Aging News Alert

Iowa

 

Retirement Community Redevelopment Set to Break Ground

Deerfield Retirement Community, located in Urbandale, IA, is set to break ground on a redevelopment project designed to best position the community for the growing and dynamic population of older adults.

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CNL Healthcare Properties Expands Senior Housing Portfolio

The portfolio now includes five Windsor properties totaling 204 units, all in Iowa.

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Iowa Senior Meals Telethon Raises $100K

The five-hour telethon was organized in an effort to stave off a pending 80,000-meal cut to the agency's food program due to increases in production and delivery costs, increased need, decreased voluntary contributions and stagnant federal funding.

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CNL Healthcare Trust Invests More than $40 Million in Senior Housing

The $21.6 million to-be-built assisted living and memory care community, HarborChase of Villages Crossing, will be located in Lady Lake, FL adjacent to The Villages, the largest retirement community in the country.

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Council Bluff's Customized Frozen Meal Program Offers Seniors More Choice

The five-day meal packs are delivered directly to the client's home on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis. Each meal meets one-third of federally-approved dietary guidelines, is approved by a registered dietitian, and is prepared fresh by Treat America Food Services.

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Life Care Services to Manage The Forum at Rancho San Antonio

Life Care Services has entered into an agreement to provide management services to The Forum at Rancho San Antonio in Cupertino, CA beginning in the summer of 2012. The Forum is a full-service cooperative continuing care retirement community on a 54-acre

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(BEST OF THE BEST) Iowa Agency Uses SCSEP Grant to Help Seniors Find Jobs

More than 40 participants in Iowa Department on Aging's Senior Internship Program (SIP) program found work in fiscal year 2011, a great success story at a time when each and every job counts.

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(ADULT EDUCATION) Agency Steps In To Save Lifelong Learning Program

The program, now called Institute for Learning and Fun, was formerly associated with the Hawkeye Community College. It provides learning and social opportunities geared toward persons over 50 years of age, but is open to persons of any age.

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(BEST OF THE BEST) Iowa AAA Recognized For Food Bank Partnership

Each month, food from the Northeast Iowa Food Bank warehouse is packed into boxes by volunteers. From there, volunteer drivers deliver the boxes to low-income housing complexes and seniors centers.

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(BEST OF THE BEST) Iowa Agency Nabs National Honor for Pet Assistance Program

Iowa's Heritage Area Agency on Aging's pet assistance program has been recognized by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) with an Aging Innovations Award, the highest honor presented by n4a. The agency's Tails-a-Waggin Pet Assistance Program helps older adults care for their companion pets.

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(GRANTS) Private Funder Favors Aging-Related Programs, Services

Generally speaking, grant funding is limited to areas of company operations in Des Moines and Dubuque, IA; East Metro, MN; North Brunswick, NJ; Luray and Page Counties, VA; Dunn County, Menomonie, and St. Croix Valley, WI; and some national and international organizations.

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(SENATE) Grassley, Kohl Seek HHS Action in Physician Payment Sunshine Implementation

While some drug and medical device makers are preparing to meet the new requirements, because of the lack of clear guidance from the federal government, they are preparing payment data in non-uniform ways, causing the material to be difficult for the public to use.

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(IOWA) State Ombudsman For The Elderly Shakes Free Of Silencing Effort

After coming under fire from advocates for the elderly as well as the federal government, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver (D) has issued an executive order moving the long-term care ombudsman's office out of the state's Department on Aging. According to sources closely following this issue, Iowa was violating a provision in the Older Americans Act aimed at ensuring that states' chief advocates for the elderly are allowed to perform their duties independently and without interference from other governmental entities.

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(PARKINSON'S DISEASE) Iowa State Researchers Move Closer to a Cure for Parkinson's

Parkinson's disease sufferers, most of whom are over 50-years old, lack a sufficient amount of a brain chemical called dopamine. And because the disease typically affects people over the age of 50, the National Institutes of Health anticipates the incidence of Parkinson's will increase as the nation's population ages. Now, researchers at Iowa State University have found an essential key to possibly cure Parkinson's disease and are looking for others.

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(GRANTS) AoA Makes Available Disaster Assistance for State Units on Aging

The Administration on Aging (AoA) is seeking grant applications to provide disaster reimbursement and assistance funds to state-level units on aging (SUAs) and tribal organizations that are currently receiving grants under Title VI of the Older Americans Act (OAA). Some $500,000 is being made available for this program, and AoA plans to make up to seven awards.

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(CONGRESS) Grassley: Medicare Should Recoup Dollars Lost to Overpayment, Stop Additional Losses

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, wants the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to respond to findings by the Department of Health & Human Services' Office of Inspector General (OIG) that durable medical equipment suppliers and others businesses receiving Medicare payments owe taxpayers debts of $352 million from 2005 and $402 million from 2006, for overpayments.

