Long before Donald Trump’s second-place finish somehow landed him in the White House, Republicans in Congress promised a package of benefit cuts, privatization, and tax cuts for the wealthy that were so cruel, American voters literally refused to believe they were real. In 2012, a Democratic super PAC decided not to campaign against future Speaker Paul Ryan’s package of Medicare vouchers and upper income tax cuts after participants in a focus group “simply refused to beli...
Medicare
‘Medicare for All’ Gains Favor With Democrats Looking Ahead to 2020
Democrats dream of expanding Medicare, but struggle to define the role of the popular private plans that now cover more than one-third of the 60 million Medicare beneficiaries.
Finally, US hospitals will have to post their prices online
Astronomical hospital bills are a trope of American health care. Hospitals in the US are known for charging exorbitant fees for simple procedures, and for adding baffling entries to discharge bills. Notorious examples include the woman who was charged $40 to hold her newbo...
Older workers are the economy’s most underrated natural resource
This story is part of What Happens Next, our complete guide to understanding the future. Read more predictions about the Future of Aging.
The world is changing for seniors, and they in turn are changing the world.
Today’s longevity...
When it comes to longevity, we should look to the East, not the West
This story is part of What Happens Next, our complete guide to understanding the future. Read more predictions about the Future of Aging.
The longevity era has arrived—and it looks different to your grandparents’ generation.
If you’re 65 ...
Trump Administration Peppers Inboxes With Plugs for Private Medicare Plans
The administration tells older Americans to “check out Medicare Advantage,” but denies favoring the private plans over the original government-run Medicare program.
Trump Moves to Lower Medicare Drug Costs by Relaxing Some Patient Protections
The Trump administration has proposed reducing the number of prescription drugs that must be made available to people with cancer, AIDS, depression, schizophrenia and certain other conditions.
Democrats winning the popular vote won’t be enough to save Americans’ health care from Republicans
The 2010 election was a historic disaster for the Democratic Party. Republican House candidates won the national popular vote by 6.8 percentage points and took a commanding majority as a result. It marked the end of President Obama’s legislative agenda and the beginning of an era when Republicans demanded massive concessions just to keep the government open.
Now imagine that 2018 is the mirror image of 2010 — that is, that Democrats win the popular vote by the exact same...
Trump’s Medicare chief: Expanding Medicare to more Americans is scary
Seema Verma isn’t a well-known member of President Donald Trump’s administration, but she is an important one.
As the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, Verma is in charge of overseeing health programs that over 100 million Americans rely on.
So it seemed like an odd choice for Trump’s Medicare chief to call the proposal to expand Medicare coverage to more Americans scary in an attempted Halloween joke on Wednesday.
Loneliness costs the US almost $7 billion extra each year
Social isolation takes a heavy toll on those who suffer from it, both in health and overall well-being. An effort to quantify the cost of loneliness in the US also found that among Americans aged 65 or older, social isolation costs the US government nearly $7 billion in additional...
