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First Edition: December 19, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including reports about the "fiscal cliff" negotiations.

19 Dec 2012

Clock is ticking for insurance exchange implementation

The idea of a health insurance exchange as laid out in President Barack Obama's signature law seems straightforward: an online marketplace where people will shop for private health insurance, like buying an airline ticket or a hotel room.

19 Dec 2012

Workers, employers, elderly and hospitals all worried about effects of fiscal cuts

As negotiations drag on to cut federal debt, many groups are concerned about how potential changes in spending will affect them.

19 Dec 2012

18 states plan to operate their own health exchanges

The deadline for states to inform the federal government if they would operate healthcare exchanges under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law was December 14.

19 Dec 2012

Medicare issues in play: IPAB, the doc-fix and the eligibility age

News outlets report on how specific Medicare-related proposals and provisions are holding up in the continuing negotiations to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.

19 Dec 2012

Obama, Boehner trade 'fiscal cliff' offers, express optimism about possible deal

President Barack Obama's latest offer does not include a Republican proposal to increase the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports on how health care spending is driving the nation's debt, while USA Today details a new poll showing the public favors the president in the fiscal talks.

19 Dec 2012

Roundup: Minn. court rules relatives deserve same pay for personal care attendant work; Colo. governor wants $18.5M for expanded mental health care

The state's effort to reduce pay for some personal care attendants has hit a snag. The Minnesota Appeals Court ruled Monday that the state's attempt to pay PCAs who care for relatives 20 percent less than other personal care attendants is unconstitutional. "They have the same training, they have the same experience, they're limited to the same number of maximum hours," said attorney David Bradley Olsen, who represents 11 agencies and several personal care assistants who sued over the matter.

19 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Krugman says cuts in social security better than Medicare option; Governors refusing to set up exchanges are not 'federalist hypocrites'

All at once, a "fiscal cliff" deal seems to be coming together. ... On the spending side, the Democrats' headline concession will be accepting chained-CPI, which is to say, accepting a cut to Social Security benefits. Beyond that, the negotiators will agree to targets for spending cuts.

19 Dec 2012

Legal settlement paves way for Medicare to cover more home care

For years, Medicare recipients with chronic conditions have had difficulty qualifying for home health services administered by nurses and therapists.

18 Dec 2012

Marketplace changes: Hospitals work on insurance arms; Walgreen eyes hospice business

A growing number of hospital systems are moving to start their own insurance plans, aiming to broaden their roles and prepare for the changes coming under the federal health-care overhaul. Piedmont Healthcare and WellStar Health System, both in the Atlanta area, are set to announce a jointly owned insurance arm, with the goal of marketing coverage to employers and Medicare recipients in 2014.

18 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Raising Medicare's entitlement age doesn't save money; New anti-fraud efforts

Looking for ways to slow the growth of entitlement programs, budget negotiators in Washington are considering making seniors wait two years longer to qualify for Medicare - from age 65 to 67. Many Republicans have endorsed the idea, noting that Medicare beneficiaries now live far longer on average than they did when Congress created the program in 1965.

18 Dec 2012

Boehner offers tax increases in exchange for $1 trillion in cuts to social benefit programs

The latest offer by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, is seen as progress in the negotiations between Congress and the White House, but in return Boehner is asking for significant cuts in Medicare and other programs.

18 Dec 2012

System to curb Medicare fraudulent payments saves $115 million

A highly touted new technology system designed to stop fraudulent Medicare payments before they are paid has saved about $115 million and spurred more than 500 investigations since it was launched in the summer of 2011, according to a report released Friday.

17 Dec 2012

Democrats wary of Medicare benefits cuts being discussed in fiscal talks

Talk of hiking costs for wealthier beneficiaries and increasing the program's eligibility age appear to make some Democrats nervous, and may be causing difficulties in the Democratic caucus.

17 Dec 2012

Survey shows health care costs projected to increase at slower pace

Projected cost increases for all types of medical plans are anticipated to be down by between 0.2 and 0.6 percent through the first half of 2013, according to a survey by Buck Consultants, A Xerox Company.

17 Dec 2012

First Edition: December 17, 2012

Today's headlines include weekend updates regarding the fiscal cliff negotiations as well as news regarding states' decisions on health exchanges.

17 Dec 2012

Three critical illness factors independently associated with increased risk of dementia

Older people often worry about dementia and while some risks are known, for example alcoholism or stroke, the effects of illness are less clear. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care looks at illness requiring hospitalization and treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) and finds that infection or severe sepsis, neurological dysfunction, such as delirium, or acute dialysis are all independently associated with an increased risk of a subsequent diagnosis of dementia.

17 Dec 2012

Medicare News and Research

First Edition: December 19, 2012

Clock is ticking for insurance exchange implementation

Workers, employers, elderly and hospitals all worried about effects of fiscal cuts

18 states plan to operate their own health exchanges

Medicare issues in play: IPAB, the doc-fix and the eligibility age

Obama, Boehner trade 'fiscal cliff' offers, express optimism about possible deal

Roundup: Minn. court rules relatives deserve same pay for personal care attendant work; Colo. governor wants $18.5M for expanded mental health care

Viewpoints: Krugman says cuts in social security better than Medicare option; Governors refusing to set up exchanges are not 'federalist hypocrites'

Legal settlement paves way for Medicare to cover more home care

Marketplace changes: Hospitals work on insurance arms; Walgreen eyes hospice business

Viewpoints: Raising Medicare's entitlement age doesn't save money; New anti-fraud efforts

Boehner offers tax increases in exchange for $1 trillion in cuts to social benefit programs

System to curb Medicare fraudulent payments saves $115 million

Democrats wary of Medicare benefits cuts being discussed in fiscal talks

Survey shows health care costs projected to increase at slower pace

First Edition: December 17, 2012

Three critical illness factors independently associated with increased risk of dementia

Raising the Medicare eligibility age is difficult issue for Democrats

Partisan differences persist on taxes and Medicare, other entitlement programs

Genesee Health Plan joins Disparities and Cardiac Health Program initiative

Advancing Neuroscience Research Through Collaboration and Patient-Centered Innovation

The impact of vibration on microscopy

How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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