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独居老人增加 日本一年5万具“孤独死” 遗体无人认领

2026年8月11日 23:02 / 联合早报 符祝慧 东京通讯员

日本全国生活状况调查显示，日本全国独居老人家庭数量已达到903万户，是自统计以来首次突破900万户。 （ISTOCKPHOTO）

随着日本人口老龄化，独居老人数量大增，“孤独死”悲剧也不断上演。地方政府会委托殡葬业者处理无人认领的遗体，但日本媒体揭发，部分黑心业者通过收购废弃民宅，在屋内安装简陋冷藏柜，以低成本承接孤独死者的收尸业务，从中牟利。

《读卖新闻》引述日本总务省全国生活状况调查报道，独居老人家庭数量已达903万户，是有统计以来首次突破900万户。随着独居老人增加，当局需要处理的“孤独死”个案也随之增加。2024年数据显示，无人认领的孤独死遗体达5万2000具，约占当年死亡人数的3%。

由于日本法律并未强制规定非直系亲属必须承担死者的后事责任，收尸和火化的担子就落在地方政府身上，支出总额约为120亿日元（约9600万新元）。

报道揭露，随着孤独死个案增加，恶质殡葬业者也有所增加。以东京一家注册殡葬业者为例，每年平均接到地方政府委托的1000多宗孤独死收尸业务。这家公司以极低价格承接业务，为降低成本，将遗体存放在东京近郊的废弃民宅内。屋内没有空调，纸箱散落各处，遗体则放在大型不锈钢冷藏柜内。

日本法律规定，领取公共救济金的人去世后，可以“丧葬补助”制度申请最高额21万日元的补助金。黑心殡葬业者显然是以此为标准，收取的价格是每具遗体16万5000日元。

淑德大学社会福利学教授结成康博指出：“无人认领的遗体数量预计会持续增加，当局有必要设立专门部门监督和处理这类情况。对于没有亲属的老人，在生前就妥善安排好身后事宜也至关重要。”

千叶县船桥市目前约有30万独居老人。当地一名官员指出：“负责火化无人认领的遗体并非一项常规行政服务；我们采取相关措施是出于公共卫生方面的考量。”

他也透露：“并非所有这些独居老人都毫无亲属。在他们去世后，我们会查阅户籍资料并联系亲属，但令人沮丧的是，得到的答复大多是拒绝。有些人甚至只说一句‘我们（与死者）已无关系’便挂断了电话。”

据了解，船桥市已开设“无亲属老年人支援项目”， 鼓励独居老人与社会福利委员会签订身后事合同。根据计划，参与者可投保低成本的丧葬保险，将火化、安葬事宜委托给这个委员会。

南非废弃矿井坍塌 造成14名非法采矿者死亡

2026年8月11日 23:07 / 联合早报

南非西北省勒斯滕堡附近一座废弃矿井发生坍塌，多名执法人员到场展开救援和调查。 （路透社）

南非西北省勒斯滕堡一座废弃矿井发生坍塌事故，造成14名非法采矿者死亡，多人受伤。

据南非广播公司报道，南非国家警察局发言人马特星期二（8月11日）说，位于恩卡嫩（Nkaneng）附近的废弃矿井的井壁突然坍塌。当时一些非法采矿者正在废弃矿井内作业，结果遭到掩埋。

马特说，目前已确认14人死亡，另有八人受伤送往医院，部分人员仍受困。搜救行动仍在进行中。

在南非从事非法采矿的矿工来自此地区的多个国家，他们受贫困和失业的驱使，而相关行业往往与有组织犯罪、暗杀、敲诈勒索和其他非法活动密切相关。

南非工会联合会曾多次警告，南非放任“数千座废弃、破败且安保措施不足的矿场，沦为死亡陷阱、环境隐患和有组织犯罪团伙的滋生地”。

联合会在声明中指出，南非约有6000座废弃且无人认领的矿场和矿址。

Are humanoid robots ready to scrub your kitchen and take out the trash? Not quite.

August 11, 2026 / 11:23 AM EDT / CBS News

Sick of cleaning your home? One company wants to let you offload the task to a humanoid robot.

