Within a decade, the U.S. population will consist of more adults over 65 than children under 18. To prepare for rapid population aging, Age-friendly Community (AFC) programs across the country are helping towns, cities, counties, and states transform their communities into great places to grow up…
As states and communities continue to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, many are left wondering what could be done to prevent large-scale destruction from such disasters. Despite the severity of those storms, they were only the most recent among several to sweep…
In 2023, for the first time ever, vaccines for the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) became available, offering protection against an infection that causes tens of thousands of hospitalizations and deaths among older adults every year. Two RSV vaccines were approved by the Food & Drug…
Medicare is the federal health insurance program that covers over 66 million older adults and people with disabilities, and accounts for over a fifth of the nation’s health care spending. Since about half of all people with Medicare are now in private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans, better…
This blog is part of a series focusing on changes to Medicare’s private plan option (known as Medicare Advantage) aimed at strengthening the program to better serve the more than 32 million individuals enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan today. A previous blog in this series focused on new…
For the 5.6 million adults ages 50 to 64 who are uninsured, this Open Enrollment Period offers an important opportunity to get coverage for 2024. For the over 5 million older adults already enrolled in individual coverage, it’s a good time to compare plan benefits, providers, and prices to find the best plan for them.
Given the ever-rising cost of health care in the United States, many consumers are turning to medical credit cards, which may offer a convenient payment method, but those same cards also expose them to high-cost debt and financial risk.
Medicare Savings Plans (MSPs) are state-run programs that help low-income Medicare beneficiaries afford health care by paying all or part of their Medicare costs such as premiums and copays. However, applying can be burdensome and many people who are eligible for MSPs are not enrolled. A new CMS rule aims to address this challenge by making a number of changes to help streamline the application process.