The 2018 Chronic Care Act allows Medicare Advantage plans to offer enrollees non-medical services that may improve health and patient safety. However, the danger of letting Medicare Advantage plans...
Diane Archer
For diabetics, a good diet can be better than medicines
An article in NEJM Catalyst describes a new disease management trial at Geisinger Health System. Geisinger is testing providing free food to patients with diabetes who were not eating a balanced...
With alcohol, less is generally more
It’s hard to know who to believe any more. When it comes to health care research, industry is almost always in the pocket of the researchers. Roni Caryn Rabin reports for the New York Times on an...
Gawande to lead new Amazon health care company
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is building a new health care company in partnership with Berkshire Hathaway and JP Morgan Chase. They have hired Dr. Atul Gawande to lead it. Will he able to improve care...
Five ways to feel at your best
If you focus on birthdays, we are all getting older. But, many of us who may be “getting up there” in age find ways to stay young at heart–fit, mentally active, and purposeful...
Lasik surgery may permanently harm your eyes
Before deciding to spend your money on Lasik surgery (laser eye surgery) to correct your vision, you should understand the potentially harmful side effects. Roni Caryn Rabin reports for The New York...
Pharma frequently not reporting postmarketing studies
Many recent FDA-approved drugs and biologics turn out not to be safe and effective and eventually are taken off the market or given new warning labels. To help ensure a drug’s effects are well...
How does your state rank on health care?
The Commonwealth Fund recently issued its 2018 report ranking states on their health systems performance. Hawaii remains in first place. Mississippi ranked in last place. Overall, the picture is not...
Medicare changing nursing home incentives to deter poor care
Kaiser Health News reports on a ghastly phenomenon that appears all too common for people with Medicare in some nursing homes. To increase their revenues, nursing homes create conditions that lead...
How to avoid being assigned a legal guardian
In 2017, Rachel Aviv wrote a story for the New Yorker on how an older couple in Nevada ended up with a legal guardian against their will. The story is chilling and worth reading. It helps to...