For $30 an hour, some San Francisco residents can now hire a robot to clean their home. Tau Robotics, an engineering company that builds AI technology to power robots, announced the service last month as part of a pilot program open to 1,000 households.

The humanoid robots, dressed in black Tau Robotics uniforms and given names such as Chelsea and Elon, perform household chores like vacuuming, cleaning kitchen counters and taking out the trash. Tau trains the bots, which cost $50,000 each to make, using artificial intelligence.

“Initially, they will be trained to imitate human performance, and then they will be trained to exceed human performance,” Alexander Koch, Tau’s co-founder and CEO, told CBS News.

A Tau Robotics humanoid robot unloads utensils from a dishwasher. Tau Robotics

Tau’s service is invite-only for now. But Koch said the company plans to scale up to 1,000 cleanings a week in San Francisco by 2027, then expand to other U.S. cities and internationally by 2028.

Numerous other companies are also starting to roll out humanoid robots, such as IX Technologies’ Neo. But experts predict it will take at least five or 10 years before they can perform household tasks effectively and reliably.

In the meantime, humans are at the ready in case things go sideways. Tau’s robots are operated remotely by human technicians who supervise the AI that controls them and who can step in if the devices get stuck on a particular task. The supervisors wear VR goggles that allow them to see through the bots’ eyes into people’s spaces.

Tau’s robot “cannot do everything on its own,” Koch said. “It doesn’t know how to walk upstairs, for example. It doesn’t know where to vacuum. That’s directed by mostly humans at the moment.”

Safety and security concerns

Ken Goldberg, an engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who researches robotics and automation, said that humanoid robots are still relatively clumsy at this stage in their development, even with remote human assistance.

“They look quite nimble, but they are actually quite heavy,” he said, noting that robots can fall over. And as they attempt to get back up, they may thrash around and accidentally hit anyone in close proximity.

“You wouldn’t want this thing anywhere near a child or a baby,” Goldberg said.

Even if the robot is standing, meanwhile, humans may still want to keep their distance. Goldberg said if someone attempts to pick up one of the bots, it can reach out and pinch them with its grippers — robot lingo for hands.

Koch said Tau’s fleet of human technicians is monitoring to prevent humans and humanoid robots from getting too close. If anything goes awry, the technician can put the device into safety mode, which essentially shuts it down by prompting it to lie down on the floor, he said.

Koch said Tau plans to phase out technicians when the bots reach a higher level of self-sufficiency — sometime around 2028 or 2029, he estimated. Until then, it’s a learning process.

“We’re still pushing the limits of what it can do, so we are not entirely sure ourselves where the limits are,” he said.

A Tau Robotics humanoid robot cleaning the inside of a refrigerator. Tau Robotics

In addition to safety concerns, experts have also raised questions about security and privacy issues around the use of robots.

Outfitted with two cameras as eyes, Tau’s robots record videos that are used to train the company’s AI and improve the technology’s functionality. However, the humanoids’ cameras could potentially capture footage of personal items in people’s homes, such as receipts and bills, Goldberg said, potentially violating their privacy.

Asked about security protocols for its products, Koch said Tau has “full control” over the data it collects. “The camera system, the networking and the computers are all our own,” he said.

Humanoids in the home?

The humanoid robot industry is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years as investors pour more money into artificial intelligence. Barclays Investment Bank predicts that the market, now valued at $2 billion to $3 billion, could grow to $200 billion by 2035.

A separate analysis by Morgan Stanley Research released last year estimates that the humanoid robot population will reach nearly 1 billion by 2050. However, the investment bank said prices will need to decline significantly, and societal acceptance of the bots will need to increase before such devices make their way into homes.

For now, most humanoid robots are being used for other purposes. Barclays estimates that 15,000 such robots were deployed in 2025, 90% of which were used in industrial settings such as manufacturing and warehousing.

Zornitsa Todorova, an analyst at Barclays, predicted that deployment of the technology will be “gradual and incremental” and that “meaningful adoption” will take at least five years. As the robots’ capabilities improve, Todorova believes interest in home applications will spike.

