccinated and boosted? Seniors. And who will have an especially tough time getting free at-home covid tests under the Biden administration’s plan? Yes, seniors. ...Read more >

• Free COVID-19 Test Kits are Now Available from the U.S. Postal Service

  January 25, 2022: Covidtests.gov, a new website from the federal government, launched on Wednesday to provide free COVID-19 test kits to every American household. Each household is eligible to order up to four tests, completely free of charge, at https://special.us...Read more >

• Supreme Court Decision Upholds Vaccine Rule for Most Nursing Home, Health Care Workers

  January 24, 2022: In a 6-3 decision last week, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a U.S. Department of Labor emergency rule that would have required all businesses with 100 or more employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19 or be tested weekly. At the same time, in a 5-4 ...Read more >

• Democrats Urge Scaled-Back Build Back Better Act

  January 21, 2022: Democrats in the House of Representatives continue to explore every possible avenue to pass a version of President Biden’s Build Back Better Act this year. After the $2.2 trillion Build Back Better Act passed the House back with multiple provisi...Read more >

• Historic Voting Rights Legislation, Filibuster Reform Fail to Pass in the U.S. Senate

  January 21, 2022: The U.S. Senate had the power on Wednesday to protect the right to vote by passing the “Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act.” However, the historic measure failed on a 50-50 Senate vote, since 60 votes were needed for it to pass. No Republicans vo...Read more >

• Pension Plans Offer Substantial Cost Advantages Over 401(k) Retirement Accounts

  January 14, 2022: A new research report from the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) has uncovered a surprising difference between defined-benefit pension plans and 401(k) style defined-contribution pension plans. The report found that pension plans provi...Read more >