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Nursing-Home COVID Continues - RSV Vaccine Results - Rx Prices

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Policy Plus Action | The AARP Public Policy Institute Newsletter

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Millions of People Pay Medicare Late-Enrollment Penalties for Life

Medicare recipients who fail to promptly enroll in the benefit face a lifetime of penalties. While the penalties are intended to encourage prompt enrollment in Medicare, many people end up being forced to pay them because they were unaware of the necessity of timely enrollment and its consequences. A recent AARP Public Policy Institute report describes the situations that lead to these penalties, who’s forced to pay, and a range of policy options to reduce the financial burden while still encouraging timely enrollment.

COVID Continues to Take Lives in America’s Nursing Homes

Nursing home residents continued to die at high rates from COVID-19 during December, January, and February, according to the latest AARP COVID-19 Nursing Home Dashboard. Approximately 1,000 nursing home residents died during each of the three months ended February 18. In total, nursing homes faced an average of 50,000 resident cases and 40,000 staff cases each of those months. This comes as just 41% of residents and 12% of staff were up to date on the COVID-19 vaccination.

New RSV Vaccines: Early Results Point to Need for Targeted Outreach

Early uptake of the new vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is highest among older adults who are white, have a college education, and have a higher income, according to an AARP survey. The findings parallel uptake of the shingles vaccine when it became available in 2008. The results suggest the need for targeted outreach campaigns to inform older adults who are less likely to seek out the vaccine.

Policy Now Video: Some Relief for Consumers in Prescription Drug Prices

The latest AARP Policy Now Video explains how the Inflation Reduction Act aims to lower prescription drug prices for consumers. AARP, which tracks prices of nearly 950 prescription drugs, notes that prices are rising faster than inflation. This impacts everyone. For Medicare consumers, relief is coming in the form of Medicare now being able to negotiate lower prices for some drugs as well as a new $2,000 out-of-pocket spending limit set to take effect in 2025.

Funding Opportunity: Nursing Workforce and Healthy Work Environments

Submit your proposals by April 5 at 10 p.m. ET for the 2024 Health Equity and Nursing Innovations Fund: Nursing Workforce and Healthy Work Environments. AARP, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, and the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action seek proposals that strengthen and diversify the nursing workforce, expand innovative nurse recruitment and retention strategies, and create and sustain healthy work environments. Awards of up to $25,000 will be granted and administered by the AARP Center for Health Equity through Nursing^SM (A-CHEN).

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Editor-in-Chief: Susan C. Reinhard, RN, PhD, FAAN
Senior Writer/Editor: Carl Levesque

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