“While adoption remains at an early stage today, the economic opportunity for humanoids performing service-oriented tasks is significant,” she said in an email.

Goldberg is more skeptical. He estimated that it will take another decade for the science to get to the level it needs to for the robots to effectively perform at-home services like cleaning.

“I’m not saying we will never have them,” he said. “But we’re not close to having humanoid butlers. The science isn’t there yet.”

南非废弃矿井坍塌 造成14名非法采矿者死亡

2026年8月11日 23:07 / 联合早报

南非西北省勒斯滕堡附近一座废弃矿井发生坍塌，多名执法人员到场展开救援和调查。 （路透社）

南非西北省勒斯滕堡一座废弃矿井发生坍塌事故，造成14名非法采矿者死亡，多人受伤。

据南非广播公司报道，南非国家警察局发言人马特星期二（8月11日）说，位于恩卡嫩（Nkaneng）附近的废弃矿井的井壁突然坍塌。当时一些非法采矿者正在废弃矿井内作业，结果遭到掩埋。

马特说，目前已确认14人死亡，另有八人受伤送往医院，部分人员仍受困。搜救行动仍在进行中。

在南非从事非法采矿的矿工来自此地区的多个国家，他们受贫困和失业的驱使，而相关行业往往与有组织犯罪、暗杀、敲诈勒索和其他非法活动密切相关。

南非工会联合会曾多次警告，南非放任“数千座废弃、破败且安保措施不足的矿场，沦为死亡陷阱、环境隐患和有组织犯罪团伙的滋生地”。

联合会在声明中指出，南非约有6000座废弃且无人认领的矿场和矿址。

特朗普制裁国际刑事法院 四人权组织起诉他违宪

2026年8月11日 23:18 / 联合早报

美国总统特朗普去年签署一项行政命令，授权对与国际刑事法院合作的检察官、法官和其他人员实施制裁，原因是他们起诉了来自美国及盟友以色列的官员。 （路透社档案照片）

美国总统特朗普去年签行政令对国际刑事法院人员实施制裁，四家美国主要人权组织如今对特朗普提起诉讼，指控他违宪。

路透社报道，人权观察、开放社会研究所、美国朋友服务委员会和宪法权利中心星期二（8月11日）在纽约提起诉讼，指特朗普下令的制裁措施阻碍他们与国际刑事法院合作，为世界各地涉及种族灭绝、战争罪和反人类罪的案件寻求正义。

特朗普去年签署行政令，授权制裁与国际刑事法院合作的检察官、法官和其他人员，原因是他们起诉了来自美国及美国盟友以色列的官员。美国和以色列都不是国际刑事法院成员国。

代表上述人权组织的首席律师洛温斯坦发表声明说，他们希望终止这套制裁制度，认为行政令超越总统权限，并违反国际法和美国法律，包括言论自由和宗教自由。

此前，一些致力于巴勒斯坦人权的倡导团体上个月也提起类似的诉讼。

美国国务院回应说，这些团体试图“助长国际刑事法院的权力滥用”，并称国际刑事法院威胁美国主权。

三名国际刑事法院法官已就制裁问题分别起诉特朗普政府。

特朗普反对国际刑事法院的立场可追溯至他的第一任期。2020年，特朗普曾签署类似行政令，但被一名法官驳回。法官认为，这项行政令可能违反美国宪法第一修正案。前总统拜登政府随后于2021年撤销这项行政令。

国务卿鲁比奥上个月说，美国政府将加大力度削弱位于海牙的国际刑事法院，包括发起一场旨在说服其他国家退出法院的外交行动。

鲁比奥辩称，法院对执行特朗普强硬移民政策，或打击被控运载毒品船只的美国人员和其他美国军人构成威胁。

7月31日，特朗普在内阁会议上回应鲁比奥的最新情况时说，这场运动旨在捍卫以色列总理内坦亚胡和其他人，而不是捍卫特朗普本人。

Security concerns prompted Trump to secretly change planes in Turkey, official says

Published 11:27 AM EDT, Tue August 11, 2026 / CNN Politics

Security concerns prompted Trump to secretly change planes in Turkey, official says