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There Are Hidden Dangers Lurking in American Homes

Family is cherished and when it comes to protecting them -- let's face it, we'll pull out all the stops. Unless, of course, they're at risk of unknown danger right in their own homes, like 47% of U.S. adults may be by not being able to name even one ingredient in the cleaners they're using throughout their homes or the nearly one in five parents (18%) who do not take steps to safeguard their families from toxic ingredients in some household cleaners.

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Senators Resurrect Bill To Add Transparency To 401(K) Plan Management Fees

Sens. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Herb Kohl (D-WI), chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, have reintroduced legislation aimed at protecting American workers by ensuring they can access information on the cost of 401(k) plans' management fees. The proposed "Defined Contribution Fee Disclosure Act of 2009" would require 401(k) plan providers to disclose all fees so that workers saving for retirement can make a fully informed decision about which plan is best for them.

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Baucus, Grassley Unveil Legislative Discussion Draft Focusing On Medicare Purchasing Program

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have produced a bipartisan discussion draft of legislation that would establish a value-based purchasing program for inpatient hospital care in the Medicare program. The senators’ proposal would take steps to link Medicare payments to the quality of care patients receive rather than just the number of services a hospital provides.

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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.

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Boomers Ready To Serve, AARP Research Shows

In an effort to better understand the civic behaviors and attitudes of Americans and to help ground the research in the stories and perspectives of the boomer and silent generations, AARP commissioned a series of focus groups and a nationally representative survey of Americans ages 44-79 ("Experienced Americans").

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Grassley Presses FDA On How Agency Chose Studies Used To Assess BPA Safety

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is holding the Food & Drug Administration’s collective feet to the fire, demanding that FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach explain how the agency selected the studies it is using to assess the safety of the chemical Bisphenol A -- a.k.a. BPA -- a chemical commonly found in plastics used in containers for food and beverages.

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CMS: Iowa, Indiana Waivers Expire

In June 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance which addressed Medicare's Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) benefit's statutory requirement of a three-day prior hospital stay and the inability of beneficiaries who were evacuated or transferred as a result of the serious flooding in the states of Iowa and Indiana to meet this requirement. This guidance provided temporary emergency coverage of SNF services that are not post-hospital SNF services under our authority in section 1812(f) of the Social Security Act, for those beneficiaries who are evacuated, transferred, or otherwise dislocated as a result of the flooding.

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Congressional Leaders Call For Greater Oversight Of Pension Fund Investments

Key members in both the House and the Senate are reacting strongly in the wake of a recently released report from the Government Accountability Office that uncovered increasing levels of investment by private pension plans in hedge funds and private equity funds. These investment vehicles have lower levels of liquidity, less transparency, are more financially unpredictable, and have greater levels of risk than traditional investments, GAO says.

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CBO Updates Long-Term Projections For Social Security

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) regularly prepares long-term projections of the future paths of revenues and outlays for the Social Security program. In its latest report, CBO presents projections for the 75-year period from 2008 through 2082. The projections differ somewhat from earlier results because of newly available programmatic and economic data, updated assumptions about future demographic and economic trends, and improvements in CBO’s models.

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Research Finds America's Elderly Suffering Abuse

A new study concludes that nearly 13% of America's aged citizens suffer some form of abuse. Specifically, 9% of adults reported they have suffered from verbal mistreatment, 3.5% suffer financial mistreatment, and 0.2% suffer physical mistreatment.

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Report Finds Medical Tourism Option Not Just for Wealthy Patients

Heart surgery, hip replacements and rhinoplasty are offered in countries such as India, Costa Rica, Turkey and Thailand for only a half to one-fifth of the cost in the United States. In fact, cross-border travel for major medical procedures has evolved into a global phenomenon, according to Herrick.

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FDA Warns Consumers About Potential Problems At Two Baltimore Pharmacies

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers who filled prescriptions at The Medicine Shoppe pharmacies located at 8035A Liberty Road and 5900 Reisterstown Road in Baltimore that they may have received drugs that were either expired or suspected counterfeit. The FDA is particularly concerned because a number of the drugs are for serious diseases and could have an adverse effect on treatment.

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National Center for Assisted Living Names 2008 Award Recipients

The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) has named the 2008 recipients of the Noble Caregiver in Assisted Living, the NCAL Administrator of the Year, and the National Assisted Living Week Programming Award. The winners represent what NCAL describes as "the best in the nation in the assisted living profession."

