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Health care providers warn that Medi-Cal cuts jeopardize access to quality care

Health care providers warn that Medi-Cal cuts jeopardize access to quality care

Citing the devastating impact that pending Medi-Cal payment cuts would have on the North State's most vulnerable patients, local hospital leaders in Redding today joined with patient families to call on state lawmakers to enact new legislation that would preserve the state's health care safety net. [More]

Retiree medical expenses fall, but they still exceed most people's expectations

A study released by Fidelty Investments estimated that a couple, who are enrolled in traditional Medicare and retiring in 2013, will need $220,000 to cover medical costs throughout their retirement. [More]
First Edition: May 16, 2013

First Edition: May 16, 2013

Today's headlines detail the Senate confirmation of Acting Chief Marilyn Tavenner to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. [More]
Lifting weights, doing cardio can also keep the doctors away, say researchers

Lifting weights, doing cardio can also keep the doctors away, say researchers

Forget apples - lifting weights and doing cardio can also keep the doctors away, according a new study by researchers at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. [More]
Misaligned teeth are chief culprits in the development of gum disease, tooth decay

Misaligned teeth are chief culprits in the development of gum disease, tooth decay

Crooked, crowded teeth can rob you of your health. In fact, misaligned teeth are among the chief culprits in the development of gum disease and tooth decay. [More]

Roundup: NYC examines solitary confinement alternatives for mentally ill inmates; Texas lawmakers push to modernize medical practices; N.C. cancer parity bill passes House

New York City will soon change the way mentally ill inmates are disciplined after breaking rules while in jail, creating alternatives to the more traditional approach of solitary confinement used for most inmates (Yee, 5/12). [More]
Research roundup: Out-of-pocket costs on individual market; Federal spending on mental health care; Underused Medicare benefit

Research roundup: Out-of-pocket costs on individual market; Federal spending on mental health care; Underused Medicare benefit

Since many of the people who will gain insurance under the federal health law will likely get such individual plans through the state-based online marketplaces, or exchanges, researchers sought to identify the effects on vulnerable populations, some of whom with incomes above 400 percent of the poverty level and thus will not qualify for Medicaid or receive subsidies. [More]
Private insurers have cost Medicare almost $300 billion more over the life of the program

Private insurers have cost Medicare almost $300 billion more over the life of the program

A study published online today finds that the private insurance companies that participate in Medicare under the Medicare Advantage program and its predecessors have cost the publicly funded program for the elderly and disabled an extra $282.6 billion since 1985, most of it over the past eight years. In 2012 alone, private insurers were overpaid $34.1 billion. [More]
New book proposes ways to help people see better with macular degeneration, low vision

New book proposes ways to help people see better with macular degeneration, low vision

Dr. Randolph C. Kinkade , a Connecticut optometrist and founding member of the International Academy of Low Vision Specialists, has written the Guide for Macular Degeneration Eyeglasses: Low Vision Treatment. [More]
Antidepressants can increase risk of C. difficile infection in depressed patients

Antidepressants can increase risk of C. difficile infection in depressed patients

Adults with depression and who receive certain types of anti-depressants have an increased risk of developing Clostridium difficile, a costly and serious hospital-associated infection, according to a new University of Michigan Health System study. [More]

First Edition: May 8, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about government data showing the wide variation in what hospitals charge Medicare patients for common inpatient procedures. [More]
UCLA research: Subway not much healthier alternative than McDonald's for adolescents

UCLA research: Subway not much healthier alternative than McDonald's for adolescents

Subway may promote itself as the "healthy" fast food restaurant, but it might not be a much healthier alternative than McDonald's for adolescents, according to new UCLA research. [More]

Medicare studies: Payment cuts don't mean insurers pay more

Medicare payment cuts to hospitals don't necessarily mean private insurers end up paying more, one study finds. Another reports that unifying Medicare's benefits into a single plan could save the program $180 billion over 10 years, while lowering seniors' out-of-pocket costs. [More]

Despite outreach efforts, many eligible seniors are turning down health subsidy program

The Low Income Subsidy for Medicare Part D is a rare beast in economics research. The subsidy provides prescription drug coverage essentially free for low-income adults. That means it is what economists call a dominant option. [More]

Hospital leaders urge support for protecting health care providers from Medi-Cal cuts

Citing the real impact cutting the safety net would have on the most vulnerable residents, San Diego County Supervisors Greg Cox and Dianne Jacob joined with local hospital leaders today to call on the California Legislature and Governor Brown to spare hospital-based skilled-nursing facilities and other health care providers from devastating Medi-Cal cuts. [More]
Experts gather to lay out agenda to end childhood poverty

Experts gather to lay out agenda to end childhood poverty

Pediatricians, economists, social scientists and policy experts will come together on Saturday, May 4, to address one of the greatest threats to child health - poverty. [More]

First Edition: May 3, 2013

Today's headlines include a variety of stories about the health law's implementation, including reports about the Medicaid expansion's red state prospects. [More]

MetLife Foundation Journalists in Aging Fellows Program to continue for fourth year

The MetLife Foundation Journalists in Aging Fellows Program - responsible for nearly 200 news stories by 48 alumni to date - will continue for a fourth year thanks to a grant renewal from the MetLife Foundation. [More]

Roundup: Calif. regulator says insurer's proposed rate hikes are 'unreasonable'; Iowa lawmakers push to deny abortion funding in Medicaid

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said the nation's largest health insurer, UnitedHealth Group Inc., is imposing unreasonable rate hikes on about 5,000 small businesses. Jones said Wednesday that UnitedHealth couldn't justify the average annual increase of nearly 8 percent, which reflects both higher premiums and a reduction in benefits (Terhune, 5/1). [More]
UAB study evaluates crash risk for elderly drivers who always drive with pets

UAB study evaluates crash risk for elderly drivers who always drive with pets

Senior drivers who always take a pet in the car are at increased risk for being involved in a motor vehicle collision, said University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers. [More]