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44% of seniors receive lower Social Security checks this year compared to 2010

Forty-four percent of seniors are receiving lower Social Security checks this year compared to 2010, while even more are dealing with significantly higher expenses. The findings come from an annual survey of elderly Americans, released earlier today by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), one of the nation's largest nonpartisan senior citizens advocacy groups.

4 Feb 2011

Preventive dental care could lead to lower overall dental expenses for older Americans

Older Americans could likely have lower overall dental expenses with preventive dental care and more routine dental visits, as indicated by a new study of public records of Medicare beneficiaries, says John Moeller, PhD, MA, research professor at the University of Maryland Dental School.

4 Feb 2011

FAO Food Price Index reaches new high in January

World food prices reached a new record high in January, continuing a trend for the seventh consecutive month, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday, the Guardian reports (Kollewe, 2/3).

4 Feb 2011

Study highlights link between food insufficiency, health care use among homeless adults

Homeless people who do not get enough to eat use hospitals and emergency rooms at very high rates, according to a new study. One in four respondents to a nationwide survey reported not getting enough to eat, a proportion six times higher than in the general population, and more than two thirds of those had recently gone without eating for a whole day. The report will appear in the Journal of General Internal Medicine and has been released online.

4 Feb 2011

RNAO calls on Ontario political parties to address nurses shortfall

As political parties look ahead to this fall's provincial election, registered nurses say hiring more RNs must be a top priority to help bring Ontario's RN to population ratio in line with the rest of the country.

4 Feb 2011

Obama administration contemplates requirement that insurers offer free contraceptives

The Obama administration is examining whether the new health care law can be used to require insurance plans to offer contraceptives and other family planning services to women free of charge (Pear, 2/2).

4 Feb 2011

Viewpoints: Dem lawmakers on fighting repeal; Debating Judge Vinson's impact; Medicaid cuts

Along with our Democratic colleagues in the Senate, we plan to review individual provisions in the law that may not work as intended. But we are not willing to allow a wholesale rollback of health care reform that could take away popular benefits from American families, jeopardize the health and well-being of millions and add more than a trillion dollars to the deficit.

4 Feb 2011

Truth or false? Fact-checker examines health reform claims from Senate debate

Video excerpts from the Senate floor also offer a taste of the heated discussion surrounding the GOP-led effort to repeal the health overhaul.

4 Feb 2011

WorkSafeBC fines VIHA for failure to protect healthcare staff

WorkSafeBC has issued nine separate orders at two Victoria-area mental health facilities criticizing the failure of Vancouver Island Health Authority to protect the safety of staff.

4 Feb 2011

And the oversight committee investigations begin...

Making good on a promise to investigate funding, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., launched an inquiry into the comparative effectiveness research budget.

4 Feb 2011

After the ruling: States grapple with implementation decisions

Experts continue to analyze the potential meanings and impacts of a federal judge's ruling earlier this week that the health law is unconstitutional and states find themselves in the hotseat as they make plans to move forward or stall their implementation progress.

4 Feb 2011

Health law: Senate Judiciary hearing offers preview of possible Supreme Court arguments

Senate Democrats held a hearing Wednesday at which Senators and witnesses debated the constitutionality of the health overhaul.

4 Feb 2011

Roundup: N.Y., Texas, Calif. Medicaid plans spark protests; Conn. nursing homes; Fla. Medical Board

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's effort to strip lawmakers of power over the state's Medicaid program is facing a barrage of criticism in both houses and parties. Lawmakers on Wednesday described the governor's Medicaid proposal as an intrusion on their powers and said they would block it from becoming law.

4 Feb 2011

Congress moves to consider foreign aid spending cuts

On Thursday, House Republicans are expected to "announce fiscal 2011 spending caps," CQ reports. "Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., is slated to reveal the top-line discretionary spending limits ... for the remainder of the fiscal year under unprecedented power that the GOP majority gave him in January. House leaders have said they are aiming to make $55 billion to $60 billion in cuts, while a more conservative faction is pushing for $100 billion in cuts. It is unclear where Ryan's numbers will fall," the publication reports.

4 Feb 2011

The 'catastrophic' experience: Is the past prologue?

A president uses his pulpit to call for health reform, but initial agreement over the need for change eventually descends into partisan bickering.

4 Feb 2011

House Republicans consider new Medicare limits

House Republicans are debating whether to propose new limits on the growth of Medicare and other entitlement programs, weighing a gamble that voters are more concerned about trimming the federal deficit than holding on to promised benefits (Hook, 2/3).

4 Feb 2011

Does trend toward consolidation risk health care cost controls?

Beyond the legal challenges, a major new hurdle is emerging for the health care reform law. Recent studies show that the major players in the health care marketplace - insurers, hospitals and physician practices - are consolidating, which increases the likelihood they will collude on prices charged to employers and to consumers and defeat cost control measures in the law.

3 Feb 2011

Health Care News and Research

44% of seniors receive lower Social Security checks this year compared to 2010

Preventive dental care could lead to lower overall dental expenses for older Americans

FAO Food Price Index reaches new high in January

Study highlights link between food insufficiency, health care use among homeless adults

RNAO calls on Ontario political parties to address nurses shortfall

Obama administration contemplates requirement that insurers offer free contraceptives

Viewpoints: Dem lawmakers on fighting repeal; Debating Judge Vinson's impact; Medicaid cuts

Truth or false? Fact-checker examines health reform claims from Senate debate

WorkSafeBC fines VIHA for failure to protect healthcare staff

And the oversight committee investigations begin...

After the ruling: States grapple with implementation decisions

Health law: Senate Judiciary hearing offers preview of possible Supreme Court arguments

Roundup: N.Y., Texas, Calif. Medicaid plans spark protests; Conn. nursing homes; Fla. Medical Board

Congress moves to consider foreign aid spending cuts

The 'catastrophic' experience: Is the past prologue?

House Republicans consider new Medicare limits

Does trend toward consolidation risk health care cost controls?

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