While in Turkey for the NATO Summit in July, President Donald Trump flew out of the country on an alternate military plane which he boarded by hiding in a catering truck

1:04 • Source: CNN

US human rights groups sue Trump over anti-ICC push

2026-08-11 14:33:35 UTC / Reuters

By Simon Lewis

August 11, 2026 2:33 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

An exterior of The International Criminal Court (ICC) is seen as the United States is considering imposing sanctions as soon as this week against the entire International Criminal Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, September 22, 2025. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

• Summary
• Companies

• Lawsuit seeks to end sanctions regime plaintiffs say blocks work with ICC on genocide and war crimes
• Rubio last month said US would intensify diplomatic campaign urging other countries to quit ICC
• Judge blocked ​similar 2020 Trump order before Biden administration rescinded it in 2021

WASHINGTON, Aug 11 (Reuters) – Four leading U.S. human rights groups on Tuesday sued the Trump administration over its campaign aimed at dismantling the International Criminal Court, calling the effort unconstitutional.

President Donald Trump last year issued an executive order authorizing sanctions on prosecutors, judges ​and others working with the court for pursuing cases against officials from the U.S. and ​its ally Israel, neither of which are members of the ICC.

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Human Rights Watch, ⁠the Open Society Institute, the American Friends Service Committee and the Center for Constitutional Rights said ​in their lawsuit filed in New York that those sanctions prevent them from working with the court ​to seek justice for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity around the world.

“The plaintiffs are seeking an end to this sanctions regime, which transgresses the president’s authority and violates international and U.S. law, including the rights to ​freedom of expression and religion,” lead counsel Andrew Loewenstein of Foley Hoag LLP, which is representing ​the human rights groups, said in a statement.

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The lawsuit comes after a similar lawsuit filed last month by advocacy groups ‌who work ⁠on human rights for Palestinians. In response to that lawsuit, the State Department said the groups were seeking to “enable ICC overreach” and said the court posed a threat to U.S. sovereignty.

Three ICC judges have separately sued the Trump administration over the sanctions.

Trump’s opposition toward the ICC goes back to his first ​term. A similar executive ​order Trump issued in ⁠2020 was blocked by a judge, who said it likely violated the First Amendment, before being rescinded by President Joe Biden’s administration in 2021.

Secretary of State Marco ​Rubio last month said the administration would step up efforts to undermine the ​court in The ⁠Hague, including with a diplomatic campaign aimed at persuading other countries to quit it. Rubio argued that the court posed a threat to U.S. personnel carrying out Trump’s hardline immigration policies or strikes on ⁠boats accused ​of carrying drugs, as well as other U.S. service members.

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Trump ​during a July 31 cabinet meeting said in response to an update from Rubio that the campaign was aimed at defending ​Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others, rather than Trump himself.

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Reporting by Simon Lewis; Editing by Stephen Coates

New midterm battleground takes shape as parties build election armies

2026-08-11 10:19 EDT / Fox News

RNC hails record-setting grassroots recruitment on Tuesday’s National Poll Worker Recruitment Day

By Eric Mack Fox News

Published August 11, 2026 10:19am EDT

Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters touts having surpassed its 2024 poll-worker sign-ups for the 2026 midterms, deploying staff across 25 states.

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President Donald Trump has long argued that who is counting the votes can matter nearly as much as who is on the ballot — a view that has helped turn the mechanics of elections into their own political battleground.

That fight is becoming more organized, more expensive and more sophisticated ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Tuesday marks National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, a once-obscure observance created in 2020 that has become a significant organizing marker for both parties. Republicans and Democrats are recruiting poll workers, observers, lawyers and voter-protection staff as they prepare for one of the most consequential midterm elections in history.

“We have more poll workers in the 2026 cycle than we did in the 2024 cycle,” Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “We’re better prepared. We have staffers in 25 states. We are on the ground, ready to do battle.”