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Covert Probe Exposes Serious Weaknesses In CMS' Oversight Of DMEPOS

Investigators from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have uncovered serious flaws in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service's (CMS) oversight of suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS). GAO investigators easily set up two fictitious DMEPOS companies using undercover names and bank accounts. GAO's fictitious companies were subsequently approved for Medicare billing privileges despite having no clients and no inventory.

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EPA Calls Out Nation's Largest Manufacturer Of Hospital Disinfectants

Consumers should never have to second-guess information on product labels, and through a recent settlement between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Lonza Inc., the nation's largest manufacturer of hospital disinfectants -- many of which are used in nursing homes and other elder care facilities -- consumers will now assuredly be getting what they pay for.

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CMS Moves To Improve Payment Accuracy For Inpatient Rehab Services

CMS has issued a final rule aimed at improving the accuracy of payment for services furnished to people with Medicare who need the intensive rehabilitation services provided by Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs). These include patients who are recovering from serious illnesses or injuries, such as stroke, spinal cord injuries, severe burns, amputations and a number of other conditions.

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GAO Finds Continuing Problems Resolving Part D Drug Plan Complaints

A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds that almost three years after the Part D drug program went into effect, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services still faces significant and continuing problems resolving complaints and grievances filed by seniors and the disabled. The report was requested by Reps. Pete Stark (D-CA), Henry Waxman (D-CA), John Dingell (D-MI), Charles Rangel (D-NY), and Frank Pallone (D-NJ), and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

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Study Finds Surgical Errors Cost Nearly $1.5 Billion Annually

Potentially preventable medical errors that occur during or after surgery may cost employers nearly $1.5 billion a year, according to new estimates by the Department of Health & Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ). In a just released study, AHRQ researchers Drs. William Encinosa and Fred Hellinger found that insurers paid an additional $28,218 (52% more) and an additional $19,480 (48% more) for surgery patients who experienced acute respiratory failure or post-operative infections, respectively, compared with patients who did not experience either error.

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Groups Pleased with Reverse Mortgage Changes in Housing Bill

As a far-reaching housing bill passes the House and is poised to do the same in the Senate, representatives from AARP and the Nat'l Reverse Mortgage Lenders Assn. are all smiles with the measure's proposed changes specific to mortgage options for 62+ homeowners.

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Groups Pleased with Reverse Mortgage Changes in Housing Bill

As a far-reaching housing bill passes the House and is poised to do the same in the Senate, representatives from AARP and the Nat'l Reverse Mortgage Lenders Assn. are all smiles with the measure's proposed changes specific to mortgage options for 62+ home

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Hearing Focuses On Sudden Rise In 401(k) Loans, Policies To Reduce Savings Loss

The Senate Special Committee on Aging, chaired by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), heard testimony Wednesday (July 16) on reducing 401(k) leakage caused by loans and withdrawals, which can result in a substantial loss in retirement savings.

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Durbin: Do More To Protect Identities Of Medicare Card Holders

Sen. Dick Durbin wants the Department of Health & Human Services to detail its response to a report criticizing the policy of listing Social Security numbers on Medicare identification cards. In a letter to HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt, Durbin highlighted the risk that listing Social Security numbers poses to Medicare beneficiaries and asked for an explanation of steps that are being taken to eliminate the numbers from Medicare cards.

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Report On Illegal Garnishment Of Senior Benefits Draws Senatorial Fire

Sens. Herb Kohl (D-WI), Max Baucus (D-MT), and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) are reacting harshly to a report released by the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General (SSA-OIG) on the degree to which large and small banks are engaging in the federally prohibited practice of garnishing government benefits on behalf of creditors, and assessing fees on bank accounts into which Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and veterans benefits are electronically deposited.

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Proposed Rule Jeopardizes Nursing Home Quality, AHCA Says

The American Health Care Association (AHCA), in formal comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), says the agency's proposed rule on the Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System (SNF PPS) for FY 2009 jeopardizes quality in the nation's nursing homes. AHCA's comme...

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Senate Republicans Blasted For Failing To Support Medicare Bill

Last night, the Senate, in a 58-40 vote, fell two votes short of the 60 votes needed to bring the bill to the Senate floor for an up-or-down vote. Earlier in the week, the House of Representatives passed the same bill with a vote of 355-59, a margin well in excess of the two-thirds necessary to override a threatened veto by President Bush.

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Seniors Reject Cutting Medicare Advantage To Fund Docs' Payment Fix

Regardless of whether they are enrolled in traditional Medicare or Medicare Advantage, most seniors oppose cutting the Medicare Advantage program to fund the Medicare physician payment fix and believe cuts to Medicare Advantage will have a negative effect on seniors, a new survey finds.

