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Medicare 2018: Preparing for 80 Million Seniors by 2030

"Medicare 2018: Preparing for 80 Million Seniors by 2030" is a Special Report prepared by The Washington Times Special Sections Department.

Recent Stories

Fighting to improve Medicare and patient care by reducing 'red tape'

One of the clearest ways Congress can directly improve the lives of Americans is by streamlining our healthcare system to maximize patient outcomes, using the newest and most innovative medical practices that provide exemplary patient care in the most cost-effective manner, saving both lives and taxpayer dollars.

Listen to seniors: Hearing aids vital to health

With all of the debate and discussion about health care policy this year, it is important that we take a step back and remember that sometimes the easiest and most impactful improvements we can make to our health care system are sitting right in front of us.

Allyson Schwartz (Photo by Mylan Cannon/APCO Worldwide)

Medicare Advantage is solution to health care policy crisis

Today, over 40 million individuals rely on Medicare, and that number is projected to double in the next decade. Given that it is the federal government that is the largest payor, it is also a significant discussion for federal policymakers.

'Change is coming' in American healthcare

For instance, one of the most common causes of hospitalization for seniors in America is a hip fracture, and hip fractures are extraordinarily painful. In many cases, treating them with opioid painkillers is appropriate and necessary. But discharging patients from a post-acute care facility while on an opioid regimen can be risky.

New hope for seniors: Medicare-covered opioid treatment programs

We are all familiar with the devastating effects the opioid epidemic is having on our country — tens of thousands of lives lost each year, untold burdens on our health care system and billions of dollars in lost economic potential.

Protecting Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage is grounded in the principle that not everyone who uses Medicare services is going to have the same health care needs.

'Patients must be at the center' of cost, quality decisions

Patients must be at the center of cost and quality decisions, empowered with the information they need to make the best choices for themselves and their families.

Medicare should 'pay it forward' on clinical trials

"Innovation," particularly in health, is a policy buzzword these days. Former House Speaker, Newt Gingrich, penned an opinion piece over the weekend that called on Republicans to include health care innovation as the third pillar in their political platform to spur medical breakthroughs.

Medicare and mental health

2018 marks the 53rd anniversary of the Medicare program. While Congress and the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that runs Medicare, continue to refine the program, the basic structure of the program has remained in place since 1965.

Healthy aging linked to Medicare coverage of 'social factors'

Taking a bath, doing the dishes, fixing breakfast, shopping for groceries, making the bed, folding the laundry -- these are just some of the tasks that many of us take for granted. But, as we age, these seemingly mundane yet essential responsibilities can become cumbersome and, for some, impossible.