Hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans from ages 50 to 55 could face higher barriers to food assistance under the U.S. House Republican plan to cut spending while temporarily lifting the debt limit. Read more»

Los legisladores están impulsando un proyecto de ley para crear un plan estatal para la demencia y destinar hasta $500,000 para nuevos trabajos enfocados en la enfermedad de Alzheimer, un tipo común de demencia que está aumentando especialmente rápido en Arizona. Read more»

The U.S. is facing a growing crisis of unfilled job openings and high staff turnover in a tight labor market that puts the safety of older, frail residents at risk, and though experts say opening pathways for care workers to immigrate would help, policymakers haven’t moved. Read more»

Nearly 9,000 for-profit nursing homes outsource crucial services such as nursing staff, management, medical supplies and even building ownership to affiliated corporations, known as “related parties,” that their owners own, invest in, or control - while patient care declined. Read more»

A review of 90 government audits reveals that health insurers that issue Medicare Advantage plans have repeatedly tried to sidestep regulations requiring them to document medical conditions the government paid them to treat. Read more»

The current design of the Medicare hospice program enables some profit-seeking providers to exploit seniors with few consequences, but this guide can help you research your hospice provider and spot common signs of hospice fraud. Read more»

Assisted living communities too often fail to meet the needs of older adults and should focus more on residents’ medical and mental health concerns - changes inspired by the altered profile of the population that assisted living now serves. Read more»

Retirees in Arizona struggle to divide monthly social security payments of $1,667 between rent, food and healthcare bills. Provisions in the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act seek to ease some of that budget strain by introducing caps on rapidly rising Medicare costs. Read more»

The nursing home industry has quietly developed what consumer attorneys and patient advocates say is a pernicious strategy of pursuing family and friends of patients despite federal law that was enacted to protect them from debt collection. Read more»

Nationally and in every state, the minimum cost of living for older adults far exceeds federal poverty thresholds, yet eligibility for Medicaid, food stamps and other safety net programs do not account for variations in cost of living or medical expenses incurred by older adults. Read more»

The Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona issued a "urgent summer appeal," asking for donations of essential hygiene supplies, such as child and senior diapers, pads and tampons, due to a shortage as the price of basic needs continues to rise. Read more»

12 states have enacted 35 new criminal penalties targeting election officials since 2020, and of the 35 new penalties, 31 were enacted in Republican-controlled states - part of a larger effort to criminalize people involved in the election process. Read more»

Across the country, states have passed new laws that give the green light to prosecutors to treat like criminals all kinds of people involved in the election process, whether they are voters, election officials or third parties that assist voters. Read more»

Congress should crack down on Medicare Advantage health plans for seniors that sometimes deny patients vital medical care while overcharging the government billions of dollars every year, government watchdogs told a House panel. Read more»

Long COVID refers to ongoing or new health problems that occur at least four weeks after a COVID infection, and much about the condition is baffling - but only now is the impact on older adults beginning to be documented. Read more»