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First Edition: December 14, 2011

In today's headlines, reports about progress -- or lack thereof -- as the House and Senate work to come to terms on the year's must-pass legislation.

14 Dec 2011

Tips to help ease caregiver's burden during holiday season

More five million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia and over 70 percent of those individuals are cared for in their homes by a spouse or other family member. Stress, anxiety and burnout are never far from the doorsteps of these caregivers as they often juggle the responsibilities of providing daily care with the added demands of working, maintaining a household, or raising children. The holiday season can intensify these daily burdens, but too often caregivers don't know how to ask for help and friends and family members aren't sure of how to lend a hand.

9 Dec 2011

Pending budget cuts could jeopardize health, safety of state's most vulnerable seniors

California's low-income seniors with disabilities are struggling to remain in their homes as public funding for long-term care services shrinks and may be slashed even further, according to a new study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research conducted with support from The SCAN Foundation.

8 Dec 2011

Health technology's 'enthusiasm gap'

The Washington Post reports that many of the predictions for health technology's future depend on how willing health care providers are to embrace new technology. Meanwhile, Kaiser Health News reports specifically on the important and evolving role of home care technology and iWatch News offers a status report of how the states are doing.

8 Dec 2011

First Edition: December 7, 2011

In the news today, a status check on the work -- including the Medicare doc fix -- that Congress still needs to attend to before leaving Washington for the holidays.

7 Dec 2011

Calif. judge suspends cuts to senior services; Back pay for Wash. state home care workers?

A federal judge in Oakland issued a temporary restraining order last week, suspending the state's planned reduction of 20% to In-Home Supportive Services to 370,000 Californians. ... The judicial action came right before the state was set to send notices to IHSS participants -- most of whom are seniors -- notifying them of the reduction in services.

6 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Premium support disadvantages; GOP candidates & the individual mandate; Stop fight over high court recusals?

Republican politicians are touting the virtues of market competition and calling for a "premium support" plan that would give beneficiaries a set amount of money to shop among private plans for their own insurance. What they do not say is that private plans have long been more costly than traditional Medicare and have shown far less ability to slow spending.

5 Dec 2011

State news: Mass. seeks Medicaid waiver extension; Calif. payment reform

The Employees Retirement System of Texas removed about 5 percent of those receiving state health benefits as dependents after they couldn't prove their rights to get the aid, the pension plan said in a report, citing an audit. Health care cost the $23.6 billion fund $2.29 billion in fiscal 2011.

3 Dec 2011

Timely acute care reduces total stroke and TIA costs

New research published in the journal Age and Ageing suggests that timely acute care immediately after a stroke reduces the level of disability in stroke survivors and the associated need for long-term care, therefore reducing aftercare costs.

1 Dec 2011

Study focuses on staffing and quality at nation's largest for-profit nursing homes

The nation's largest for-profit nursing homes deliver significantly lower quality of care because they typically have fewer staff nurses than non-profit and government-owned nursing homes.

30 Nov 2011

Mandatory cuts: Winners and losers in the post-super committee landscape

Many domestic programs will feel pain, but Medicaid appears to be part of the "protected" class. Meanwhile, news outlets continue to report on the pending Medicare physician pay cut and how fixing this scheduled reduction could trigger cuts in other parts of the health care sector.

30 Nov 2011

New trends in HIV/AIDS prevalence

According to a latest report released this Monday, Toronto has more HIV and AIDS cases than ever before, with an estimated one in 120 adults in the city now HIV-positive. In all of Ontario, the number of people living with HIV-AIDS grew by 31 per cent between 2003 and 2008 and that number continues to expand.

29 Nov 2011

Recommendations aim to enhance health and quality of life for frail and vulnerable patients in nursing home care

More than 1.5 million adults live in nursing homes in the United States, and approximately 30 percent of people will diewith a nursing home as their last place of residence. As this population continues to increase, so will the need for physicians to assist those patients with proper care and guidance in making end-of-life decisions.

21 Nov 2011

State roundup: Provider groups merging - or not

A selection of health policy stories from California, Illinois, Georgia, Connecticut, Minnesota, Michigan and Massachusetts.

21 Nov 2011

Conn. Gov.'s orders on home and child care workers raise concerns; Calif. lawmakers explore long-term care costs

Gov. Dannel Malloy established a way for home care and child care workers to unionize. Meanwhile, in California, a legislative committee looked at the financial burden of long-term care.

11 Nov 2011

Human body better at fighting gum disease when fat cells disappear

Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine researchers found the human body is better at fighting gum disease when fat cells, which trigger inflammation, disappear.

10 Nov 2011

Survey finds nursing homes plan layoffs because of Medicare cuts

The move follows a decision by Medicare in July to reduce reimbursements to nursing homes by 11 percent.

9 Nov 2011

Medicare beneficiaries file class action suit over hospital 'observation status'

The lawsuit challenges Medicare's use of this practice, which classifies certain hospital patients as not having been formally admitted for billing purposes, even though they might have been in the hospital for days.

5 Nov 2011

CLASS Act provision of health care reform depicts a practical but disappointing reality

The Obama Administration's recent decision not to implement the Community Living Assistance and Services Act provision of health care reform represents a practical but disappointing reality - voluntary enrollment in health and long-term care insurance programs is anything but a sure bet among Americans.