Pacific Rim

Wal-Mart Increases Corporate Giving by 25 Percent
   Despite the weak economy, Wal-Mart has increased its global corporate giving by 25% in its last fiscal year, which ended on Jan. 31. Wal-Mart distributes more than $423 million in cash and in-kind gifts -- a $85.6 million year-over-year increase in giving.
posted 4/10/09 12:33 PM  read complete story

CMS Issues Agent Compensation Requirements MA, Rx Drug Programs
   The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued revised compensation requirements for sales agents and brokers who sell Medicare Advantage and prescription drug benefit plan options to people with Medicare. This CMS interim final rule with comment period modifies regulations issued on Sept. 18.
posted 11/10/08 2:56 PM  read complete story

NIA to Fund Research on Older Cancer Patients
   The grants will support translational research in the overlapping areas of aging and cancer, linking basic and clinical research relevant to older cancer patients through both bench to bedside and bedside to bench approaches.
posted 9/12/08 4:14 PM  read complete story

Report Details CMS Failure To Provide Oversight Of Part D Marketing Materials
   A new, scathing report by the Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG), titled "Marketing Materials for Prescription Drug Plans," catalogs numerous failures by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to oversee Part D prescription drug benefit marketing materials, as required by law.
posted 9/5/08 08:42 AM  read complete story

What Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries Should Expect And Do
   Each fall, the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) notify certain individuals, who are receiving "Extra Help" (also called the Low-Income Subsidy or LIS) paying for their Part D drugs, of their status with respect to that benefit for the following year as well as their status with respect to their Part D plan.
posted 9/5/08 08:03 AM  read complete story

Low Levels Of Brain Chemical May Lead To Obesity, NIH Study Shows
   A brain chemical that plays a role in long term memory also appears to be involved in regulating how much people eat and their likelihood of becoming obese, according to a National Institutes of Health study of a rare genetic condition.
posted 8/28/08 10:54 AM  read complete story

Grant Awarded To Continue Work Of Advancing Excellence Campaign
   The Steering Committee of the Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes campaign it has received a grant of more than $474,000 from The Commonwealth Fund to build on the momentum the Campaign has achieved in its first two years of work. This grant was awarded to enhance the Campaign's capacity to lead quality improvement efforts, reach out to nursing homes that have not yet joined, and maintain progress toward meeting improvement targets.
posted 8/28/08 10:13 AM  read complete story

Cost Slowing For Hospital Patient Care, Government Data Shows
   The cost of patient care in U.S. hospital rose just under 1% between 2005 and 2006, much slower than the average 5.3% per year between 1997 and 2005, according to the latest numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality. However, over the nine-year period from 1997 to 2006, the overall cost for stays in the hospital nearly doubled from $177 billion to $329 billion.
posted 8/28/08 09:50 AM  read complete story

Study Finds Most Patients Can Drive Safely Six Weeks After Bunion Surgery
   Six weeks following bunion surgery, most patients’ pain levels are so low that they are able to get back behind the wheel of a car again. A study published in the August 2008 issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery also found that emergency brake time response in patients who underwent a first metatarsal osteotomy (a common surgical treatment for bunions) is similar to that of healthy individuals just six weeks later.
posted 8/27/08 12:04 PM  read complete story

Part D Premiums to Rise 12% in 2009
   The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announce a 12% increase to $28 a month in Part D premiums for 2009 but the agency press release leads with the fact it is 37% lower than the $44.12 that was forecasted when the Medicare Modernization Act was passed in 2003.     &n...
posted 8/19/08 11:51 AM  read complete story