TRUMP WILL ‘DELIVER’: RNC CHAIR SIGNALS MIDTERMS CONFIDENCE DESPITE ‘DOOM AND GLOOM’

President Donald Trump famously says the people counting the votes has been an overlooked aspect of the U.S. elections process, pushing the Republican Party to pour more money, time, energy and financial resources into recruiting lawyers, experts and poll workers.(Getty Images)

The RNC, in data shared exclusively with Fox News Digital, is 42% ahead of its 2024 pace, with 16,971 volunteer signups nationwide compared with 11,917 at the same point in the past presidential cycle.

“The RNC has shattered our 2024 poll worker recruitment benchmarks, built the largest election integrity operation in Republican Party history, and mobilized thousands of volunteers to help secure the ballot box,” Gruters added in a statement. “With less than 90 days until the midterms, we’re seeing record-breaking grassroots engagement, expanding our operation into new states, and building the infrastructure needed to defy history in 2026.”

That effort came from the top from Trump, post-2020, and has led to the RNC’s election integrity unit buildout with its multimillion-dollar campaign.

REPUBLICAN SAYS TRUMP’S TOP ELECTION PRIORITY ‘DEAD’ IN SENATE AS GOP FRACTURES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

And “parity” election laws regulating poll workers from both the national party apparatuses have the Democratic National Committee, facing widely reported fundraising hiccups, playing catch-up with the RNC and its $128.5 million midterm war chest.

“We’re going to have to be a lot sharper the next time when it comes to counting the vote,” Trump told Pennsylvania Republicans in 2022, starting one of his oft-repeated, campaign-rally mantras. “There’s a famous statement: ‘Sometimes the vote counter is more important than the candidate.’ And we can’t let that ever, ever happen again. They have to get a lot tougher and smarter.”

The midterm elections heat up as voters return to the polls in 2026.(Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

Trump also says every next election tends to be more important than the past one, but grassroots voter enthusiasm and donor fundraising tend to be bigger in presidential elections than in the midterms. But, while Trump might not be on the ballot, his “Save America” grassroots enthusiasm will be, even as the Senate sits on passing his landmark Save America Act to set nationwide voter ID standards.

RNC LEGAL VICTORY CLEARS NORTH CAROLINA VOTER ROLL PURGE OF NONCITIZENS THROUGH JURY RESPONSES

“We’ve been continuing to build on the election integrity efforts of the last cycle where Lara Trump and Michael Whatley [former RNC co-chairs] did such a great job,” Gruters said in Friday’s interview. Lara Trump now hosts “My View with Lara Trump” on Fox News Channel.

That statement pointed back to the nexus of the RNC’s multimillion-dollar election integrity unit at ProtecttheVote.com that has Democrats, its famed election lawyer Marc Elias and Democracy Docket founder and the DNC forced to play catch-up, to match the RNC’s poll worker masses. Parity laws in some states nationwide legally require it.

“The Democratic National Committee continues to invest in our voter protection infrastructure to defend Americans’ sacred right to vote,” a DNC spokesman told Fox News Digital, when reached for comment on recent data before National Poll Worker Recruitment Day. “The Democratic Party currently has voter protection staff in more than 30 states, and we will recruit, train, and deploy tens of thousands of observers across the country this November.

“We have seen a surge of citizens who have joined our training programs and stepped up to defend our democracy. We will continue our work to ensure all eligible voters have their voices heard.”

SENATE FACES ‘COME-TO-JESUS’ MOMENT ON TRUMP’S ELECTION PRIORITY UNDER GOP’S NEW PLAN

The DNC did not share its 2026 numbers with Fox News Digital, but did share 2021 to 2024 data showing Democrats mobilized more than 120,000 voter protection volunteers, including over 65,000 trained poll observers, and recorded more than 465,000 confirmed hours of poll observation across over 63,000 polling locations.

An election official stands among voting booths at a polling location inside Great Falls United Methodist Church during a primary election in Great Falls, Virginia, on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026.(Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Save America Act is stalled in the Senate, but Trump and Republicans efforts are playing out on the ground and running up expenses for lawyers, legal election experts and staff.

“We got to do everything we can to make sure we have these safe and secure elections,” Gruters said Friday, pointing to the “most litigation we’ve ever done as a party.” “We have, I think, almost 200 lawsuits now this cycle. I think 177 active lawsuits right now.”

