Senior Citizens

Historically, when states face budget shortfalls, they find savings by cutting Medicaid benefits that are optional under federal law. Many of these optional benefits are those that people dually eligible rely on because Medicare does not cover them – including at-home care through home and community-based services (HCBS), dental, vision, and hearing.

LOGAN, Ohio – Before dawn, in a cold, blustery drizzle, a line forms outside a small, squat building on an open stretch of road on the outskirts of town. “My heater quit working in my car,” Scott Skinner says good-naturedly to the next man in line. “Man, what kinda luck am I having.” The building is called “The Market” because it has a food pantry, but Skinner and the others are here to sign up for heating assistance. He’s been calling for a month to get an appointment with no luck, so he showed up an hour ago to snag […]

“Wealth has long been tied to longevity in the U.S. and other countries, but a new analysis helps quantify the gap between how long low-income older Americans and their more affluent peers tend to live.