| Story of the Week |
(LOBBYING) Armey's Ties to Anti-Healthcare Reform Group Forces His Resignation at DLA Piper
Informed sources tell Aging News Alert that former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX), who had been a top-level policy adviser at lobbying firm DLA Piper, decided to leave on his own accord because "it was in the best interest" of the firm. DLA Piper lobbies on behalf of several key industry players that have publicly announced support for healthcare reform. Armey heads FreedomWorks, a conservative group that has repeatedly been linked to disruptive protesters -- many of them seniors -- who have been infiltrating town hall meetings and interrupting Democratic congressional members when they attempt to discuss with constituents the healthcare reform issue. Login to see complete story
08/17/2009 5:57 PM
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(ON THE TUBE) 'Meet the Press' Focus on Healthcare Turns Raucous over Seniors, Medicare
The ongoing debate over healthcare reform continues growing hotter, with representatives from both sides this past weekend clashing in a virtual war of words. Perhaps the most raucous exchange of ideas came during NBC's "Meet the Press" show, as former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-TX) -- now chairman of the conservative group FreedomWorks – exchanged verbal broadsides with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschele (D-SD), and Rachel Maddow, host of the MSNBC's liberal-oriented "Rachel Maddow Show." The discussion became particularly contentious when both sides raised the issue of healthcare for seniors, comparing the current reform efforts with the debate of the mid-1980s surrounding Medicare. Login to see complete story
08/17/2009 12:45 PM
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(SEBELIUS) 'Public Option' Alive and Well, Living at the White House
If the so-called "public option" is off the table in the ongoing legislative debate about healthcare reform, the Obama administration apparently is unaware of it. Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told an audience gathered Tuesday (Aug. 18) in Washington, DC for a conference sponsored by the Administration on Aging that the public option is very much alive. Login to see complete story
08/18/2009 2:19 PM
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| Courts |
(DC CIRCUIT) Supreme Court Ruling on Age Discrimination Tilts Juror Rights Case in DC
If you were wondering how a recent Supreme Court decision on age discrimination might impact labor law, wonder no more. A federal judge on Friday (Aug. 21) referred to the High Court's decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services as she ruled against a woman who sued Washington, DC under the city's juror protection law. Login to see complete story
08/21/2009 5:23 PM
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| Federal Agencies |
(DRUG ABUSE) Hey, Boomer … Haven't You Grown Out of That by Now?
OK, maybe we smoked a little pot in college, and perhaps we experimented a time or two with "stronger stuff," but most of us eventually got past our fascination with illegal drugs. Most of us, but apparently not all of us. As it turns out, a lot of baby boomers (Americans in the generation born between 1946 and 1964) are continuing to use illegal drugs as they grow older, and this is causing the rate of illegal drug use to rise within the 50- to 59-year-old age segment of the population. Login to see complete story
08/20/2009 3:24 PM
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(HHS) Sebelius Urges More Seniors Involvement to Curb Medicare Fraud
Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, speaking before a large audience gathered Tuesday (Aug. 18) in Washington, DC, for the Administration on Aging's Annual Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) Conference, lauded the government's ongoing efforts aimed at curbing healthcare fraud and encouraged more seniors to become active participants in the crime-stopping initiative. Login to see complete story
08/18/2009 2:03 PM
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(IDENTITY THEFT) Rule Requires Individuals Be Notified of Breaches of Health Information
New regulations requiring healthcare providers, health plans, and other entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) to notify individuals when their health information is breached were issued Wednesday (Aug. 19) by the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). These "breach notification" regulations implement provisions of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, passed as part of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Login to see complete story
08/19/2009 4:35 PM
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(PANDEMIC) Health Workers Seen as Especially Vulnerable to Swine Flu Outbreak
Senior Obama administration officials are warning U.S. businesses to take precautionary steps aimed at preventing the spread on the H1N1 influenza virus (a.k.a., swine flu). While the warnings are being directed at all business, special focus is given to the healthcare industry and, in particular, healthcare workers. Login to see complete story
08/19/2009 3:16 PM
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| Fitness & Health |
(FOOT CARE) Diabetes Causes 60% of All Non-Traumatic Lower Limb Amputations
With nearly 25 million Americans already diagnosed, America is in the throes of a diabetes epidemic that's quickly gaining in momentum. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one out of every three children will develop diabetes sometime in their life. But the reality is especially grim for mature Americans. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 12.2 million adults over 60 currently suffer from diabetes. Login to see complete story
08/19/2009 5:23 PM
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| Funding Opportunities |
(GRANTS) Proposals Sought for 'Relatives as Parents' Program
The Brookdale Foundation Group is requesting proposals for its "Relatives as Parents Program" (RAAP), a funding initiative designed to encourage the creation and/or expansion of services for grandparents and other relatives who have taken on the responsibility of surrogate parenting when the biological parents are unable to do so. Login to see complete story
08/21/2009 12:30 PM
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| Healthcare Reform |
(FORUM) Experts Tie Medicare Reform to Healthcare Reform
There are many myths about healthcare reform and one is that you can't reform Medicare without taking on a wide range of issues, C. Eugene Steuerle, vice president of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, tells an Aug. 20 forum in Wshington, DC. Login to see complete story
08/21/2009 08:40 AM
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(TOWN HALL) Healthcare Reform to Include Strengthening Medicare, Obama Says
President Barack Obama continued his push-back against critics of healthcare reform, telling a large audience of supporters gathered Thursday (Aug. 20) for a town hall meeting at Democratic National Headquarters in Washington, DC, that the reform effort will include measures aimed at strengthening Medicare."We are going to make Medicare more efficient, guaranteeing today's seniors better benefits than they have right now," he said. Login to see complete story
08/21/2009 2:53 PM
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| Innovation |
(BRIEFING PAPER) Technologies Benefiting Seniors Could Save Billions Annually
The Oakland, CA-based Center for Technology & Aging has just released a briefing paper -- "Technologies To Help Older Adults Maintain Independence: Advancing Technology Adoption" -- describing seven technology areas with significant potential of improving chronic healthcare and increasing the independence of older adults while also reducing healthcare costs. Login to see complete story
08/20/2009 2:51 PM
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| Medicare/Medicaid |
(INCENTIVES) Medicare Demos Show Paying for Quality Healthcare Pays Off
Demonstrations conducted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services continue to provide strong evidence that offering financial incentives for improving or delivering high quality care increases quality and can reduce the growth in Medicare expenditures. Emergence of this evidence is particularly important in light of the ongoing debate about healthcare reform. Numerous opponents of the reform effort have argued against the kind of experimental policies now being undertaken by CMS linking the delivery of quality healthcare services with monetary incentives. Login to see complete story
08/17/2009 3:31 PM
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| Nursing Homes |
(QUALITY OF CARE) For-Profit Nursing Homes Faulted for Lower Staffing, More Bedsores
A major new statistical review of 82 individual research studies reveals that nonprofit nursing homes deliver, on average, higher quality care than for-profit nursing homes. The findings are important and could have a significant impact on the current debate about the role of for-profit firms in U.S. health reform. Login to see complete story
08/19/2009 2:06 PM
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| Research and Reports |
(CDC) Life Expectancy at All Time High; Death Rates Reach New Low
If you're one of those people who doubts people are living longer now than ever before, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has just released some new data you should consider. According to CDC, life expectancy in the United States has now reached nearly 78 years (77.9), and the age-adjusted death rate has dropped to 760.3 deaths per 100,000 population -- and both sets of numbers are new records. Login to see complete story
08/20/2009 3:10 PM
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(HOSPITAL DISCHARGES) Medicare Patients Found to be Increasingly Leaving Hospitals against Docs' Advice
The number of hospital stays that ended with patients leaving against the advice of medical staff increased from 264,000 cases to 368,000 -- about 39% between 1997 and 2007, according to the latest numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ). And at least 27% of those patients were Medicare beneficiaries, AHRQ said. Login to see complete story
08/19/2009 2:18 PM
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