“We’re not being reactive. We’re being as proactive as we can.”

DOJ TAUNTS MEDIA AFTER TRUMP SCORES WIN IN BATTLEGROUND-STATE BALLOT FIGHT

“We’re bringing the absolute hammer wherever we can in defending freedom and these safe and secure election policies everywhere we have to, anywhere we can go, we will go from coast to coast,” he said.

The numbers underscore how election administration itself has become a major front in modern campaigns.

Election Day itself has also become election season, Trump has long lamented. With early voting stretching for days or weeks in many states, the staffing burden no longer falls on a single Tuesday or even a weekend. Parties and local officials need poll workers, observers and legal support across an extended voting window — a costly undertaking for national organizations and a significant time commitment for the Americans on the ground who sign up to serve.

The RNC says it has expanded recruitment into Maryland, Colorado, New Mexico, Kentucky, Alaska and Ohio, producing 2,076 additional submissions in those states. The committee says the effort is part of a multimillion-dollar election integrity program with directors deployed in 22 states and a year-round voter-protection operation nationwide.

At the center of the Republican push are the state “parity” laws that require or encourage bipartisan representation among poll workers.

Election rules vary significantly by state and locality, but a number of states have provisions intended to give both major parties representation in election administration. The RNC says its job is to build a large enough pool of Republican applicants that local election officials have GOP workers available to fill those slots.

“Recruitment is what turns parity laws from words on paper into reality,” the committee said in written responses to questions about the program.

More Republican signups do not necessarily mean more Republicans will ultimately be stationed inside polling places. Poll workers are generally selected or appointed by state and local election authorities, and the number of positions available varies by jurisdiction.

But party officials argue that a deep recruiting bench gives Republicans more opportunities to fill vacancies, meet bipartisan staffing requirements and keep trained volunteers available for future elections.

FOX NEWS POLL: GOP DIVISIONS SHAPE TEXAS SENATE RACE

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403108178112

The RNC identified Michigan, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware, Connecticut, New York and Indiana among states with some form of bipartisan or balanced poll worker representation.

Michigan, with the high-profile Senate race of Democrat Abdul El-Sayed against Republican Mike Rogers, is one state where the RNC told Fox News Digital it has a sizable poll worker recruitment edge. Texas’ Senate race between Democrat James Talarico and Republican State Attorney General Ken Paxton is another big battleground, while the North Carolina Senate race between former RNC Chair Whatley, Gruters’ former boss, and former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, will be the biggest dollar race in the nation these midterms, if not Senate history, according to Gruters.

The RNC and Elias are battling in messaging and courtrooms, and RNC officials have told Fox News Digital privately its case-winning is deeply frustrating its opponents.

“It’s an on the ground effort, and it’s an effort overall with litigation, and we are winning a lot of these cases,” Gruters said. “I expect us to continue to move forward to try to make sure these elections are fair.”

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6402473773112

Vote counting, one of the trained poll workers’ most important roles in the process, can vary in returns from state to state. Gruters points to the size and success of Florida results on election night.

“I always say, go look at Florida, my home state, a state of 23 million people, a state where, literally within 90 minutes, we can give you results: Everybody has full faith and confidence,” Gruters said. “That’s with Democrat and Republican supervisor of elections across the state.

“We could do this nationwide, it’s not rocket science, but when you have a party that does everything they possibly can to cheat, lie, and steal to win elections – when it’s all about control and power, rather than trying to make sure we protect democracy – we got to do everything we can to put the ship in the right direction.”

“We’re going to continue to do anything we can to make sure these elections are safe and secure.”

https://www..com/video/6402799760112

The two parties describe their missions differently.

Republicans frame the buildup as an election-integrity effort designed to increase transparency, enforce election rules and give GOP voters confidence that members of their party are represented inside the process.

Democrats describe their operation as voter protection, focused on ballot access, monitoring polling places and ensuring eligible voters can cast ballots.

