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First Edition: April 15, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about the Medicare provisions in the budget plan released last week by President Barack Obama as well as previews of the Supreme Court's consideration of arguments regarding whether human genes can be patented.

15 Apr 2013

Sebelius: Insurance exchanges 'on track;' Premiums could rise for higher income Medicare beneficiaries

News outlets covered HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' appearance Friday before the House Ways and Means Committee, which included questions about insurance exchanges, the cost of Medicare premiums and the health law's requirement that small businesses provide health plans or face penalties.

15 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: Progress toward a 'grand bargain'; States' 'rare chance' to expand Medicaid

Obama has acknowledged that the federal budget is on an unsustainable path. ... The president has set the right contours for a deal, and some of the specific proposals - including higher Medicare premiums for high-income seniors and those with generous Medigap policies, as well as a more aggressive effort to move providers to more efficient payment systems - are welcome (4/11).

15 Apr 2013

State highlights: Baby boomers eye expanding end-of-life rights in states across nation; Calif. judges threaten governor with contempt of court over prison care

Claudia Burzichelli doesn't want to die like her dad. … In states across the country, including New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, graying baby boomers have been lobbying lawmakers in recent months at hearings, in letters and by phone, pushing to make it legal for doctors to prescribe life-ending drugs to terminally ill patients.

15 Apr 2013

Research roundup: Lesson for insurance exchanges from Europe; Health care disparities among Hispanics

As states and the federal government begin creating insurance exchanges under the health law, researchers highlight several lessons from Switzerland and the Netherlands.

15 Apr 2013

In the wake of Obama's budget, signs of optimism and discontent

Even as House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., expressed cautious optimism about some aspects of President Barack Obama's budget plan, others, like Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., took a harder line against it. Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will take to Capitol Hill to defend her agency's budget request.

15 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 12, 2013

Today's headlines include reports about a new study measuring how the health law has expanded young adults access to care.

12 Apr 2013

Baylor University study shows acute dose of alcohol may cause greater impairment in elderly

An acute dose of alcohol may cause greater impairment in coordination, learning and memory in the elderly than in young people, according to a study by Baylor University.

12 Apr 2013

Obama's $3.7 trillion spending plan would squeeze $370B from Medicare

Despite the White House's effort to find middle ground, news outlets report that its proposal to raise $580B by limiting tax benefits for top earners is angering some Republicans, while cuts to entitlement programs are angering some Democrats.

11 Apr 2013

Analysis: 1 in 5 seniors with Medicare Advantage plans receive prescription for high-risk medication

More than 1 in 5 seniors with Medicare Advantage plans received a prescription for a potentially harmful "high risk medication" in 2009, according to a newly published analysis by Brown University public health researchers.

11 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: Looking for the budget's true bottom line; The debate on Plan B reignited; Medicare cuts have impact

President Obama will release his overdue budget on Wednesday. It will doubtless project a reduction in the federal budget deficit - a projection that journalists, commentators and policy makers should ignore.

10 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: Drugging soldiers; GOP opposition to Medicaid expansion strays from party legacy; Health law distorts market

Last year, more active-duty soldiers committed suicide than died in battle. ... Worse, according to data not reported on until now, the military evidently responded to stress that afflicts soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan primarily by drugging soldiers on the front lines.

9 Apr 2013

Obama's budget expected to call for Medicare cuts

n advance of the release of President Barack Obama's fiscal blueprint on Wednesday, an adviser warned friends and foes that the plan includes things neither will like. The budget plan is expected to kick off new discussions about trimming entitlements and revamping the nation's safety net.

9 Apr 2013

Study examines relationship between elder abuse, health services utilization

Older adults who are subject to elder abuse, neglect and exploitation face a greater risk of being hospitalized than other seniors, according to the results of a study published in the April 8 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine.

9 Apr 2013

Being overweight in young adulthood may increase risks of kidney disease in older age

Being overweight starting in young adulthood may significantly increase individuals' risks of developing kidney disease by the time they become seniors, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

5 Apr 2013

Despite discovery of sight-saving drugs, AMD still causes severe vision loss in older Americans

Age-related macular degeneration continues to be the leading cause of visual impairment in the United States for people over age 65, according to a study recently published online in Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

4 Apr 2013

Roundup: Feds cut N.Y. Medicaid payments $1.2B; 93,000 fewer kids enroll in CHIP in Pa.; W. Va. lawmakers promise miners benefits

Federal authorities have dramatically lowered the amount that New York state can claim from the federal government for certain medical services, costing the state an estimated $1.2 billion.

3 Apr 2013

Feds boost rather than cut payments to Medicare Advantage plans

The insurance industry won a major lobbying victory Monday after the Obama administration backtracked on an earlier plan to cut Medicare Advantage payments to insurers by 2.2 percent in 2014 and instead decided to give them a 3.3 percent increase.

3 Apr 2013

First Edition: April 2, 2013

Kaiser Health News consumer columnist Michelle Andrews answers readers' questions about the new marketplaces where consumers can buy 2014 health policies as part of the federal health law. (Andrews, 4/2).

2 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: 'Big risks' of buying private insurance with Medicaid dollars; One month of sequestration

The Obama administration and Republican officials in several states are exploring ways to redirect federal money intended to expand Medicaid, the main public insurance program for the poor, and use it instead to buy private health insurance for Medicaid recipients.

2 Apr 2013

Seniors News and Research

First Edition: April 15, 2013

Sebelius: Insurance exchanges 'on track;' Premiums could rise for higher income Medicare beneficiaries

Viewpoints: Progress toward a 'grand bargain'; States' 'rare chance' to expand Medicaid

State highlights: Baby boomers eye expanding end-of-life rights in states across nation; Calif. judges threaten governor with contempt of court over prison care

Research roundup: Lesson for insurance exchanges from Europe; Health care disparities among Hispanics

In the wake of Obama's budget, signs of optimism and discontent

First Edition: April 12, 2013

Baylor University study shows acute dose of alcohol may cause greater impairment in elderly

Obama's $3.7 trillion spending plan would squeeze $370B from Medicare

Analysis: 1 in 5 seniors with Medicare Advantage plans receive prescription for high-risk medication

Viewpoints: Looking for the budget's true bottom line; The debate on Plan B reignited; Medicare cuts have impact

Viewpoints: Drugging soldiers; GOP opposition to Medicaid expansion strays from party legacy; Health law distorts market

Obama's budget expected to call for Medicare cuts

Study examines relationship between elder abuse, health services utilization

Being overweight in young adulthood may increase risks of kidney disease in older age

Despite discovery of sight-saving drugs, AMD still causes severe vision loss in older Americans

Roundup: Feds cut N.Y. Medicaid payments $1.2B; 93,000 fewer kids enroll in CHIP in Pa.; W. Va. lawmakers promise miners benefits

Feds boost rather than cut payments to Medicare Advantage plans

First Edition: April 2, 2013

Viewpoints: 'Big risks' of buying private insurance with Medicaid dollars; One month of sequestration

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