“COVID caught us with our pants down.”– Nursing Home Administrator, Maricopa County, Arizona The Center for Medicare Advocacy released a new report – Geography Is Not Destiny: Protecting Nursing Home Residents from the Next Pandemic – which … [Read more...] about New Report Documents Causes and Cures for COVID-19 Crisis in Long-Term Care Facilities
COVID-19
Staffing is Key to Determining Whether Covid-19 Affects Nursing Home Residents
New York State Attorney General finds that the majority of resident deaths occurred in facilities with low nurse staffing levels. In Nursing Home Response to COVID-19 Pandemic (Jan. 2021),[1] New York State Attorney General Letitia James describes … [Read more...] about Staffing is Key to Determining Whether Covid-19 Affects Nursing Home Residents
COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution and Health Equity
As the Center for Medicare Advocacy has highlighted throughout the pandemic, communities of color are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, in terms of rate and severity of illness. At the end of 2020, the news of the COVID-19 vaccine’s efficacy … [Read more...] about COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution and Health Equity
Speech Generating Devices: Beneficiary Voices Silenced Once Again by CMS
Medicare coverage of speech generating devices (SGDs) has historically fallen victim to unintended consequences for beneficiaries who need an SGD to communicate. Most recently, it literally took two Acts of Congress to remove barriers to SGD coverage … [Read more...] about Speech Generating Devices: Beneficiary Voices Silenced Once Again by CMS
Expanded Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility Coverage During the Covid-19 Pandemic
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has waived two limitations on Medicare Part A skilled nursing facility (SNF) coverage during the coronavirus pandemic: The 3-day qualifying hospital stay requirement; andThe 100-day benefit … [Read more...] about Expanded Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility Coverage During the Covid-19 Pandemic
RRF Foundation for Aging President Pens Article on COVID and Older Adults
Crain’s Chicago Business recently featured a piece by Mary O’Donnell, President of RRF Foundation for Aging, a philanthropic foundation headquartered in Chicago, with whom the Center for Medicare Advocacy works closely on Medicare and aging … [Read more...] about RRF Foundation for Aging President Pens Article on COVID and Older Adults
Senators Casey and Wyden Release Third Report on Nursing Homes and COVID-19
In The Cost of Inaction: 19 Deaths an Hour and Rising (Dec. 2020), Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) describe the worsening coronavirus crisis in nursing homes, updating their two earlier reports. More than 104,000 residents and workers … [Read more...] about Senators Casey and Wyden Release Third Report on Nursing Homes and COVID-19
Toby S. Edelman on This is Getting Old: Moving Towards an Age-Friendly World
Perspectives on what policymakers can learn from COVID-19's devastating impacts on nursing facilities, featuring Center for Medicare Advocacy Senior Policy Attorney Toby Edelman and 2019-20 Health and Aging Policy Fellow, Cinnamon St. John. … [Read more...] about Toby S. Edelman on This is Getting Old: Moving Towards an Age-Friendly World
COVID-19 and Health Care Disparities
A recent Washington Post special report found that people of color continue to die from the coronavirus at much higher rates than Whites. Though COVID-19 infections are surging all over the country, overall mortality rates have significantly … [Read more...] about COVID-19 and Health Care Disparities
Utah Removes Age Discrimination from its “Crisis Standards of Care”
In October the Center for Medicare reported about Utah’s inclusion of an age-based “tie-breaker” in its “Crisis Standards of Care.” These standards guide medical providers when they are forced to ration life-saving treatment, such as the use of ICU … [Read more...] about Utah Removes Age Discrimination from its “Crisis Standards of Care”