Seniors decry age bias, say they feel devalued when interacting with health care providers

Ageism in health care settings, which can result in inappropriate or dangerous treatment, is getting new attention during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has killed more than half a million Americans ages 65 and older.

There was the time several years ago when she told an emergency room doctor that the antibiotic he wanted to prescribe wouldn't counteract the kind of urinary tract infection she had.

He wouldn't listen, even when she mentioned her professional credentials. She asked to see someone else, to no avail. "I was ignored and finally I gave up," said Whitney, who has survived lung cancer and cancer of the urethra and depends on a special catheter to drain urine from her bladder. (An outpatient renal service later changed the prescription.)