Seniors News and Research

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First Edition: August 19, 2010

In the news today, modest premium increases are ahead for Medicare drug plans while a survey finds that big employers expect health cost hikes in 2011.

20 Aug 2010

The SCOOTER Store selects Omnicom to strengthen brand

After a lengthy review, The SCOOTER Store, the country's leading provider of power mobility products and services, has selected an integrated Omnicom team as its new agency to help strengthen and broaden the company's brand and messaging. In addition to account leads Zimmerman Advertising and Daggerwing, Omnicom's team will include Javelin Marketing Group, AdelphiEden and Porter Novelli.

19 Aug 2010

CLASS Act has potential to transform long-term care financing to insurance-based system: PPAR

The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act - a largely overlooked component of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - has the potential to transform long-term care financing in the United States from a welfare-based to an insurance-based system, according to the latest issue of Public Policy & Aging Report.

18 Aug 2010

Holotranscobalamin protein may be key to early detection of cognitive decline

B vitamins-B-6, B-12 and folate-all nourish the brain. But much remains to be discovered about the relation between these essential nutrients and our brainpower.

18 Aug 2010

Politics and Health Reform: Democrats, Republicans trying to sway seniors

The Associated Press: Democrats, "running scared in an election year," are hopeful that a $250 check - to help seniors afford prescription drugs - will turn the tide of public opinion. "Democrats ... are trying to overcome older people's mistrust of the new health care law, which expands coverage for younger generations by cutting Medicare payments to hospitals and insurers. … Behind the hoopla, the reality is modest. The $250 check, for example, is just a fraction of what many people in the prescription coverage gap have to pay.

16 Aug 2010

PALS to host book club author reception to help seniors develop relationships

For nearly 13 years, Highmark Inc.'s People Able to Lend Support program has provided a wide array of programs and services to help seniors stay healthy and independent in their own homes, stimulate their minds and reduce isolation.

16 Aug 2010

Research Roundup: Disabled Medicare Enrollees' challenges; Increasing ER visits; costs/benefits of Part D

Health Affairs: Medicare Doesn't Work As Well For Younger, Disabled Beneficiaries As It Does For Older Enrollees - This paper examines "how well Medicare works for [the 8 million] nonelderly disabled beneficiaries compared to the elderly, based on findings from a nationally representative survey of noninstitutionalized Medicare beneficiaries conducted in 2008 by the Kaiser Family Foundation."

16 Aug 2010

Five tips for seniors researching MA or Medigap plan options

Health Plan One, a general agent in the online health insurance market, seeks to guide seniors to choose carefully when selecting their Medicare Advantage or Medicare supplement plan. Seniors will have only one opportunity to make changes to their Medicare plans during the Annual Enrollment Period this November 15 through December 31.

13 Aug 2010

Visiting Nurse Service of New York to acquire 'Lombardi' Program from St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center

The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, the nation's largest not-for-profit home health care organization, announced today that it has successfully bid for, and is set to acquire, the Long Term Home Health Care Program from St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center. The transaction was filed at a closed, one-time bid auction on August 10, 2010. The purchase price of $30,150,000 is pending approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the Attorney General's Office.

13 Aug 2010

Centric Health second-quarter net income increases 154% to $1.3 million

Centric Health Corporation, a diversified healthcare company with a vision to become Canada's premier healthcare company providing innovative solutions centered around patients and healthcare professionals, today announced strong financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.

12 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 12, 2010

Some of today's headlines highlight how the new health reform law is playing beyond Washington, D.C.'s beltway.

12 Aug 2010

More Medicare Part D checks in the mail

The Department of Health and Human Services has mailed out a third round of $250 checks to help seniors who enter the Medicare Part D coverage pay gap for prescription drugs, WCAX [in Vermont] reports. "The one-time payment aims to close a gap in coverage for prescription medication. The rebates will go to about 9,000 Vermonters whose out-of-pocket expenses already total more than $940 for the year" (8/11).

12 Aug 2010

Third round of tax-free $250 rebate checks mailed to eligible Medicare beneficiaries

Today, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that the third round of one-time, tax-free $250 rebate checks have been mailed to eligible Medicare beneficiaries whose drug costs are so high they have reached the Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage gap known as the "donut hole."

