Seniors News and Research

RSS

Johns Hopkins' online tool helps seniors assess risk for dementia

A quick online assessment tool developed by Johns Hopkins researchers can help worried seniors find out if they are at risk of developing dementia and determine whether they should seek a comprehensive, face-to-face diagnosis from a physician, according to a new study.

14 Jan 2011

Medicare advisory panel urges co-pay for home health visits

The Medicare Payment Advisory Panel recommended this policy as a means to discourage overuse of home health services, which are estimated to cost taxpayers nearly $20 billion a year and are also a source of health care fraud. Meanwhile, another story, this one from WBUR, offers tips for Medicare "wellness" visits.

14 Jan 2011

65% of Americans oppose Medicaid cuts

Coming on the heels of a major research report finding that long term care is paid less on an hourly basis than the national minimum wage, a new nationwide poll shows that 65 percent of Americans would oppose further cuts to funding for long term care.

14 Jan 2011

New research identifies nutrition inadequacy among Americans

At a time when the country is facing an obesity epidemic, the problem of nutrition inadequacy is often overlooked. Yet, many Americans are overweight and undernourished, concludes a new study called "What America's Missing."

12 Jan 2011

Less than 7% of U.S. seniors get shingles vaccination

Although a vaccine to prevent shingles has been available since 2006, less than 7 percent of U.S. seniors — the demographic most frequently affected by the disease — chose to receive the vaccination as of 2008, finds a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

11 Jan 2011

Walker & Dunlop provides $104.7 million for acquisition of 18 skilled nursing facilities

Walker & Dunlop, LLC announced today that on December 29, 2010, it provided $104.7 million of acquisition funding to Ark Holding Company for the purchase of 18 skilled nursing facilities located in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. This transaction represents Walker & Dunlop's second large-scale skilled nursing financing in 2010 exceeding $100 million.

10 Jan 2011

Administration reverses federal rule on End-of-life planning

News outlets are reporting that some observers view the step an "embarrassing episode" for the administration and note that some of the rule's supporters consider it a "flip flop." All in all, the rule change and the reaction to it appear to highlight the continued politics that surround the issue.

7 Jan 2011

Californians can now access information about local healthcare providers using MyHealthResource

Realizing the New Year's resolution of "good health" could be just a click of the mouse away - even for Californians without adequate health insurance, thanks to a free, online resource from Californians for Patient Care. Using MyHealthResource, available at www.calpatientcare.org, Californians can access information about local healthcare providers that provide primary, dental, vision and mental healthcare services to the uninsured and underinsured.

6 Jan 2011

OpEds: Sebelius, Fla. Attorney General, USA Today, Wash Post opine about repeal strategies

Over the past nine months, I've traveled around the country and seen the benefits of this law firsthand. Unless we want to take coverage away from cancer patients, reduce oversight for insurance companies, raise prescription drug costs for seniors, weaken Medicare, add $1 trillion to the deficit and undo dozens of other reforms that are improving health around the country, we can't afford repeal (Kathleen Sebelius, 1/5).

6 Jan 2011

Democrats defend health law, prepare to fight back as House minority

Democrats who initially voted against the health overhaul are now considering where they stand on the repeal effort.

6 Jan 2011

Ascend Health inaugurates two psychiatric hospitals, acquires two new hospitals

Ascend Health Corporation announced the opening of two new freestanding psychiatric hospitals as well as the acquisition of two freestanding psychiatric hospitals.

5 Jan 2011

Bright light therapy for the aged depressed: Study

A new study shows that exposure to bright light may ease symptoms of depression in elderly people. The researchers tried three weeks of bright light therapy using specially designed light boxes and saw that it improved symptoms of depression by as much as 54% in older adults with depression. The light therapy also improved sleep and optimized levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression and often targeted by antidepressant drugs. This is the first study of its kind to show a beneficial effect of bright light therapy on treating depression in the elderly with non-seasonal major depressive disorder.

5 Jan 2011

Setting the date: House scheduled to vote Jan. 12 on health law repeal

House GOP leaders have scheduled for Jan. 12 a much-awaited and politically charged vote to repeal the health law. In the background, news organizations report on the positions being taken by Democrats who may have voted against the measure the first time around and how Republicans plan to explain the budget implications of this repeal effort.

5 Jan 2011

Senate Dems line up against the effort to undo the health overhaul

In the Senate, Democratic leaders pledge to block any House attempt at repeal and cite the health measure's benefits for seniors as key reason.

5 Jan 2011

New program may help reduce hospital readmission rates for high-risk seniors

SCAN Health Plan and Lakewood IPA have partnered with Dovetail Health in a program designed to reduce readmission rates for high-risk seniors following discharge from hospitals and skilled nursing facilities.

4 Jan 2011

Speaker Pelosi releases statement on Republican legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act

Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today after the incoming House Republican leadership posted their legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act:

4 Jan 2011

Today's Opinions: End-of-life counseling; Rising costs of boomers; Controlling infections in hospitals

Death panels. Government-sponsored euthanasia. Pulling the plug on grandma. Those were just some of the blatantly false terms conservatives threw around last year to scare Congress into stripping a provision out of the health-reform bill that would have allowed Medicare to reimburse doctors for providing voluntary, end-of-life counseling to their patients. The scare tactics worked (1/2).

3 Jan 2011

71% of Americans say Baby Boomers should work past normal retirement age

As Baby Boomers begin to turn 65 on January 1, 71 percent of Americans believe they should be encouraged to work past normal retirement age, according to survey conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.

28 Dec 2010

Frst wave of baby boomers become eligible for Medicare in 2011

In January, the first wave of baby boomers will start the New Year by reaching a series of significant milestones. This generation will begin turning 65, and as a result of entering into the age of retirement, will start to become eligible for various benefits, including Medicare. It is helpful for this aging population to learn about important benefits programs that may be available to them at this stage in their lives, regardless of whether or not they plan to retire anytime soon.

28 Dec 2010

22% of hospital admissions in 2008 were for patients over 75 years old: AHRQ

Twenty-two percent of all admissions to U.S. hospitals in 2008 were for patients born the year that Franklin D. Roosevelt was first inaugurated President of the United States or earlier, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

24 Dec 2010