On Aging

Express Scripts assures patients it has a policy of not putting cancer medicine or mental health drugs on the list of products it excludes from its formulary.

Will Your Prescription Meds Be Covered Next Year? Better Check!

7:24am August 15, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

Insurers have released the latest lists of prescription drugs they won't cover in 2017. Express Scripts is excluding 85 drugs and CVS Caremark, 131. Some drugs for diabetes and asthma are out.

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How Weight Training Can Help Women Stay Strong

1:38pm August 11, 2016

by Katherine Hobson

The government recommends that adults engage in two sessions a week of resistance training to maintain muscle and prevent injury. Most of us aren't getting close to that, but it's easy to catch up.

Nurse specialist Annelie Nilsson checks on patient Janet Prochazka during her stay at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, after Prochazka took a bad fall in March.

Hospital Units Tailored To Older Patients Can Help Prevent Decline

8:05pm August 09, 2016

by Anna Gorman

Elderly hospital patients often arrive sick and leave worse off. But some hospitals are preventing these sharp declines by treating the elderly in units that minimize bedrest and spur mobility.

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An inspection found that at one Los Angeles nursing home an employee took video of a co-worker "passing gas" on the face of a resident and posted it on Instagram.

Federal Officials Seek To Stop Social Media Abuse Of Nursing Home Residents

2:41pm August 08, 2016

After ProPublica identified dozens of cases of dehumanizing photos posted on social media sites, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services unveiled a plan to increase oversight.

Josephine Rudolph, 99, says she couldn't afford to live at the Joyce Eisenberg Keefer Medical Center Skilled Nursing Facility in Reseda, Calif., without Medi-Cal assistance.

Medicaid Safety Net Stretched To Pay For Seniors' Long-Term Care

9:01am August 03, 2016

Medicaid was never intended to cover long-term care for everyone. Now it pays for nearly 40 percent of the nation's long-term care expenses, and the share is growing.

Parkinson's disease, smoking, certain head injuries and even normal aging can influence our sense of smell. But certain patterns of loss in the ability to identify odors seem pronounced in Alzheimer's, researchers say.

A Sniff Test For Alzheimer's Checks For The Ability To Identify Odors

4:25pm July 26, 2016

by Jon Hamilton

New research suggests it may be possible to spot people in the early stages of Alzheimer's by testing their ability to recognize fragrances. The goal is a quick and inexpensive screening test.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence took questions from the media as he and his wife, Karen, left their New York hotel to meet with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on July 15. Pence has drawn criticism from the left and the right for various health car

As Indiana Governor, Mike Pence's Health Policy Has Been Contentious

4:17pm July 21, 2016

by Jake Harper

Pence signed into law some of the tightest abortion rules in the U.S., and was slow to respond to Indiana's heroin and HIV crises, critics say. But he compromised with Obama to expand Medicaid.

The physical therapy workouts a rehabilitation facility offers can be a crucial part of healing, doctors say. But a government study finds preventable harm — including bedsores and medication errors — occurring in some of those facilities, too.

Rehab Hospitals May Harm A Third Of Patients, Report Finds

11:35am July 21, 2016

by Marshall Allen

Patients sent to rehabilitation facilities to recover from medical crises or surgery too often suffer additional harm from the care they get there, according to research by U.S. health officials.

Exercise physiologist Courtney Conners checks Mario Oikonomides' vital signs before his cardiac rehab workout at the University of Virginia Health System clinic.

Cardiac Rehab Saves Lives. So Why Don't More Heart Patients Sign Up?

10:39am July 18, 2016

by Julie Appleby

Research shows exercise-based cardiac rehab programs help heart patients heal faster and live longer. But fewer than a third take part. Time and cost are the main barriers, doctors and patients say.

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Health & Safety

Documentary: Blind Grandmother Gets Back Sight Stolen By Cataracts

5:03am July 17, 2016

by Marc Silver

Cataracts are the No. 1 cause of blindness. In the West, a simple surgery can reverse the vision loss. An HBO documentary looks at the effort to do the same for people in the developing world.