Aging News Alert

American Samoa

 

Quaker Oats Announces New Grant Program to Help Combat Hunger

As part of its Quaker Go Project, Quaker Oats has announced a new grant program to support people working to combat hunger at the community level. This is a great opportunity for Meals on Wheels programs and other nutrition-related projects that serve seniors. But you need to get moving right away. Deadline for submissions is March 31.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Seniors To Comprise Japan’s Largest Consumer Group By 2020

Japan’s senior citizens will comprise that nation’s largest consumer group by the year 2020, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. says in a recent report. ``The elderly will play a leading role in Japan's domestic consumption,'' the report says. People 70 and older will account for approximately 20% of consumption in Japan, up from 13% in 2005.

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Nursing Home Payment Rates Increased; RUGs Recalibration To Be Studied Further

Medicare payment rates to nursing homes will increase by $780 million next year, officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services(CMS) say. The boost in payments is the result of a 3.4% increase in the annual market basket calculation of the cost of goods and services included in a skilled nursing facility stay. The price of the items in the basket is measured every year and Medicare payments are adjusted accordingly.

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Telephone Equipment Available For Hearing Impaired

Many states have established programs to provide basic telecommunications services for Hard of Hearing, Deaf, Deaf/Blind, and Speech Impaired individuals. Equipment such as amplified telephones, signalers, TTYs, cordless phones are just a sampling of what is available.

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AoA Announces Nursing Home Diversion Funding Opportunity

U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aging Josefina Carbonell on July 1 announced the availability of $13 million to support state efforts to help individuals with long-term care needs to avoid unnecessary nursing home placement.

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CMS Adds Source To Help Determine Coverage For Anti-Cancer Drugs

CMS has provided additional updates to the information it uses in determining which drugs may be covered under Medicare Part B when used to treat patients undergoing cancer treatment through chemotherapy.

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Boomers Face Massive Loss Of Retirement Wealth Due To Housing Meltdown

Former GAO Comptroller General David Walker testified Tuesday before the House Budget Committee about a proposed commission to cut Social Security and Medicare for future retirees. However, as Congress debates this issue, members should take into account the financial situation of near retirees.

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LTC Facilities Required To Have Sprinkler Systems

Long-term care facilities such as nursing homes across America will, for the first time, have to protect their residents by installing sprinkler systems throughout their buildings if they wish to continue to serve Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, under a new regulation to be issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Facilities will have a five-year phase-in period to be fully compliant with the new rule.

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IRS Begins Summer Push To Reach Retirees, Disabled Veterans

The Internal Revenue Service has launched a new summer campaign to reach those retirees and disabled veterans who qualify for the economic stimulus payment but have not filed to claim it. Newly released statistics released indicate about 74% in this group are accounted for in the stimulus payments currently being sent, leaving about 5.2 million potential recipients remaining.

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Study: Regular Exercise Program Can Help Delay Aging

A new study showing that maintaining aerobic fitness through middle age could delay biological aging by 12 years underscores the benefits of incorporating even a modest exercise program into one's daily routine, says the American Physical Therapy Association.

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New Book Offers Non-Financial Tips For Retiring Boomers

Just released is "What's Next in Your Life?", a guide to the non-financial aspects of retirement written by Joan Strewler-Carter and Stephen Carter, co-founders of the Life Options Institute, an organization dedicated to helping people plan for life beyond age 50.

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Home Depot Launches Housing Impact Grants Program

Preference will be given to requests that engage community stakeholders and result in building or rebuilding houses and/or apartments that are affordable to individuals/families earning a modest income (typically 80% or less of the area median income).

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Women With Osteoporosis Seen Not Doing Enough To Stay 'Strong To The Bone'

A new nationwide survey conducted by Harris Interactive of over 1,000 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis found that about one in three women had not currently been prescribed medication and more than half reported they do not know enough about this potentially serious disease.

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Everything You Wanted To Know About DMEPOS Bidding But Were Afraid To Ask

Experts at the Washington, DC-based Center for Medicare Advocacy tackle the current controversy swirling around the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' requirements for a new competitive bidding program for certain Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies.

