Literature Review

Medicare Advantage plan disenrollment: Beneficiaries cite access, cost, and quality among reasons for leavingHealth Affairs; by Geoffrey J. Hoffman, Lianlian Lei, Ishrat Alam, Myra Kim, Lillian Min, Zhaohui Fan, Deborah Levine; 6/25Medicare Advantage (MA) is growing in popularity, but it is seeing substantial plan disenrollments among high-risk Medicare beneficiaries. Understanding and addressing factors associated with disenrollment are crucial for improving MA access and quality but are complicated by data issues, including the inability to adequately assess beneficiaries’ perceptions of access and quality in MA... Difficulty accessing needed medical care was more strongly associated with MA-to–traditional Medicare exits than MA-to-MA plan switching. Dissatisfaction with access, cost, and quality was much more common for enrollees in poor health. These findings renew concerns about access to high-quality care for high-risk and other MA enrollees.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks but for the ledger of our daily work. ~ Neil Armstrong

May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right. ~ Peter Marshall

True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost. ~ Arthur Ashe

With freedom comes responsibility. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. ~ Abraham Lincoln

America, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for me. You let me make a difference. A place where even orphan immigrants can leave their fingerprints and rise up. ~ Lin Manuel Miranda, as Alexander Hamilton, in Broadway's 2014 Hamilton

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. ~ The Declaration of Independence, 1776

Solvay Hospice House to temporarily pause care in Duluth during impending nurses’ strike Northern News Now, Duluth, MN; by T Kaldahl; 7/1/25  The Solvay Hospice House in Duluth will temporarily pause care and transport existing patients when union nurses walk off the job next week. The hospice house relies on Essentia Health staff to help them provide care for their patients, according to Solvay leaders. Because of the MNA’s plans to begin an open-ended strike at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, July 8, amid ongoing contract negotiations, the hospice house will be without nursing staff. 

OSHA moves to end COVID-19 recordkeeping rules for healthcare employers McKnights Long-Term Care News; by Donna Shryer; 7/1/25 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) this week proposed removing COVID-19 recordkeeping requirements for healthcare employers, including the last remaining provisions of its pandemic-era emergency safety rules. OSHA on Monday [6/30] released a proposed rule to eliminate the remaining recordkeeping and reporting provisions from its 2021 Emergency Temporary Standard for healthcare settings. The proposal would remove requirements for healthcare employers to maintain COVID logs tracking all employee cases and to report COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths to OSHA regardless of time elapsed since workplace exposure. These provisions currently apply to more than 562,000 healthcare entities employing more than 10.3 million workers. These entities include nursing homes, assisted living communities, continuing care retirement communities and home health agencies. These entities include nursing homes, assisted living communities, continuing care retirement communities and home health agencies. 

F.O.U.R. Steps to celebrate July 4th in a dementia-friendly manner Alzheimer's Foundation of America; 6/30/25 Fireworks and gatherings are staples of the July 4th holiday, but these can create unique challenges for families affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-related illnesses. With Independence Day approaching, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) is advising families to follow the F.O.U.R. steps to create a dementia-friendly 4th of July. ... AFA encourages caregivers to follow the F.O.U.R. steps to create a dementia-friendly 4th of July: