Donald Braswell, 4th place winner from TV's "America's Got Talent" 2008 season, and William Stokking, retired principal cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, are featured in the "Songs for Sara" Benefit Concert for Sara Ann Kronrot, a six-year-old Collingswood girl with profound cerebral palsy. [More]

More than 60 percent of Puget Sound-area residents say they have delayed or plan to delay their retirement beyond their ideal age, according to a recent survey commissioned by Symetra Financial, Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc., and Senior Services. [More]

The Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) unveiled a national senior hunger study, underwritten by the Harrah's Foundation. Developed as an extension of the study originally presented in 2008, this state-by-state analysis of senior hunger revealed that the number of seniors facing the threat of hunger is increasing with seniors in the South experiencing the greatest risk of going hungry. [More]

The Louisiana Association of Health Plans today warned that Louisianians could experience higher health care premiums and reduced benefits if proposals being considered by Congress should become law. [More]

Nutrisystem, Inc., a leading developer of weight loss products and services, today announced its company-wide support for the recently launched Stop DiabetesSM movement from the American Diabetes Association. On the heels of the successful launch of Nutrisystem D, its program designed to help people with type 2 diabetes lose weight, Nutrisystem has implemented a $5.00 contribution for every person who shares their story on the American Diabetes Association’s Stop Diabetes website, up to $100,000 through December 31, 2009. [More]

"Strengthening Medicare for generations to come is essential to our efforts to reforming health care for all Americans. This legislation will permanently improve the way Medicare pays physicians and in doing so, guarantee that America's seniors will continue to have access to excellent care through Medicare. [More]

"The promise of health care reform is that it will provide all Americans coverage, allow them to keep their coverage if they like it, and bends the cost curve to put the system on a sustainable path. These are the standards by which any reform bill should be judged, and the Senate bill falls short of meeting them. We believe that these issues can be addressed and improved to achieve these goals, and we will continue to work with policymakers toward that end. [More]

Health care spending in Canada is expected to reach $183.1 billion in 2009, an estimated increase of $9.5 billion, or 5.5%, since 2008, according to new figures released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). [More]

Republicans quickly rebuked Senate Democrats' health overhaul bill after its release last night, Roll Call reports. They said it would result in higher insurance premiums, tax hikes, and Medicare cuts, and complained that it was drafted behind closed doors, and that they have not yet had a chance to read it. [More]

Every two years, 2,000 senior Group Health patients check in with the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study. The joint project between Group Health Research Institute and the University of Washington (UW) focuses on finding ways to delay or prevent dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, and declines in memory and thinking. [More]

The routine prescription of extended-release niacin, a B vitamin (1,500 milligrams daily), in combination with traditional cholesterol-lowering therapy offers no extra benefit in correcting arterial narrowing and diminishing plaque buildup in seniors who already have coronary artery disease, a new vascular imaging study from Johns Hopkins experts shows. [More]

The American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) commends Senator Reid (D-Nev.) for his leadership on ensuring that the Community Living and Supportive Services (CLASS) Plan provisions are included in the Senate's health reform bill. [More]

Rather than work with us to find a true compromise, members who support abortion rights ignored our concerns (Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., 11/18). [More]

Minnesota Public Radio reports: "Since 2006, senior citizens have been able to choose plans for Medicare prescription drug coverage, but that coverage contains a gap known as the 'doughnut hole,' a gap that health care reform plans being debated in Congress would address." [More]

"On Thursday, the House is expected to pass a $210 billion measure — known as the 'doc fix' — that will adjust Medicare payment rates to avoid a 21 percent cut in January and continuing cuts in the years ahead," The New York Times reports, adding: "The House originally included the provision in its big health care bill. But it was dropped because its steep cost would have meant the bill would add to future federal deficits, violating one of President Obama's central requirements for the health legislation." [More]