Family members often provide caregiving for people with dementia and it can take a financial and emotional toll. Ocskaymark/iStockphoto/Getty Images hide caption
Medicare Medicare
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Medicare
Social Security's finances have improved slightly in the last year. But benefits are still facing an automatic cut in less than a decade unless Congress takes steps to prop up the program. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption
Medicare enrollees with two or more chronic conditions are eligible for Chronic Care Management, which pays doctors to check in with those patients monthly. But the service hasn't caught on. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption
Mental health care is hard to find, especially for people with Medicare or Medicaid
People who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid face maddening challenges accessing health care. The government spends $500 billion on this care, yet patients often can't get what they need. amtitus/Getty Images hide caption
The $81,739.40 bill for her mother's air-ambulance ride arrived less than two weeks after she died, Alicia Wieberg said. Lisa Krantz/KFF Health News hide caption
Her air-ambulance ride wasn't covered by Medicare. It will cost her family $81,739
A House-passed bill would equalize what Medicare pays when certain infusions are given in a hospital with what it pays when they're given in other health care settings. The hospital lobby is fighting it ferociously in the Senate. Eric Harkleroad/KFF Health News hide caption
Hospitals in rural America face a dire financial forecast. The government has an incentive plan to help them keep their emergency departments open, while shutting their inpatient services. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
Terminally ill hospice resident Evelyn Breuning, 91, right, sits with music therapist Jen Dunlap in her bed in August 2009 in Lakewood, Colo. The nonprofit hospice, the second oldest in the United States, accepts the terminally ill regardless of their ability to pay, although most residents are covered by Medicare. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption
A counselor, right, navigates a client through the Medicare signup process at the Aging and Disability Resource Center of Broward County in Sunrise, Florida. Medicare open enrollment season ends Dec. 7. Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/TNS via Getty Images hide caption
People gathered at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. in July at a rally held by the Center for Medicare Advocacy. They protested denials and delays in private Medicare Advantage plans. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption
Open enrollment for Medicare begins Sunday and ads like this billboard inside California's John Wayne Airport are popping up. Marketing of Medicare plans is subject to new, stricter federal regulations this year. Leslie Walker/Tradeoffs hide caption
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House event on August 29 where they announced the list of the first 10 medicines targeted for Medicare negotiations. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and other members of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus could force a federal government shutdown Oct. 1. The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and prevention would be affected. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
About 12 million Americans qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid, and they face relentless red tape accessing health care. A bipartisan fix that could help them is in the works. Getty Images hide caption
President Biden hugs Steven Hadfield, a Medicare recipient who takes expensive drugs, at an event on prescription drug costs at the White House on Aug. 29. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption
Here are the first 10 drugs that Medicare will target for price cuts
Thomas Greene with his wife, Bluizer, at their home in Oxford, Pennsylvania. After Thomas had a procedure on his leg, the anesthesia providers billed Medicare late, and he was sent to collections for the debt. Rosem Morton/KFF Health News hide caption
They billed Medicare late for his anesthesia. He went to collections for a $3,000 tab
KFF Health News
They billed Medicare late for his anesthesia. He went to collections for a $3,000 tab
The Food and Drug Administration has fully approved Leqembi, the first drug shown to slow down Alzheimer's disease. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption
Alzheimer's drug Leqembi gets full FDA approval. Medicare coverage will likely follow
The Justice Department announced charges against 78 people related to health care fraud schemes. Samuel Corum/Getty Images hide caption
Some older Americans got dozens of COVID tests they never ordered in the mail, just as the free test benefit was ending. It could mean they are at risk for more fraud involving their Medicare numbers. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
Hospice provides vital end-of-life support and palliative care to terminally ill patients. But it's costing Medicare billions. A new approach would eliminate waste in the program. Westend61/Getty Images hide caption
A Social Security trust fund is expected to run short of cash by 2033, according to new estimates, which would potentially reduce benefits to millions of Americans who depend on the program. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption