On Disabilities

New York state records show nearly half the state's 600-plus nursing homes hired real estate, management and staffing companies run or controlled by their owners, frequently paying them well above the cost of services. Meanwhile, in the pandemic's height, the federal government was giving the facilities hundreds of millions in fiscal relief.

Health & Safety

Nursing home owners drained cash while residents deteriorated, state filings suggest

12:10pm January 31, 2023

by Jordan Rau

As the U.S. government debates whether to require higher staffing levels at nursing homes, financial records show some owners routinely push profits to sister companies while residents are neglected.

Humira, the injectable biologic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, now faces its first competition from one of several copycat "biosimilar" drugs expected to come to market this year. Some patients spend $70,000 a year on Humira.

Health & Safety

AbbVie's blockbuster drug Humira finally loses its 20-year, $200 billion monopoly

10:08am January 31, 2023

U.S. doctors can now choose Amjevita instead, the first of several close copies of the popular rheumatoid arthritis drug expected this year. But industry-watchers warn consumer savings may be limited.

An illustration of cookie jars labeled "HMO" and "PPO."

Health & Safety

More people than ever buy insurance on Healthcare.gov

12:49pm January 13, 2023

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

It's the last weekend for Obamacare open enrollment, and nearly 16 million Americans have signed up for a health insurance plan.

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Lucy Greco (left), a web-accessibility specialist at the University of California, Berkeley, is blind. She reads most of her documents online, but employs Liza Schlosser-Olroyd as an aide to sort through her paper mail every other month, to make sure Greco hasn't missed a bill or other important correspondence.

Medical bills remain inaccessible for many visually impaired Americans

5:00am December 01, 2022

When health bills aren't legible — via large-print, Braille or other adaptive technology — blind patients can't know what they owe, and are too often sent to debt collections, an investigation finds.

Cinde Lucas, whose husband Rick has suffered from long COVID, examines the many supplements and prescription medications he tried while looking for something to combat brain fog, depression and fatigue.

Health & Safety

Long-COVID clinics are wrestling with how to treat their patients

5:00am November 18, 2022

by Blake Farmer

The clinics have popped up all over the country, but doctors still don't know the best way to treat these patients, whose symptoms can vary dramatically.

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After moving out of his Columbia Falls, Mont., home, which he can no longer afford, Kim Hilton plans to live in his truck with his dog, Amora, while he waits for a spot at an assisted living facility to open up.

More older Americans become homeless as inflation rises and housing costs spike

7:01am November 10, 2022

by Aaron Bolton

In Montana and across the nation, homeless shelters report the worrisome trend that seniors are a growing proportion of their residents.

Evan Woody has needed round-the-clock care since his brain injury and lives with his parents in Dunwoody, Ga. His father, Philip, says his family has some plans in place for Evan's future, but one question is still unanswered: Where will Evan live when he can no longer live with his parents?

Health & Safety

Americans with disabilities need an updated long-term care plan, say advocates

11:01am November 09, 2022

by Sam Whitehead

Nearly 75% of Americans with disabilities live with a family caregiver, many of them age 60 or older. Updating your care plan now, experts say, can help make sure everyone thrives.

Susie Talevski has gone through years of legal back-and-forth with the state agency in Indiana that operates the nursing home where her father, Gorgi, resided before his death.

Health & Safety

A SCOTUS nursing home case could limit the rights of millions of patients

7:00am November 06, 2022

by Farah Yousry

An Indiana man's family sued a state-owned nursing home for alleged mistreatment. A U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case could determine the right of many Americans to sue government agencies.

The federal government's new opioid prescribing guidelines may help doctors better manage patients with chronic pain who need consistent doses of pain medicines. For example, one patient takes tramadol regularly for serious pain caused by osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease.

Health & Safety

CDC issues new opioid prescribing guidance, giving doctors more leeway to treat pain

7:37pm November 03, 2022

The updated recommendations seek to course correct after guidelines from 2016 were criticized for harshly limiting access to needed pain medication.

Health & Safety

How some doctors discriminate against patients with disabilities

4:46pm November 01, 2022

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with professor of medicine at Harvard Lisa Iezzoni about a new study that finds some doctors don't want patients with disabilities.

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