Elderly Americans Getting Too Many Colonoscopies

Special emergency rooms move slower, account for complexities

(NEWSER) - America is getting older, and the elderly account for 15% to 20% of emergency room visits, so hospitals have come up with a new way to cater to them: the geriatric ER. Dozens of these facilities are opening across the country, the New York Times reports, looking more like soothing clinics than bustling command centers—the one at Mount Sinai even has a fake sun behind a faux skylight. They've proved wildly popular with patients, which is crucial for hospitals, because under ObamaCare patient satisfaction affects Medicare reimbursement. More»

(AP) - Millions of older people face shrinking Social Security checks next year, the first time in a generation that payments would not rise. The trustees who oversee Social Security are projecting there won't be a cost of living adjustment (COLA) for the next 2 years. That hasn't happened since automatic increases were adopted in 1975. More»

Operations on elderly patients raise questions about aggressive treatments

(NEWSER) - Folks over 80 are increasingly going under the knife despite critics who say it's unethical or financially perilous, the Sacramento Bee reports. New medical technology has persuaded doctors to violate tradition and perform operations like cancer and open-heart surgery on octogenarians. But one doctor has sparked controversy by saying patients over 80 should be turned away to save Medicare. More»

GOP senator absent with 1 vote needed to save doctor payments

(NEWSER) - Democrats are preparing to attack John McCain for hurting doctors, the elderly, and veterans—all by not showing up, The Hill reports. Medicare legislation to stave off a 10.6% cut in physician payments is one vote short in the Senate, and the presumptive GOP nominee, repeatedly absent when it has come to the floor, will be MIA again today. Any of 39 Republicans standing against the measure could help McCain dodge a bullet by switching sides. More»

Increases don't keep up with rising medical costs, critics say

(NEWSER) - Social Security benefits will rise 2.3% in 2008—or an average of $24 monthly—netting the 54 million recipients their smallest increase in four years. The cost of living adjustment, now $1,079 per month for the average retiree, is based on the third-quarter change in consumer prices, the AP reports; advocates for the elderly argue that gauge is too limited. More»