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'Village' movement allows seniors who need care to stay in their homes longer

The Fiscal Times reports that, as the population ages, more communities are trying to find ways to allow older Americans to remain in their homes, even when they need health care. "The small but fast-growing 'village' movement — where seniors help seniors to coordinate and deliver services within their communities — is a grass-roots response to the well-documented preference of older people to remain in their homes as they age.

21 Sep 2010

Medicare receives increased scrutiny regarding fraud, payment issues

USA Today: "Proposed regulations being unveiled today seek to crack down on Medicare and Medicaid fraud by subjecting operators of certain medical firms to fingerprinting and stopping payments when credible fraud allegations are made, documents show. The rules would give federal health officials key powers to identify fraud early and reduce the estimated $55 billion in improper payments made each year in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, said Peter Budetti, director of the new anti-fraud office at the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services" (Young, 9/20).

20 Sep 2010

Caregiver Expo2010 to be held in November in conjunction with National Family Caregiver Month

The Caregiver Expo2010, presented by Alternatives for Seniors, will be held 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, November 13, 2010 at the Doubletree Hotel, in Oak Brook, Illinois. The free event is being held in conjunction with the National Family Caregiver Month observed every November. National Family Caregiver Month is a nationally recognized time to focus attention on the more than 65 million family caregivers who provide 80% of our nation's long term care services.

18 Sep 2010

UCLA conference to provide information about latest developments to help enhance quality of life of seniors

While aging impacts everyday living in many ways, the latest technologies in the medical, consumer and lifestyle fields have the potential to help older adults live better for longer.

18 Sep 2010

AMDAI launches 'Don't Surrender to AMD' public awareness campaign

Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), which affects more than 10 million older Americans, continues to be the leading cause of vision loss in the United States. The global cost of the disease according to a recent report by AMD Alliance International (AMDAI) is estimated at $343 billion, underscoring the need for swift actions to raise awareness of prevention and treatment options.

18 Sep 2010

CBO finds generic drugs save Medicare $33 billion in 2007

A new government report finds that the use of generic medications saved the Medicare program and its beneficiaries about $33 billion in 2007, The Associated Press/BusinessWeek report. The Congressional Budget Office report "says an additional $14 billion is expected as first-time generics enter the market through 2012. Medicare Part D is Medicare's prescription drug program" (9/15).

18 Sep 2010

Waxman says controversial Medicare bidding program for medical equipment should proceed

CQ HealthBeat: "House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry A. Waxman said Wednesday that a controversial Medicare bidding program that would cut the costs of medical equipment such as wheelchairs and oxygen supplies should go forward under tight scrutiny. Waxman said ... he takes seriously the concerns of suppliers and some patients' groups that service and access to supplies could be undermined by the money-saving program, but said there is no evidence so far of that happening based on limited early tests of the approach."

17 Sep 2010

Survey reveals 72% of people over age of 65 do not feel old

There is a sharp contrast between people's positive attitudes towards growing old and their preparedness according to the results of a new international survey, Bupa Health Pulse 2010, published today by Bupa Health Dialog.

17 Sep 2010

Continuing care retiring communities receive increased scrutiny

The New York Times: "For middle- and upper-income retirees who had the money, it was almost a no-brainer in recent years to choose living in a continuing-care retirement community. They could move, as the need arose, from independent living to assisted care to skilled nursing care — all without leaving the community."

17 Sep 2010

SCAN Foundation releases six fact sheets on critical long-term care issue

The SCAN Foundation released today six fact sheets compiling national figures that provide basic information on some of the most important issues surrounding long-term care.

16 Sep 2010

Generics drugs in Medicare program saved $33 billion in 2007: CBO

New research released today by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found that the use of generic medications rather than brand-name medications in Medicare Part D saved beneficiaries and the program about $33 billion in 2007, while an additional $14 billion in savings is expected as first-time generics enter the market through 2012.

16 Sep 2010

DestinationRx analysis shows increase in consumers choosing to enroll in health plans online

DestinationRx, a leading provider of Medicare plan and drug comparison tools, today announced the results of a DestinationRx analysis showing a significant increase in consumers choosing to enroll in health plans online, coupled with a parallel decrease in call center enrollments. An analysis of DestinationRx commercial enrollments shows a 12 percent shift from call center to online enrollment for 2008 to 2009 and an 11 percent shift from 2009 to 2010, for a 23 percent total increase in online enrollments over just two years.

16 Sep 2010

Today's Opinions: Health law repeal and Insurance Hikes on minds of Americans

Until Congress or the courts discard ObamaCare's mandates, price controls, and new entitlement spending, there is literally nothing that can arrest this downward spiral of rising costs and deteriorating quality (Michael Cannon, 9/14).