11 Aug 2010

OHCA applauds Congress for taking action to pass vital Medicaid relief

Reacting to the approval of the U.S. House and Senate to measures extending emergency Medicaid relief until June 30, 2011, the Ohio Health Care Association praised the vote and urged Governor Strickland and the Ohio General Assembly to take advantage of the opportunity. OHCA's chief executive officer said that the $500 million in additional funding for Ohio's Medicaid program can be used to retain access to quality care for the state's most vulnerable seniors, and protect key frontline healthcare jobs.

11 Aug 2010

N.Y. Attorney General investigates health care credit cards for possible 'predatory health care lending'

"New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Monday he is expanding an investigation of health-care credit cards by issuing subpoenas to clinics that promote cards from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. On Wednesday, Cuomo subpoenaed health care providers that promoted CareCredit, a health-care credit card offered by General Electric Co.'s GE Money" (Witkowski, 8/10).

11 Aug 2010

Telemedicine helps care for seniors, while pediatricians increasingly care for young adults

As part of a special section on aging, The Washington Post reports on telemedicine for seniors: "Imagine a 75-year-old receiving wireless medication reminders, straight to his beeping wristband. ... Although developers and advocates have promoted telemedicine for years, Alice Borelli of Intel points to barriers -- including Medicare reimbursement policies and inadequate broadband in parts of the country -- that have kept telemedicine a mostly conceptual solution.

11 Aug 2010

Dems continue push to sell health reform's benefits, GOP pushes back

The administration has struggled to sell senior citizens on the new health law, Politico reports. Here's why: "They know little about the early benefits the law has offered but remember last year's heated town halls, replete with death panels and rationing. And anti-health-reform rhetoric is generally proving to have considerable staying power."

11 Aug 2010

Education, changes in reimbursement practices can reduce inappropriate antibiotic usage: Study

Improved drug coverage under Medicare Part D has led to an increase in the use of antibiotics by seniors, particularly of brand-name and more expensive drugs, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study. Published in the Aug. 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine and the first to explore spending on antibiotics under Medicare Part D, the study suggests recent changes in drug coverage improved the use of antibiotics for pneumonia, but could lead to unnecessary spending on expensive broad-spectrum antibiotics and the overuse of inappropriate antibiotics.

11 Aug 2010

Mindfit brain fitness program helps frail seniors walk faster

Computerized brain fitness programs are known to help seniors improve their memory and focus. Now, a study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University has found preliminary evidence that such programs may help frail seniors walk faster, potentially preventing disability and improving quality of life. Results appear in the July 19 online edition of the Journal of Gerontology.

11 Aug 2010

First Edition: August 10, 2010

In today's news, the House is back in town... though just for a day. Lawmakers will consider a state aid package that includes $16 billion in federal Medicaid assistance.

10 Aug 2010

Seniors News and Research

First Edition: August 19, 2010

The SCOOTER Store selects Omnicom to strengthen brand

CLASS Act has potential to transform long-term care financing to insurance-based system: PPAR

Holotranscobalamin protein may be key to early detection of cognitive decline

Politics and Health Reform: Democrats, Republicans trying to sway seniors

PALS to host book club author reception to help seniors develop relationships

Research Roundup: Disabled Medicare Enrollees' challenges; Increasing ER visits; costs/benefits of Part D

Five tips for seniors researching MA or Medigap plan options

Visiting Nurse Service of New York to acquire 'Lombardi' Program from St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center

Centric Health second-quarter net income increases 154% to $1.3 million

First Edition: August 12, 2010

More Medicare Part D checks in the mail

Third round of tax-free $250 rebate checks mailed to eligible Medicare beneficiaries

OHCA applauds Congress for taking action to pass vital Medicaid relief

N.Y. Attorney General investigates health care credit cards for possible 'predatory health care lending'

Telemedicine helps care for seniors, while pediatricians increasingly care for young adults

Dems continue push to sell health reform's benefits, GOP pushes back

Education, changes in reimbursement practices can reduce inappropriate antibiotic usage: Study

Mindfit brain fitness program helps frail seniors walk faster

First Edition: August 10, 2010

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