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Obama admits Healthcare.gov problems, but says health law is bigger than the Web site

In a Rose Garden speech, President Barack Obama said there was "no excuse" for the bungled rollout of the online health insurance marketplaces and promised that the difficulties would be ironed out.

23 Oct 2013

CCTSI receives $48.4M grant from NIH to continue seamless, safe translation of biomedical research

Research has found that what is most important to an aging senior citizen is independence. A collaborative study through the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) and the Center for African American Health is working with African American women to discuss the importance of walking.

23 Oct 2013

Learning mentally challenging skills may help improve memory in older people, says study

Seniors who step outside their comfort zones could be enhancing their memories beyond those who stick with what they know.

22 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: HHS officials must tell Congress, citizens what is happening to marketplaces; 'rate shock' didn't materialize; problems with medical credit cards

The Affordable Care Act's botched rollout has stunned its media cheering section, and it even seems to have surprised the law's architects. The problems run much deeper than even critics expected, and whatever federal officials, White House aides and outside contractors are doing to fix them isn't working. But who knows? ... Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is even refusing to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in a hearing this coming Thursday. ... The department is also refusing to make available lower-level officials who might detail the source or sources of this debacle (10/18).

22 Oct 2013

Program helps at-risk seniors in rural communities prepare for health emergencies

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in three adults age 65 and older falls at least once every year. These falls can result in moderate to severe injuries, such as hip fractures and head traumas, and can increase the risk of early death. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has found a way to help older adults who live independently better prepare for health emergencies.

22 Oct 2013

DOH releases SPHHS study investigating prescribing of antipsychotics to District seniors

The District of Columbia Department of Health has released a study by the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services investigating prescribing of antipsychotics to District seniors.

21 Oct 2013

Research: Learning mentally demanding skill likely to improve cognitive functioning

Older adults are often encouraged to stay active and engaged to keep their minds sharp, that they have to "use it or lose it." But new research indicates that only certain activities - learning a mentally demanding skill like photography, for instance - are likely to improve cognitive functioning.

21 Oct 2013

Community health awareness delivered by paramedics leads to 32% reduction in EMS calls

Emergency Medical Service (EMS) staff are accustomed to responding to emergencies. A study presented today at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress finds they may be able to prevent many emergencies as well, judging by the preliminary success of a pilot project at a Hamilton building for seniors.

19 Oct 2013

As budget talks resume, parties may face tough decisions on Medicare, other entitlements

With the ink hardly dry on the deal providing short-term funding to reopen the government and to raise the debt ceiling, negotiators dived into the next round of fiscal talks. Media reports cast doubt on the possibility of a grand bargain, while Medpage Today suggests the latest deal muddled the prospects for an SGR fix.

19 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 18, 2013

Today's headlines include stories about how Medicare might fit into the next round of budget talks.

18 Oct 2013

Hospitals try new tactics to reduce hospital falls

The nation's medical workforce grapples with preventing falls in the hospital to improve patient safety. In the meantime, seniors in some places of the country are more likely to fill prescriptions for high-risk drugs, and Miami's seniors lead the nation in filling Medicare prescriptions.

18 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 17, 2013

Today's headlines include reports and analyses of the Capitol Hill deal to raise the debt limit and reopen the federal government, as well as the latest developments regarding the health law's federal and state health insurance exchanges.

17 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: Young people could spark needed entitlement changes; Priebus demands that Sebelius go; GOP's 'absurd debate' on Hill health coverage

Eventually this shutdown crisis will end. And eventually the two parties will make another stab at a deal on taxes, investments and entitlements. But there's one outcome from such negotiations that I can absolutely guarantee: Seniors, Wall Street and unions will all have their say and their interests protected. So the most likely result will be more tinkering around the edges, as our politicians run for the hills the minute someone accuses them of "fixing the deficit on the backs of the elderly" or creating "death panels" to sensibly allocate end-of-life health care.

17 Oct 2013

Where seniors live affects their health care and the medications they get

The Associated Press examines how geography can make a key difference in the treatments that Medicare beneficiaries receive. Other outlets look at the annual open enrollment period for Medicare prescription drug plans. USA Today reports that thousands who rely on nursing home trust funds have had their savings mismanaged or stolen.

17 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 16, 2013

Today's headlines including stories detailing how certain health law provisions are factoring in to the continuing congressional budget stalemate.

16 Oct 2013

Viewpoints: 'False hysteria' over health law's part-time criteria; marketplaces 'flunk' initial test; Ben Carson's surprising assessment

The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, has had a difficult launching, but the more serious challenges for the law relate not to glitch-filled Web sites but rather to its possible long-term effects on the United States economy. The law is not likely to last if it imposes a severe drag on growth and job creation, or involves large costs obscured by the legislative gimmicks used to shape the scoring of the bill by the Congressional Budget Office. Indeed, Casey B. Mulligan has discussed the negative effects of the legislation on the American labor market in a series of posts on Economix, while the policy expert Charles Blahous explains in detail why the "fiscally reckless" legislation will aggravate the already difficult federal and state fiscal situations (Philip Swagel, 10/14).

16 Oct 2013

Medicare open-enrollment begins: Seniors should carefully consider new options

Officials are cautioning seniors to stay away from the health law's new online marketplaces -- as open-enrollment season begins for Medicare managed care and prescription plans.

16 Oct 2013

First Edition: October 15, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about how the budget deal taking shape in the Senate would not derail the health law, but would include some tweaks.

15 Oct 2013

Medicare open enrollment starts Tuesday

Beneficiaries are encouraged to take a close look at their options during their upcoming enrollment period, which is separate from the sign-up in the health law's marketplaces.

15 Oct 2013

GOP lawmakers probe marketplace bugs

Republicans on both sides of the Capitol are investigating technical problems with the health law's online health insurance marketplaces -- with one senator going so far as to call for the resignation of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Others bemoan the lost opportunity to publicize the balky rollout because public attention was focused instead on the government shutdown.

15 Oct 2013

Seniors News and Research

Obama admits Healthcare.gov problems, but says health law is bigger than the Web site

CCTSI receives $48.4M grant from NIH to continue seamless, safe translation of biomedical research

Learning mentally challenging skills may help improve memory in older people, says study

Viewpoints: HHS officials must tell Congress, citizens what is happening to marketplaces; 'rate shock' didn't materialize; problems with medical credit cards

Program helps at-risk seniors in rural communities prepare for health emergencies

DOH releases SPHHS study investigating prescribing of antipsychotics to District seniors

Research: Learning mentally demanding skill likely to improve cognitive functioning

Community health awareness delivered by paramedics leads to 32% reduction in EMS calls

As budget talks resume, parties may face tough decisions on Medicare, other entitlements

First Edition: October 18, 2013

Hospitals try new tactics to reduce hospital falls

First Edition: October 17, 2013

Viewpoints: Young people could spark needed entitlement changes; Priebus demands that Sebelius go; GOP's 'absurd debate' on Hill health coverage

Where seniors live affects their health care and the medications they get

First Edition: October 16, 2013

Viewpoints: 'False hysteria' over health law's part-time criteria; marketplaces 'flunk' initial test; Ben Carson's surprising assessment

Medicare open-enrollment begins: Seniors should carefully consider new options

First Edition: October 15, 2013

Medicare open enrollment starts Tuesday

GOP lawmakers probe marketplace bugs

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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