Stories by Week

AARP Urges Treasury To Issue Immediate, Temporary Freeze On Mandatory Retirement Account Withdrawals As things now stand, Americans aged 70½ and over are required to take distributions from their retirement accounts based on the fair market value of their account on the last day of the previous year. Given the overall decline in the stock market, this could force older Americans to make a choice between taking a withdrawal that was calculated based on much higher values in retirement accounts or facing a high tax penalty. Login to see complete story
11/03/2008 07:19 AM

Advocacy Groups Hopeful Obama Admin., Congress Will Result in Help for Elderly Advocacy groups for the elderly are at least hopeful, if not optimistic, that the election of Barack Obama as president and an increase in Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress will result in important reforms, especially in Medicare. Login to see complete story
11/06/2008 08:16 AM

CMA Urges President-Elect Obama To Embrace Medicare Caring for elders, disabled people and families is an American value. For decades the public Medicare program has honored these values, bringing health and economic security to millions of older and disabled people and their families, says Judith Stein, executive director at the Center for Medicare Advocacy's Connecticut office. The new president should make the preservation and expansion of Medicare, as a vital social insurance program, a top domestic priority, she says. Login to see complete story
11/06/2008 4:48 PM

Medicare’s New Rules for Oxygen Therapy Are Alarming, Says AA Homecare Medicare’s new regulations for providing home oxygen therapy to seniors are alarming and wholly inadequate, according to the American Association for Homecare. The Association expects that approximately one-third of all patients who rely on the Medicare home oxygen benefit will be affected by the new rules, which address the 36-month cap on home oxygen payments. Login to see complete story
11/03/2008 07:42 AM

NEMA Backs CMS Plan To Reconsider Docs’ 2009 Fee Schedule The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) is strongly supporting a decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to reconsider the agency’s proposed physician fee schedule for 2009, which would have drastically limited patient access to diagnostic medical testing, including life-saving medical imaging technologies. Login to see complete story
11/06/2008 07:57 AM

Social Security Privatization Supporters Take A Beating In '08 Elections For eight long years while the Social Security and Medicare programs were under attack by the Bush administration, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare (NCPSSM) led a national education and advocacy campaign to broaden nationwide opposition to the privatization movement and its supporters. The results of those years of NCPSSM efforts are in, the Committee's leadership says. Login to see complete story
11/05/2008 2:35 PM

Capitol Hill

Key Senator Probes AARP About Questionable Marketing Of Health Insurance Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is asking the AARP to account for the way its marketing materials for a product it calls health insurance fails to limit policy holders’ exposure to the potentially high cost of a serious illness. Grassley says the AARP materials include examples of medical expenses, but the examples are misleading and do not reflect how the policy would actually work in a typical situation. Login to see complete story
11/04/2008 07:59 AM

Courts

Federal Court Blocks Bush's 'Least Expensive Treatment' Policy A federal court has blocked a Bush administration attempt to cut Medicaid costs by only paying for the least expensive treatment for a beneficiary's ailment. In the ruling, D.C. District Court Judge Henry Kennedy Jr. said that Congress, not the administration, sets Medicare payment rates and that Congress never intended to give HHS officials broad discretion to change them. Login to see complete story
11/04/2008 3:02 PM

Justices Hear Opening Arguments In Healthcare-Related Product Liability Case The U.S. Supreme Court this week heard opening arguments in Wyeth v. Levine, a case that could determine whether patients will be able to file product liability lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies in state courts. The case involves Diana Levine, who lost her hand and forearm to gangrene after she received an injection of the nausea medication Phenergan into an artery during what is known as "push" intravenous injection, which tends to be more potent, producing a much faster result than a traditional injection. Login to see complete story
11/05/2008 3:19 PM

Funding Opportunities

Annenberg Foundation Funds Projects Serving Elderly People Established in 1989 by the late publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg, the Annenberg Foundation provides funding and support to nonprofit organizations in the United States and globally through its headquarters in Radnor, PA and offices in Los Angeles. Its major program areas are education and youth development; arts, culture and humanities; civic and community; health and human services; and animal services and the environment. Additionally, the Foundation operates a number of initiatives which expand and complement these program areas. Login to see complete story
11/03/2008 1:54 PM

Medicare/Medicaid

CMS Issues Home Health Prospective Payment System Notice Medicare payments to home health agencies will increase by an estimated additional $30 million next year as a result of a 2.9% increase in the annual market basket calculation of the cost of goods and services included in providing services under the Home Health Prospective Payment System. Login to see complete story
11/03/2008 07:47 AM

CMS Unveils Incentive Program for E-Prescribing Technology Under this new program, which was included in the new Medicare law in July, physicians who use e-prescribing technology to deliver medication prescriptions to pharmacies will be eligible for a 2% increase in their Medicare payments. Login to see complete story
11/04/2008 2:58 PM

Home Healthcare Agencies to Get Medicare Payment Increase The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says it will increase Medicare payments on average to home health agencies in 2009 and will take action to remedy inappropriate outlier cases in which providers bill Medicare unusually large amounts. Login to see complete story
11/04/2008 3:09 PM

Special Open Door Forum: Part B Providers, Recovery Audit Contractor CMS on Nov. 13 will host a Special Open Door Forum for Part B provider recovery audit contractors (RACs). The purpose of this forum -- which will be by conference call only -- is to introduce providers to the new contractors and provide more information about the RAC program. Login to see complete story
11/03/2008 07:40 AM

Message From The Editor

The Obama Effect: How Will It Affect You? Our newest Special Report -- The Obama Effect: How the New Administration and Congress Will Affect You -- is now available FREE to paid subscribers of any CD Publications online news service. This important report contains more than 30 pages of insightful analysis and in-depth reporting, and includes dozens of interactive links that provide you with instant access to even more information critical to you and the future of your enterprise. Login to see complete story
11/07/2008 12:13 PM

Research and Reports

Genomic Dragnet Finds Clues To Likely Suspects In Alzheimer’s Until now, only one gene variant, ApoE-4, has been implicated in such late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Its involvement was also confirmed in the new study. Yet this variant, and three others implicated in early-onset Alzheimer’s, account for only 30% of the genetic risk for the disorder, which is up to 80 percent heritable. Login to see complete story
11/07/2008 08:37 AM

Retirement

PBGC Unveils Maximum Insurance Benefit For 2009 The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) has unveiled the maximum insurance benefit for participants in underfunded pension plans terminating in 2009. The new maximum is $54,000 per year for those who retire at age 65, up from $51,750 for 2008. The amount is higher for those who retire later and lower for those who retire earlier or elect survivor benefits. Login to see complete story
11/04/2008 07:43 AM

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