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First Edition: January 30, 2012

Today's health policy headlines include a report that GOP leaders are pledging quick action on legislation to extend the payroll tax break and to prevent a scheduled cut in Medicare physician payment.

30 Jan 2012

Gingrich: Romney couldn't 'defend himself' on health care in debate against Obama

News organizations are covering the increasingly bitter Florida presidential primary race, which includes attacks on Mitt Romney's health care record by Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.

30 Jan 2012

State roundup: Uninsured not the usual suspects in Texas, Calif.; Hopkins swanky new hospital; Georgia Medicaid

Nearly a quarter of the Texas population lacked health insurance in 2010, according to the most recent data released by the American Community Survey, which the U.S. Census Bureau conducted.

30 Jan 2012

Managing distance and aging parents' care

The Associated Press explores the difficulties involved in being a long-distance caregiver for aging parents and how demographic trends fuel these challenges.

27 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Massachusetts' health care success; Employers are key to curbing health costs

It's too bad former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney doesn't want to talk about his state's health care reform legislation on the campaign trail. If he did, he'd have a pretty good story to tell. The reform plan, which President Obama used as a model for the national reform, lifted the number of insured residents in the Bay State from 86.6 percent in 2006 to 94.2 percent in 2010, according to a new study published today by Health Affairs.

27 Jan 2012

Roundup: Problems outlined at Parkland hospital in Dallas; Mass. closing a mental hospital; Adult day care in Calif.

The Department of Mental Health plans to close Taunton State Hospital, one of the six state-run psychiatric hospitals in Massachusetts by the end of this year. The move is part of a plan to redistribute the placement of patients with chronic and severe mental illness as a large new state hospital opens in Worcester this summer.

27 Jan 2012

State roundup: Conn. home worker demand soars; Family planning providers dwindle in Texas; Florida legislation on health budgets, prices, abortion

Ensuring that there are enough direct care workers to meet the growing demand is one of the most significant challenges facing state officials as they try to dramatically expand the availability of home-based long-term care. ... Home care work is often sensitive, challenging and poorly compensated.

27 Jan 2012

First Edition: January 26, 2012

Today's health policy headlines include reports about House GOP plans to offer a 'replace' bill after the Supreme Court rules on the health law.

26 Jan 2012

First Edition: January 25, 2012

Kaiser Health News listened to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address with an ear out for health policy references. He made just one explicit mention of the 2010 health law, and KHN has a transcript of the few parts of his speech that mentioned health care issues.

25 Jan 2012

Medicare Part D: A flashpoint in Florida GOP primary debate

Medicare is a testy subject in Florida, home to 3.3 million seniors. Romney charged that Gingrich lobbied lawmakers to approve legislation creating a new prescription drug benefit under Medicare. Gingrich denied lobbying, but - aware of his audience - Gingrich expressed pride in having supported Medicare Part D. "It has saved lives," Gingrich said. "It's run on a free enterprise model."

25 Jan 2012

Targeted repeal votes part of House GOP health agenda

Some specific provisions the Republican leadership plans to hold repeal votes on include the Medicare advisory panel and the CLASS Act. Meanwhile, the AMA is pointing to "war savings" as a possible way to pay for the fix to the Medicare physician payment formula.

25 Jan 2012

Medicare math and the GOP candidates

News outlets report on some of the specific health policy positions being advanced by the GOP presidential primary field.

25 Jan 2012

A delay in signing up for Medicare can lead to big penalties

Reuters reports on how seniors who wait too long to sign up for Medicare Part B could face costly penalties. Meanwhile, CQ HealthBeat reports on the political implications of Medicare's monthly premiums.

24 Jan 2012

Genes may predict maintenance of intelligence over lifetime: Study

A Scottish study that began 80 years ago has shown that genes may play a role in maintaining intelligence till old age. The study participants joined when they were 11 years old. Researchers have long been interested in understanding how cognition changes with age, and why these changes are more rapid in some people than in others. But, in the past, studies of age-related intelligence changes were often performed when the subjects were already elderly.

22 Jan 2012

SSRI use raises risk of fall among elderly with dementia: Study

A new study reveals that nursing home residents with dementia who use selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have an increased risk of having a fall that causes injury compared with those who do not use SSRIs. Additionally those using average doses have 3 times the risk compared with nonusers, the authors, led by Carolyn S. Sterke, from Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, report. Authors write, “Even at low doses, SSRIs are associated with increased risk of an injurious fall in nursing home residents with dementia.”

22 Jan 2012

Federal judge renews her order blocking Calif. cuts to in-home care

A federal judge will continue blocking millions of dollars in cuts to in-home care for the elderly and the disabled, parties to a lawsuit over the services said Thursday. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken had temporarily halted the cuts in December. The $100 million in reductions to home aid, built into the state budget in case revenue did not match projections, were to have kicked in this month.

21 Jan 2012

Roundup: N.Y. insurers to update directories; Cook county, Ill. health fees fall short; Md. woman says hospital denied same-sex visitation

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says his office has reached settlements with eight health insurance companies that require them to ensure the accuracy of provider directories on their websites. The attorney general's office says the companies will remove names of doctors and other providers who no longer participate and correct listing errors for others.

20 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: The 'need' to repeal CLASS; Squaring Romney's poverty and tax promises

As a physician, I treated hundreds of patients who needed long-term care, including ones with Alzheimer's. More than 13.5 million seniors could have this disease by 2040. Middle-class families remain dangerously unprepared for these costs. Some people will likely spend more than $100,000 on care. The fictional CLASS daily benefit of $50 per day won't cover this. I urge my House and Senate colleagues to support this CLASS repeal.

19 Jan 2012

Ore. Governor proposes 'coordinated care organizations' to reform state's Medicaid program

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber is proposing to change the state's iteration of Medicaid by ending its fee-for-service model and instituting "coordinated care organizations" to manage patients' chronic care to keep them out of hospital rooms.

18 Jan 2012

Memory boosters for seniors – vitamin B12 and folic acid: Study

Australian researchers have stumbled upon findings that show that taking folic acid and vitamin B12 supplements can prevent memory loss in people over 60.

15 Jan 2012

Seniors News and Research

First Edition: January 30, 2012

Gingrich: Romney couldn't 'defend himself' on health care in debate against Obama

State roundup: Uninsured not the usual suspects in Texas, Calif.; Hopkins swanky new hospital; Georgia Medicaid

Managing distance and aging parents' care

Viewpoints: Massachusetts' health care success; Employers are key to curbing health costs

Roundup: Problems outlined at Parkland hospital in Dallas; Mass. closing a mental hospital; Adult day care in Calif.

State roundup: Conn. home worker demand soars; Family planning providers dwindle in Texas; Florida legislation on health budgets, prices, abortion

First Edition: January 26, 2012

First Edition: January 25, 2012

Medicare Part D: A flashpoint in Florida GOP primary debate

Targeted repeal votes part of House GOP health agenda

Medicare math and the GOP candidates

A delay in signing up for Medicare can lead to big penalties

Genes may predict maintenance of intelligence over lifetime: Study

SSRI use raises risk of fall among elderly with dementia: Study

Federal judge renews her order blocking Calif. cuts to in-home care

Roundup: N.Y. insurers to update directories; Cook county, Ill. health fees fall short; Md. woman says hospital denied same-sex visitation

Viewpoints: The 'need' to repeal CLASS; Squaring Romney's poverty and tax promises

Ore. Governor proposes 'coordinated care organizations' to reform state's Medicaid program

Memory boosters for seniors – vitamin B12 and folic acid: Study

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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