That has turned the period before Election Day into a contest not only over candidates, advertising and turnout, but also over the people staffing polling sites, watching election officials and challenging the rules in court.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6402184548112

National Poll Worker Recruitment Day was established by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC)in 2020 to highlight the vital role of election workers and encourage more Americans to serve their local communities.

Eric Mack is a breaking news reporter and writer Sunday through Thursday, 6 a.m. ET to 2 p.m. ET, with a particular interest in stories that lead the news cycle on politics, elections, foreign affairs and government.

Medicare’s paying less for cataract surgery. Eye doctors are turning to moneymaking lasers.

2026-08-11T08:40:28-0400 / KFF Health News

Tammy Chalala, a retired dietitian in New York, was thrilled with the results of her cataract surgeries, which left her with close to 20/20 vision.

She said she paid nearly $4,000 out-of-pocket for her two surgeries last year because she opted to have her doctor use a laser to assist with the procedure.

Chalala, 69, chose that method over the traditional scalpel after doing research online and consulting with her doctors, believing it would give her the best outcome. “It seemed like the better option,” she said.

Cataract surgery — one of the most common operations paid for by Medicare — typically leaves enrollees owing a few hundred dollars. Some patients pay more to have their vision corrected during the procedure.

But, like Chalala, a growing number of those patients are paying even more out-of-pocket simply because they agree to have their doctor use a laser rather than the scalpel method.

Both methods are safe and can significantly reduce or eliminate the need for patients to wear glasses.

However, many doctors say the laser helps make more precise cuts than the scalpel. The laser method gives patients more options, they say, and recoups more revenue as Medicare has gradually cut what it pays doctors for cataract surgery.

Others, such as Oliver Schein, an ophthalmologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, point out the strong financial incentive to use the laser, as the equipment can cost a practice up to $500,000.

Schein said his colleagues used the laser a few years after it came out but did not see any benefit over traditional cataract surgery. Still, the laser doesn’t cause harm and provides patients with good results.

“That’s a powerful combination for a surgeon,” Schein said. But in the end, he added, most patients believe paying more will yield a better result.

Medicare pays doctors about $520 for a standard cataract procedure, down about 20% in the past decade. The fee includes pre- and postoperative visits.

While Medicare generally prohibits doctors from billing patients above what the government program pays, doctors are allowed to bill patients extra when using the laser only when it is used to improve vision, because most vision correction is not covered by traditional Medicare.

Specifically, doctors may bill patients when using the laser to insert premium lenses or fix astigmatism. Doctors typically charge $1,000 to $3,000 per eye for use of the laser.

Medicare enrollees also pay out-of-pocket for the premium lenses that can eliminate their need for reading or distance glasses, with charges ranging from $1,000 to $4,000.

Private insurers, including those operating Medicare Advantage plans, typically follow Medicare benefit rules.

Research shows the laser does not provide better outcomes than the scalpel for a standard cataract procedure.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology, the world’s largest organization of eye physicians and surgeons, says on its website: “Studies do not show that laser surgery results in fewer complications. Also, studies haven’t found that laser surgery provides better outcomes.”

Nearly 12% of the 5 million annual cataract surgeries performed nationally are laser-assisted, and that number has been growing, according to the St. Louis-based ophthalmic market data company Market Scope.

“It’s a win-win for patient and doctor,” said Kevin Miller, a UCLA ophthalmology professor. “Doctor makes a little more money on top of the Medicare reimbursement; the industry gets money to develop new technology; and society benefits because these patients are not going for eyeglasses anymore.”

By age 80, more than half of Americans have had cataracts, a condition that causes blurred vision and poor night vision. Most cataracts develop slowly as part of the aging process when proteins and fibers in the eye’s lens break down and clump together.

Doctors for decades have used scalpels to perform cataract surgery, which involves removing the cataract and replacing the cloudy natural lens with a clear artificial one.

Barbara Cobuzzi, 71, a medical billing consultant with traditional Medicare coverage, needed cataract surgery last year. When her eye doctor in New Jersey recommended she get the surgery using a laser at a cost to her of $1,500 per eye, she went looking for a second opinion. “I felt like he was trying to pull a fast one.”

