Seniors News and Research

RSS

State roundup: Gov't workers face benefit changes; worry over social service cuts

For many states, 2011 is the most trying budget year of a fiscal crisis now in its fourth year. Revenues generally remain lower than what they used to be; widespread joblessness is putting unprecedented strains on safety-net programs like Medicaid; and all this is happening as federal stimulus money runs out.

18 Feb 2011

Loyola offers stem cell transplants to older patients with leukemia and lymphoma

As the first baby boomers turn 65, Loyola University Hospital has begun offering stem cell transplants to leukemia and lymphoma patients who previously were too old to qualify.

18 Feb 2011

Senate 'Gang of Six' develops deficit reduction framework

A bipartisan group of senators is considering legislation that would trigger new taxes and budget cuts if Congress fails to meet a set of mandatory spending targets and other fiscal goals aimed at reducing federal deficits. The plan would break the task of deficit reduction into four pieces: a tax code overhaul; discretionary spending cuts; changes to Medicare, Medicaid and other entitlements; and changes to Social Security, aides said.

17 Feb 2011

Viewpoints: Arizona's waiver; next gen's 'different' Medicare?; individual mandate's constitutionality

There may be no federal obstacles to cutting 250,000 people out of AHCCCS, part of Gov. Jan Brewer's budget proposal. But there are compelling reasons to avoid such a drastic step if at all possible. And it's possible.

17 Feb 2011

More than 170 executives visit members of Congress to advocate for senior-friendly public policies

More than 170 executives from the senior living industry today visited with members of Congress to advocate for policies that will advance quality of life for America's seniors. The Assisted Living Federation of America facilitated the meetings and hosted a briefing about critical matters before Congress that could impact the future of senior living.

17 Feb 2011

States grapple with new ways to cut state Medicaid costs

Among the strategies being used are efforts to change rules, revise definitions, tighten anti-fraud efforts and cut services.

17 Feb 2011

Benchmark signs definitive agreement to form $890 million partnership with Health Care REIT

Benchmark Senior Living, the leading provider of senior living services in the Northeast, announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to form an $890 million partnership with Health Care REIT, Inc., an S&P 500 company that invests across the full spectrum of senior housing and health care real estate.

16 Feb 2011

Roundup: States grapple with high health costs, Medicaid squeeze

Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill would give his administration sweeping powers to reshape state health programs covering more than 1 million state residents. Under the bill, the administration's rewrite of the Medicaid program would be reviewed only by the Legislature's budget committee, which has a broader margin of control for majority Republican lawmakers than any other legislative committee.

16 Feb 2011

President to unveil $3.7 billion budget blueprint; challenge is to show fiscal discipline while funding health law's implementation

President Barack Obama's budget plan includes a two-year Medicare "doc-fix" that uses heavy cuts in other health providers' Medicare reimbursements to stave-off a scheduled 25 percent reduction in Medicare physician reimbursements. Meanwhile, news outlets also report the plan "avoids" tackling entitlement spending.

15 Feb 2011

New study: Leisure time helps grandparents maintain bonds with adult grandchildren

A new study has confirmed an old adage: A family that plays together stays together. Researchers from Concordia University and Wilfrid Laurier University examined the ways grandparents can maintain close ties with their adult grandchildren. True to the old maxim, recreation emerged as the glue sealing intergenerational bonds.

15 Feb 2011

Seniors with hearing loss more likely to develop dementia: Study

Seniors with hearing loss are significantly more likely to develop dementia over time than those who retain their hearing, a study by Johns Hopkins and National Institute on Aging researchers suggests. The findings, the researchers say, could lead to new ways to combat dementia, a condition that affects millions of people worldwide and carries heavy societal burdens.

14 Feb 2011

First Edition: February 14, 2011

Today's headlines are focused on President Obama's budget proposal and what it does and does not include.

14 Feb 2011

Study explores levels of burden and depression in caregivers with sensory impairment

When a person experiences impairment or declining health, caregiving typically falls to a family member, most often a spouse. This increased burden can cause burnout, stress, and illness in the caregiver. The health care system focuses first on the client and provides little support for the caregiver.

14 Feb 2011

New Republican spending cuts include well-known health programs

House Republican leaders pushed out a new round of proposed spending cuts Friday night as they sought to meet demands by conservatives in the party to trim $100 billion from the current spending levels. Health programs were among the targets.

14 Feb 2011

CMS chief testifies at Ways and Means Committee, stays cool despite grilling

The tense, heated hearing was the first opportunity for the House to question Berwick since July, when he was recess-appointed to his post as head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (Haberkorn and Coughlin, 2/10).

11 Feb 2011

State roundup: Fla. preps for Medicaid overhaul; Funding cut fears in Mass., Texas; Calif. exchange board's challenges

Both President Barack Obama and House Republicans are moving to rein in federal spending by reducing aid to states and cities, which would deepen their fiscal woes just as economic-stimulus funds from Washington are drying up. ...

11 Feb 2011

First Edition: February 11, 2011

Today's health policy headlines highlight various aspects of the policies and politics involved in the health law mix.

11 Feb 2011

Longer looks: KHN's best health policy picks from thought-provoking publications

When U.S. District Court judge Roger Vinson struck down President Obama's health care program as unconstitutional, the White House declared the decision an "outlier." It was anything but that. The ruling on January 31 was in harmony with limits the Supreme Court has imposed on the use of the Constitution's commerce clause to justify far-reaching legislation by Congress.

11 Feb 2011

GOP Reps. grill CMS Chief Berwick about health reform law, earlier remarks on British system

Republicans on the US House Committee on Ways and Means this morning pounded Donald Berwick, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, on the effects of the new health care law on seniors, and Berwick's past statements in praise of the publicly-funded British health care system.

11 Feb 2011

Rhabdomyolysis episode at University of Iowa signals a public health crisis

On January 26, 2011, it was reported that 13 University of Iowa football players were affected so severely by rhabdomyolysis that they were hospitalized. Occurrences of rhabdomyolysis—muscle breakdown—are so rare that it suggests an additional causal factor, such as a drug.

10 Feb 2011

Seniors News and Research

State roundup: Gov't workers face benefit changes; worry over social service cuts

Loyola offers stem cell transplants to older patients with leukemia and lymphoma

Senate 'Gang of Six' develops deficit reduction framework

Viewpoints: Arizona's waiver; next gen's 'different' Medicare?; individual mandate's constitutionality

More than 170 executives visit members of Congress to advocate for senior-friendly public policies

States grapple with new ways to cut state Medicaid costs

Benchmark signs definitive agreement to form $890 million partnership with Health Care REIT

Roundup: States grapple with high health costs, Medicaid squeeze

President to unveil $3.7 billion budget blueprint; challenge is to show fiscal discipline while funding health law's implementation

New study: Leisure time helps grandparents maintain bonds with adult grandchildren

Seniors with hearing loss more likely to develop dementia: Study

First Edition: February 14, 2011

Study explores levels of burden and depression in caregivers with sensory impairment

New Republican spending cuts include well-known health programs

CMS chief testifies at Ways and Means Committee, stays cool despite grilling

State roundup: Fla. preps for Medicaid overhaul; Funding cut fears in Mass., Texas; Calif. exchange board's challenges

First Edition: February 11, 2011

Longer looks: KHN's best health policy picks from thought-provoking publications

GOP Reps. grill CMS Chief Berwick about health reform law, earlier remarks on British system

Rhabdomyolysis episode at University of Iowa signals a public health crisis

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

Latest News