16 Sep 2010

Californians lead national trend to reassess seniors' economic needs

Data and research on what it really takes for seniors to make ends meet in each of California's 58 counties will be released today at the state Capitol in Sacramento.

15 Sep 2010

In Calif., breakaway union creates schism with SEIU; Poor patients will continue to receive dialysis in Georgia

"The S.E.I.U.'s national leadership ousted [Sal] Rosselli last year after a power struggle that ended with a jury finding that he had improperly used member dues to form a breakaway union. Shortly after being ousted, Mr. Rosselli did create a rival union, and now he is trying to lure many of his former members — 43,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente, the largest health care provider in the state. On Monday, workers at 331 Kaiser facilities across California began voting by mail on whether to bolt the S.E.I.U. and join Mr. Rosselli's group, the National Union of Healthcare Workers. A victory would give a vital boost to Mr. Rosselli's fledgling 6,000-member union, all but assuring its long-term survival" (Greenhouse, 9/13).

15 Sep 2010

FDA-cleared LaserTouchOne device for chronic and acute pain treatment available without prescription

The American Pain Foundation reports that despite the fact that the majority of the U.S. population looks healthy, statistics tell a different story: Approximately 1 in 3 Americans suffer from chronic pain. This chronic pain could be related to an illness like cancer or rheumatoid arthritis, or a condition such as arthritis, migraine headaches, fibromyalgia or back pain from a car accident.

15 Sep 2010

Today's Opinions: Medicare fixes, health care lawsuits, reporting repeals

And in this political climate, the $210 billion price tag [to fix the physician payment system] will probably prevent a permanent solution this year. However, a longer term, interim fix and a primary care payment differential would be steps in the right direction (Dennis Mayeaux and Lori Parham, 9/13).

15 Sep 2010

Aged care faltering in Australia: Report

According to National Seniors Australia, the countries’ aged-care system is riddled with problems and will become unsustainable unless urgent reform is undertaken. In its report “The Future of Aged Care in Australia”, the current system of aged care is evaluated. The report says that there are staffing and bed shortages that are crumbling under financial pressures and are unable to meet the future demands of an ageing population. The report compiled for the lobby group by Access Economics says policymakers must implement viable funding alternatives to sustain the system.

14 Sep 2010

Better Living Health and Community Services hosts forum to discuss issues that matter most to seniors

Better Living Health and Community Services is hosting a moderated forum for the frontrunners for Toronto's mayoralty to discuss the issues that matter most to seniors.

13 Sep 2010

Today's OpEds: Medicare's long-term liabilities; Reforming and funding native health care; Frustrations surrounding stem cell research

Under ObamaCare it will get much worse. Hospitals also will shut down or stop serving Medicare patients. … Everyone should know by now that Medicare suffers dramatic long-term deficits and unfunded liabilities, and is in need of fundamental, structural reforms. But effectively refusing to pay the doctors and hospitals that provide the medical care the program promises to seniors is no way to solve that problem (Peter Ferrara and Larry Hunter, 9/9).

10 Sep 2010

Seniors News and Research

'Village' movement allows seniors who need care to stay in their homes longer

Medicare receives increased scrutiny regarding fraud, payment issues

Caregiver Expo2010 to be held in November in conjunction with National Family Caregiver Month

UCLA conference to provide information about latest developments to help enhance quality of life of seniors

AMDAI launches 'Don't Surrender to AMD' public awareness campaign

CBO finds generic drugs save Medicare $33 billion in 2007

Waxman says controversial Medicare bidding program for medical equipment should proceed

Survey reveals 72% of people over age of 65 do not feel old

Continuing care retiring communities receive increased scrutiny

SCAN Foundation releases six fact sheets on critical long-term care issue

Generics drugs in Medicare program saved $33 billion in 2007: CBO

DestinationRx analysis shows increase in consumers choosing to enroll in health plans online

Today's Opinions: Health law repeal and Insurance Hikes on minds of Americans

Californians lead national trend to reassess seniors' economic needs

In Calif., breakaway union creates schism with SEIU; Poor patients will continue to receive dialysis in Georgia

FDA-cleared LaserTouchOne device for chronic and acute pain treatment available without prescription

Today's Opinions: Medicare fixes, health care lawsuits, reporting repeals

Aged care faltering in Australia: Report

Better Living Health and Community Services hosts forum to discuss issues that matter most to seniors

Today's OpEds: Medicare's long-term liabilities; Reforming and funding native health care; Frustrations surrounding stem cell research

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