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SSA Adding New Retirement Benefits Calculator To Online Tools

The Social Security Administration intends to add a new calculator to its online Benefit Calculators suite. The Retirement Estimator will allow authenticated individuals to calculate estimates of potential retirement benefits in real-time.

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Tips To Help Protect Non-Traditional Families Facing Retirement

The MetLife Mature Market Institute is making a series of tips available to consumers, particularly those who are not in "traditional families," to help them make the right choices about how to prepare for retirement, despite the challenges they face. "Family Matters: Retirement Preparation Tip...

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Ad Campaign Launched To Encourage Men's Health Awareness

The Department of Health & Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality AHRQ has joined with The Advertising Council to launch a national public service campaign designed to raise awareness among middle-aged men about the importance of preventive medical testing.

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Plastic Surgery On The Rise Among Baby Boomers

Despite increasing consumer demand for less invasive procedures for facial rejuvenation, facelifts are making a comeback with female and male baby boomers.

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Second Year Of Community College Caregiver Training Grants Launched

The critical lack of family and paraprofessional caregivers for older adults in the United States has motivated renewal of the Community College Caregiver Training Initiative for a second year.

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1,000 Mayors Deliver Meals to Seniors

Mayors across the country today (March 19) joined the fight to end senior hunger by delivering meals to the homebound elderly with their local Meals On Wheels program.

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Violence-Related Hospital Admissions on the Rise

Some 27% of violence-related hospitalizations in 2005 were for Medicare enrollees.

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Alzheimer's Caregiving Award Gets Funded

The Family Caregiver Alliance's National Center on Caregiving has been awarded a grant from The Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Foundation to oversee an awards program to recognize innovation in programs benefiting caregivers.

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Is Nursing Home Culture Change Coming to the For-Profit Sector?

A new report from the Commonwealth Fund discusses results of a 12-month evaluation of Beverly Healthcare's resident-centered care initiative -- one of the nation's largest nursing home chains.

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Applications Open For 2008 Livable Communities Award

AARP and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) are calling for entries for the second annual Livable Communities Award.

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FAQs Added To Gateway To Older Americans Act 2006 Amendments

The Admin. on Aging's online Gateway to the Older Americans Act 2006 Amendments now includes Frequently Asked Questions, as well as the opportunity for users to submit their own questions regarding the 2006 Amendments.

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CMS Proposes Coverage With Evidence Development for Artificial Heart Devices

CMS is proposing coverage with evidence development of artificial heart devices. The agency proposes to cover artificial heart devices in Medicare beneficiaries who are enrolled in Food & Drug Admin.-approved studies.

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Osteoporosis Education Tool Kit Available

The Alliance for Aging Research has developed a new resource to educate women about osteoporosis, also known as porous bone disease.

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Program Focuses on Older Adults' Mental Health

The Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Admin.'s Center for Mental Health Services seeks applicants for its Older Adults Targeted Capacity Expansion Grant Program.

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Groups Offer Plan To Strengthen Long-Term Care

Some of the nation's leading long-term care organizations gathered this week in Washington, DC, to warn consumers and policymakers about the severe long-term care crisis.

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Group Says Study on Independent Pharmacy Reimbursements Will

"This report will raise eyebrows among policymakers who have been led to believe that independent pharmacists were in dire straits because of the Medicare drug benefit," says PCMA President and CEO Mark Merritt.

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White Papers Focus on Tech's Effect on Aging

A nonprofit senior housing company in Minnesota offers two new white papers examining how technology is changing the face of aging in America.

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CMS to Expand Secret Shopper Program in 2008

CMS will be expanding its secret shopper program this year to check up on the marketing and sales of Medicare Part D prescription drug plans, as well as Medicare Advantage policies.

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Directory of Grants for Social Services

Many of your peers already have ordered these valuable publications. Don't get left behind! Click here to order the Social Service Directory for only $85Click here to order the Children & Youth Directory for only $69These new directories detail hundreds of freshly-researched priva...

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Depression Seen Hardest on the Elderly

"Depression kills not just through suicide," says Barry Lebowitz, director of treatment research at the National Institute of Mental Health.

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