A brief history of Medicaid and America’s long struggle to establish a health care safety net

Left out of FDR’s New Deal, the health insurance program for the poor was finally established in 1965.

Ben Zdencanovic, Postdoctoral Associate in History and Policy, University of California, Los Angeles • conversation
March 18, 2025 ~11 min

Evacuating in disasters like Hurricane Milton isn’t simple – there are reasons people stay in harm’s way

Evacuating is expensive, and for some people the risks of leaving can seem greater than staying despite the storm.

Carson MacPherson-Krutsky, Research Associate, Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
Oct. 10, 2024 ~9 min


Costs top health worries among older adults

Health-related costs top older adults' concerns for people their age, a new poll finds.

Kara Gavin-U. Michigan • futurity
May 3, 2024 ~7 min

US long-term care costs are sky-high, but Washington state’s new way to help pay for them could be nixed

What happens in November 2024 could influence other states weighing their own options.

Marc Cohen, Clinical Professor of Gerontology and Co-Director LeadingAge LTSS Center; Recent Mel King Fellow at MIT Co-Lab, UMass Boston • conversation
April 30, 2024 ~8 min

Nursing home location may shape ‘chemical restraint’ overuse

Understaffed nursing homes in disadvantaged communities are more likely to overmedicate residents with antipsychotics.

Rachel Harrison-NYU • futurity
April 24, 2024 ~6 min

How for-profit nursing home regulators can use the powers they already have to fix growing problems with poor-quality care

Governments can do more to protect patients at for-profit nursing homes. A behavioral scientist who studies nursing homes weighs in.

Charlene Harrington, Professor Emeritus of Social Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco • conversation
March 14, 2024 ~4 min

Just adding nursing home staff won’t ensure quality dementia care

More staffing won't be enough to ease disparities at nursing homes with residents with dementia, researchers report.

Pat Harriman-UC Irvine • futurity
Jan. 9, 2024 ~5 min

Dementia takes a toll on finances and family

Dementia affects more than the brain. A new study shows the toll it takes on a person's wallet—and on family caregivers, too.

Kara Gavin-U. Michigan • futurity
Oct. 17, 2023 ~9 min


Most US nursing homes are understaffed, potentially compromising health care for more than a million elderly residents

Reduced staffing means nursing home residents make more unnecessary trips to the hospital.

Jasmine Travers, Assistant Professor of Nursing, New York University • conversation
Aug. 22, 2023 ~5 min

Nursing homes use surprisingly little COVID antiviral drugs

Given the high risk of nursing home resident populations to COVID-19, their use of oral antiviral drugs is surprisingly low, research finds.

Mark Michaud-U. Rochester • futurity
July 19, 2023 ~3 min

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