HomeCare Editors’ Top 5: Week of November 9

Middle-Aged Whites in U.S. Dying at Startling Rate
A large segment of white middle-aged Americans has suffered a startling rise in its death rate since 1999, according to a review of statistics published Monday that shows a sharp reversal in decades of progress toward longer lives. (Lenny Bernstein and Joel Achenbach/Washington Post)

Home Care Seeks Ticket Into ACOs
Amid consolidation and changing payment structures across the health care system, home care agencies are searching to prove their value and find their place. (Amy Baxter/Home Health Care News)

Move to Spur Pint-Sized Medical Devices to Treat Sick Kids
Improvise isn’t a word parents want to hear from their kid’s doctor. Yet pediatric specialists too often have to jury-rig care because many of the medical devices needed to treat sick children were built for adults. (Lauren Neergaard/Associated Press)

Almost Half of Obamacare Enrollees Will Keep Current Coverage
Premiums are slated to rise steeply next year for health plans across the board. Yet almost half of voters who have health coverage under Obamacare say they will keep their current plan through 2016, according to a new Morning Consult online poll. (Jon Reid/Morning Consult)

More Than Half of Health Law’s Insurance Co-ops are Closing
More than half of the health care law’s nonprofit insurance co-ops are closing, the Obama administration said Tuesday even as it defended the troubled alternative to mega-insurers. (Associated Press)