Stories by Week

(HOSPITAL QUALITY) Renown Consumer Publication to Launch Online Hospital Ratings System The Consumer Federation of America's (CFA) independent publication, Consumer Reports, is about to launch an online tool designed to provide patient satisfaction ratings for more than 3,400 hospitals across the United States. CR's new website, which goes "live" Monday (Aug. 3), in many respects will mirror one already in existence and operated by the federal government's Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) -- Hospital Compare. The difference, CFA sources tell Aging News Alert, is "user friendliness." Login to see complete story
07/31/2009 12:45 PM

Advocacy

(REFORM) Proposed Medicare Advisory Organization Could Help and Hurt, Advocacy Group Warns As healthcare expenditures continue to rise, the Obama administration and Congress are looking at avenues to contain costs and ensure a sustainable healthcare system. To date, three separate proposals have been offered that would turn decision-making about major aspects of the Medicare program over to non-elected bodies of providers, economists and other experts -- presumably in order to make tough cost-savings decisions. Login to see complete story
07/31/2009 09:07 AM

Capitol Hill

(SENATE) Legislation Aims to Strengthen Oversight of Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. A group of Democratic senators is pushing legislation aimed at improving governance and oversight of the government's Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). In introducing the bill, Sens. Herb Kohl (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and Russ Feingold (D-WI) contend the measure addresses recent questions concerning the PBGC's capability to fulfill its mission to insure the pensions of nearly 44 million Americans. Login to see complete story
07/31/2009 11:33 AM

Funding Opportunities

(AWARDS) AFAR Offers Junior Investigator Cash Award for Aging Heart Research The American Federation of Aging Research is accepting applications for the AFAR-GE Healthcare Junior Investigator Award for Excellence in Aging Heart Research. The award was established to coincide with AFAR's scientific conference, "The Aging Heart: A Roadmap to Cardiac Independence," which is scheduled for Oct. 6 in New York City. Login to see complete story
07/27/2009 10:23 AM

(HRSA) $200 Million Becomes Available to Expand Health Professions Training The Department of Health & Human Service is about to make available $200 million to underwrite grants, loans, loan repayment, and scholarships in an effort to expand the training of healthcare professionals. The funds are part of the $500 million allotted to HHS' Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) to address workforce shortages under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Login to see complete story
07/28/2009 2:33 PM

Housing Assistance/Funding

(CONGRESS) Reverse Mortgage Program Facing Funding Gap The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program administered by the Federal Housing Administration could be facing a significant budget shortfall if more money isn't slipped into the proposed HUD FY2010 appropriations bill by lawmakers this week. Login to see complete story
07/29/2009 3:39 PM

Medicare/Medicaid

(HOME HEALTH) Payment Changes for Home Health Services Proposed The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing a 2.2% home health market basket update to the home health prospective payment system (HH PPS) rates for calendar year (CY) 2010. Also, as part of ongoing efforts to address potential fraud and abuse with regards to outlier payments under the HH PPS, the agency is proposing modifications to its outlier policy. Login to see complete story
07/31/2009 10:59 AM

(HOSPICE) CMS Unveils Final Wage Index Changes for Medicare Hospice Benefit Hospices serving Medicare beneficiaries will see a 1.4% increase in their payments for fiscal year 2010 according to a final regulation released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The hospice payment increase is the net result of a 2.1% increase in the "hospital market basket," an indicator of input price increases, offset by a 0.7% decrease in payments to hospices due to CMS' revised policy to phase out its wage index budget neutrality factor. Login to see complete story
07/31/2009 10:31 AM

Message From The Editor

(CONTEST) Win a Free 6-Month Subscription to the News Service of Your Choice This summer, CD Publications, publisher of a variety of continuously updated online news services -- including Aging News Alert -- is giving away 12 six-month subscriptions with multi-user access for up to four users. This free giveaway is worth more than $5,000! Login to see complete story
07/28/2009 1:10 PM

Readers Help Line

(ONLINE HELP) How to Use Our Service The email alerts you receive from us are not the sum total of the service to which you subscribed. Those alerts are intended as courtesy messages letting you know when new content has been posted to the online news service. You do not have to wait until you receive an email alert from us in order to access your subscription. You can access your subscription any time you wish -- 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week. You can, of course, access the service from the email alerts as well. But you need to log in first. Login to see complete story
07/31/2009 2:35 PM

Research and Reports

(OBESITY) Study Finds Medicare Pays for Half of Obesity-Related Illness Amid calls for health reform, real cost savings are more likely to be achieved through reducing obesity and related risk factors -- especially among older adults, find the authors of a just-released study sponsored by Project HOPE, a Bethesda, MD-based nonprofit foundation dedicated to health diplomacy. Login to see complete story
07/27/2009 1:38 PM

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