Cobuzzi said the second doctor performed her procedure without a laser, and she was happy with the results, including no longer needing glasses for distance vision.

“Doctors are using the laser as a moneymaker,” she said.

Vance Thompson, an ophthalmologist who is a past president of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, said some patients want the laser because it provides a more precise way of doing the surger,y while others choose it to avoid the need for glasses.

He said he talks to patients about the advantages of the laser and lets them decide which method is right for them. “They deserve to be educated on all their options,” Thompson said.

He said about half his patients at his Sioux Falls, South Dakota, practice choose the laser, up from about 10% a decade ago.

The laser is not suitable for all patients, though, including those who have corneal scarring or a small pupil, Thompson said.

It’s challenging to illustrate the benefit of the laser because traditional cataract surgery is already safe and effective, with low infection rates, said Barrett Eubanks, a U.S.-trained ophthalmologist in Toronto.

He said he’s found that, compared with the older method, using the laser makes it easier to implant premium lenses or remove certain types of cataracts. That’s because the laser can make the exact cut it’s programmed to make, unlike the human hand.

Miller, the UCLA ophthalmologist, said the laser helps bring money to his practice as Medicare reimbursement continues to decline. “One of the problems with ophthalmology is everybody is scrambling to keep the lights on,” he said.

Miller said his practice has offered laser cataract surgery for several years. He compares the choice to buying a Toyota Camry or buying a Lexus. “Both will get you where you want to go, but one will get you there with a premium feel and leather seats,” he said.

He said his patients know they can choose the surgery without a laser. “We do not pressure anybody to do anything,” Miller said.

At his practice in an affluent part of Los Angeles, he said, 80% of patients opt for laser cataract surgery. “What you buy with a laser is precision and reproducibility, as every laser cut looks exactly the same,” he said. “It does not make vision better.”

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.

特朗普制裁国际刑事法院 四人权组织起诉他违宪

2026年8月11日 23:18 / 联合早报

美国总统特朗普去年签署一项行政命令，授权对与国际刑事法院合作的检察官、法官和其他人员实施制裁，原因是他们起诉了来自美国及盟友以色列的官员。 （路透社档案照片）

美国总统特朗普去年签行政令对国际刑事法院人员实施制裁，四家美国主要人权组织如今对特朗普提起诉讼，指控他违宪。

路透社报道，人权观察、开放社会研究所、美国朋友服务委员会和宪法权利中心星期二（8月11日）在纽约提起诉讼，指特朗普下令的制裁措施阻碍他们与国际刑事法院合作，为世界各地涉及种族灭绝、战争罪和反人类罪的案件寻求正义。

特朗普去年签署行政令，授权制裁与国际刑事法院合作的检察官、法官和其他人员，原因是他们起诉了来自美国及美国盟友以色列的官员。美国和以色列都不是国际刑事法院成员国。

代表上述人权组织的首席律师洛温斯坦发表声明说，他们希望终止这套制裁制度，认为行政令超越总统权限，并违反国际法和美国法律，包括言论自由和宗教自由。

此前，一些致力于巴勒斯坦人权的倡导团体上个月也提起类似的诉讼。

美国国务院回应说，这些团体试图“助长国际刑事法院的权力滥用”，并称国际刑事法院威胁美国主权。

三名国际刑事法院法官已就制裁问题分别起诉特朗普政府。

特朗普反对国际刑事法院的立场可追溯至他的第一任期。2020年，特朗普曾签署类似行政令，但被一名法官驳回。法官认为，这项行政令可能违反美国宪法第一修正案。前总统拜登政府随后于2021年撤销这项行政令。

国务卿鲁比奥上个月说，美国政府将加大力度削弱位于海牙的国际刑事法院，包括发起一场旨在说服其他国家退出法院的外交行动。

鲁比奥辩称，法院对执行特朗普强硬移民政策，或打击被控运载毒品船只的美国人员和其他美国军人构成威胁。

7月31日，特朗普在内阁会议上回应鲁比奥的最新情况时说，这场运动旨在捍卫以色列总理内坦亚胡和其他人，而不是捍卫特朗普本人。