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Boomers face dearth of home caregivers; Medicare expands home-care pilot project

As baby boomers age, the U.S. will face a challenge trying to fill more than 1 million new home care positions to meet their needs, The Associated Press reports. In the meantime, Medicare is adding more groups to a pilot program aimed at lowering costs for Medicare beneficiaries by providing them with home-based care.

14 Aug 2012

Highlights: New reports of problems at Parkland Hospital in Dallas; Mammogram rates did not rise under expanded Mass. coverage

Federal safety monitors produced a harsher critique of Parkland Memorial Hospital's reform efforts than recently portrayed by the hospital, finding ongoing dangers to patients from a botched surgery, medication errors and emergency care failures. Those problems, cited in a June compliance report obtained by The Dallas Morning News, were not disclosed in a Parkland summary released to The News two weeks ago.

12 Aug 2012

Medicare payments for anemia drug too high; Feds seek fix to glitch that denies some hospitalized beneficiaries coverage for follow-up nursing home care

The U.S. health-care system is vastly overspending for a single anemia drug because Medicare overestimates its use by hundreds of millions of dollars a year, according to an analysis of federal data. The overpayment to hospitals and clinics arises because Medicare reimburses them based on estimates rather than the actual use of the drug.

12 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 10, 2012

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, in collaboration with The Washington Post, Susan Jaffe writes: "Concerned that a growing number of seniors have been unexpectedly forced to pay thousands of dollars for nursing home care after a stay in a hospital, Medicare has launched a pilot project to test whether relaxing its hospital payment rules could help beneficiaries".

10 Aug 2012

An Obama administration rule modification causes angst for home health workers

An uneasy sense of deja vu is building among advocates for nearly 2 million workers who help the elderly and disabled live independently in their homes.

9 Aug 2012

Roundup: Seeking medical malpractice alternatives part of Mass. cost control law; Low-Income Health Program signs up 400k in Calif.

It may not seem like big news, but if you've followed the long-running, stubborn and mostly dug-in debate over reforming medical malpractice in the U.S., you know that when doctors and lawyers issue a joint news release, something is really going on. ... Formally, it's called "Disclosure, Apology and Offer" and it's a key provision of the new state health cost law. Massachusetts doctors and lawyers have agreed to work side by side on this less hostile (and potentially cost-saving) approach to dealing with medical errors and malpractice.

9 Aug 2012

Home health care demand increases as baby boomers age

Demand for home health care workers is soaring as baby boomers - the 78 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 - get older and states try to save money by moving people out of more costly nursing homes.

6 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 6, 2012

Today's headlines include a progress a report about health insurance exchanges as well as news from the campaign trail.

6 Aug 2012

Research roundup: Massachusetts health reform; Role of race and insurance in kidney transplantation

Access to Care After Massachusetts' Health Care Reform: A Safety Net Hospital Patient Survey -- Policy analysts have long said that Massachusetts and its 2006 health reform law provide great insight into the federal health law and how its expansion of insurance coverage will play out.

3 Aug 2012

State roundup: N.Y. law requires coverage for partial mastectomy

New York's newest laws include one that will require health insurance to cover reconstructive surgery after partial mastectomies. Health insurers in New York must already cover the cost of reconstructive surgery after a full mastectomy (8/2).

3 Aug 2012

Home is where the heart is for congenital defect children

The American Heart Association recommends that children with a congenital heart defect deemed as being at high risk for developmental disorders are treated under a “medical home” model of care.

3 Aug 2012

Roundup: N.J. public may decide if judges should pay more for health care; Ore. Medicaid experiment to launch; Uncertainty around Va. abortion clinic rules

The New Jersey State Assembly is set to consider a measure that would allow voters to decide whether New Jersey judges should pay more for their pensions and health benefits. The state Supreme Court ruled last week that judges don't have to contribute more toward pensions and health care despite a new law requiring them to do so. The court said the law diminishes judges' salaries, which are protected by state law.

31 Jul 2012

First Edition: June 30, 2012

Today's headlines include recent reports about both the policies and politics related to the health law's implementation.

30 Jul 2012

Dementia patients allowed to live at home thanks to new research program

A Johns Hopkins research program that brought resources and counselors to elderly Baltimore residents with memory disorders such as dementia significantly increased the chance they could continue to live successfully at home, a preference for most of them.

19 Jul 2012

Agencies place unqualified, possibly criminal caregivers in homes of vulnerable seniors

If you hire a caregiver from an agency for an elderly family member, you might assume the person had undergone a thorough criminal background check and drug testing, was experienced and trained for the job.

11 Jul 2012

Humana acquires national chronic-care provider, SeniorBridge

Humana Inc. announced today it has completed its acquisition of SeniorBridge, a national chronic-care provider best known for providing in-home care management and caregiving services for seniors.

9 Jul 2012

Roundup: Feds rank Texas last in health care delivery; Mass. health care costs eat almost 43 percent of state budget

Texas ranked dead last in the federal government's latest report card on the delivery of health services, falling short in areas ranging from acute hospital care to home treatment of the chronically ill. Texas scored 31.61 -- less than half of top-ranked Minnesota's 67.31 -- out of a possible 100 points in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality annual rankings.

7 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Coherent GOP plan for health care; Dems need better 'sales pitch' for health law

Hostility toward the Supreme Court has risen sharply since Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. upheld the Obama health care law. People are apparently angry that the court didn't rid them of a law they detest. But that's silly. If Americans want to replace this thing, they should do it themselves. ... Moreover, there are alternatives. Despite what you've read, there is a coherent Republican plan.

4 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Pressure on states to move on exchanges; Roberts' decision holds off new calls for public option

Now that the health care reform law has been ruled constitutional, it is imperative that as many states as possible move aggressively to establish a centerpiece of the reform structure: new insurance policy exchanges for people who lack affordable coverage through an employer. Federal subsidies will be available for those with low or moderate incomes.

3 Jul 2012

State roundup: Bumpy managed care transition in Calif.

A selection of health policy stories from California, Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Minnesota.

2 Jul 2012

Home Care News and Research

Boomers face dearth of home caregivers; Medicare expands home-care pilot project

Highlights: New reports of problems at Parkland Hospital in Dallas; Mammogram rates did not rise under expanded Mass. coverage

Medicare payments for anemia drug too high; Feds seek fix to glitch that denies some hospitalized beneficiaries coverage for follow-up nursing home care

First Edition: August 10, 2012

An Obama administration rule modification causes angst for home health workers

Roundup: Seeking medical malpractice alternatives part of Mass. cost control law; Low-Income Health Program signs up 400k in Calif.

Home health care demand increases as baby boomers age

First Edition: August 6, 2012

Research roundup: Massachusetts health reform; Role of race and insurance in kidney transplantation

State roundup: N.Y. law requires coverage for partial mastectomy

Home is where the heart is for congenital defect children

Roundup: N.J. public may decide if judges should pay more for health care; Ore. Medicaid experiment to launch; Uncertainty around Va. abortion clinic rules

First Edition: June 30, 2012

Dementia patients allowed to live at home thanks to new research program

Agencies place unqualified, possibly criminal caregivers in homes of vulnerable seniors

Humana acquires national chronic-care provider, SeniorBridge

Roundup: Feds rank Texas last in health care delivery; Mass. health care costs eat almost 43 percent of state budget

Viewpoints: Coherent GOP plan for health care; Dems need better 'sales pitch' for health law

Viewpoints: Pressure on states to move on exchanges; Roberts' decision holds off new calls for public option

State roundup: Bumpy managed care transition in Calif.

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