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
COVID-19
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
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
COVID-19 and Teeth
A recent New York Times article, “Their Teeth Fell Out. Was It Another Covid-19 Consequence?” raised the possibility that tooth loss could be another result of COVID-19 infection, although the article stated that there are currently limited examples … [Read more...] about COVID-19 and Teeth
Nursing Home Residents and COVID-19: Staffing and Quality of Care Matter
Despite the nursing home industry’s ongoing insistence that location/zip code is the primary factor determining whether residents infected with coronavirus,[1] evidence mounts that higher nurse staffing levels are correlated with fewer COVID-19 cases … [Read more...] about Nursing Home Residents and COVID-19: Staffing and Quality of Care Matter
Center for Medicare Advocacy Senior Policy Attorney, Toby Edelman and Health and Aging Policy Fellow, Cinnamon St. John Featured On This Is Getting Old Podcast
Nine months after the CDC confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the United States, the nation is leading the world in COVID-related deaths and confirmed cases. Nowhere has the toll of the coronavirus been felt more than in our nation’s nursing … [Read more...] about Center for Medicare Advocacy Senior Policy Attorney, Toby Edelman and Health and Aging Policy Fellow, Cinnamon St. John Featured On This Is Getting Old Podcast
Nursing Facilities and COVID: Staffing Matters
Countering industry claims that COVID infection rates in nursing facilities are largely a matter of geography, Bloomberg Law reports that five nursing facilities within 25 miles of the Nashville city center, operated by the New Jersey-based CareRite … [Read more...] about Nursing Facilities and COVID: Staffing Matters