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Dual Eligibles, Government Seek Court OK On Part D Case Settlement

A nationwide class of Medicare beneficiaries who are also eligible for Medicaid and the Secretary of Health & Human Services today (June 19) filed a formal settlement agreement in federal court in San Francisco. The parties have asked the court to approve the settlement, a process that is expected to take several months.

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AoA Provides Disaster Assistance To Iowa Dept. of Elder Affairs

The Administration on Aging AoA has awarded $50,000 to the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs to assist older individuals and families impacted by record flooding, which began in May 2008.

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HHS Moves To Help Medicare Beneficiaries, Providers In Iowa, Indiana

Health & Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt has declared a public health emergency in the flood-stricken states of Iowa and Indiana. The action gives HHS' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Medicare beneficiaries and their healthcare providers greater flexibility in meeting emergency health needs.

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Grassley Seeks FDA Scrutiny of Paxil Suicide Risk

Finance Committee Ranking Member Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) wants the Food & Drug Administration to scrutinize information it received from drug maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) about the anxiety disorder drug Paxil -- an anxiety disorder drug used by hundreds of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries.

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World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Set For June 15

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, set for Sunday, June 15, is an opportunity to focus much needed international attention on the problem. Every community and organization that participates will intensify the message that "our elders deserve better."

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Republicans Introduce Their Version Of Medicare Funding Bill

The measure was introduced today (June 11), and -- as Aging News Alert predicted -- includes language that virtually parallels that of the Democrats, delaying a Bush administration proposal to cut physician Medicare reimbursements by 10% beginning June 30.

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Minnesota Ruling May Limit Tax-Exempt Status For Nonprofits

With waning budgets at the state and federal levels, officials are questioning the logic of tax-exempt status for all nonprofits, which is worrisome for the sector because many are struggling despite receiving the benefit.

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BenefitsCheckUp.Org Makes Older Americans Month Last All Year Long

While Older Americans Month may conjure up images of healthy older adults playing tennis, gazing at the horizon from a cruise ship or sitting happily with their grandchildren, many older Americans in this country do not fit that stereotype.

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Online Meeting To Focus On Culture Change In Nursing Homes

The Picker/Commonwealth Fund Quality of Care for Frail Elders program and the Pioneer Network on Monday, May 19, will co-host an online meeting, "Culture Change in Nursing Homes: How Far Have We Come?"

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Rule Would Delay Revisions In Payment Plan For LTCHs

CMS unveils its interim final rule aimed at implementing certain provisions of Sec. 114 of the Medicare, Medicaid, & SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 regarding long-term care hospitals.

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Undoing The Early Social Security Benefits Option

If you or someone you know opted to take Social Security benefits before reaching full retirement age and now regret having done so, there may be an answer.

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House OKs Measure To Halt CMS-Backed Medicaid Reductions

The U.S. House of Representatives, by a vote of 349-62, passes important, bipartisan legislation which would impose one-year moratoria on seven Medicaid regulations which advocates view as highly detrimental to care of America's most vulnerable seniors.

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Eight States To Get NCOA Grants

The National Council on Aging is making grants available to eight states to improve access among older adults to the Stanford Chronic Disease Self-Management Program.

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Senate Aging Panel Hears Recommendations On Long-Term Care

The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living tells a Senate panel that adequate governmental financing will remain a key factor in the ability of providers to meet the rising demand for care among a progressively older, higher acuity patient population.

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Need Info on Health & Aging? Have We Got A Deal For You

The American Geriatrics Society Foundation for Health in Aging publishes tip sheets on Health & Aging that can be downloaded and used in health fairs, education with elders, etc.

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EEOC Rule May Mean Second Class Status for Some Medicare Beneficiaries

As a result of new rules adopted by the EEOC, advocates will need to monitor the trend in retiree coverage and be familiar with Medicare protections available to beneficiaries when employer coverage is reduced or eliminated.

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Set Clocks Forward on March 9

Remember to set your clocks forward one hour on Sunday, March 9.

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Special Economic Stimulus Letters Reach Mailboxes in March

More than 130 million American households will begin receiving Internal Revenue Service letters next week reminding them to file a 2007 tax return in order to receive a 2008 economic stimulus payment.

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More Consumers Buying Medicines Via Mail

Of Americans who buy prescription drugs, the proportion that purchase them from mail order pharmacies rose from just under 9% in 2000 to just over 13% in 2005, according to the new data from the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality.

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Grassley, Kohl Propose Nursing Home Legislation

Proposed legislation is dsigned to improve quality of care in nursing homes nationwide.

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Labor Dept. Proposes Update for FMLA

The U.S. Department of Labor is proposing to update its regulations under the 15-year-old Family & Medical Leave Act to help workers and their employers better understand their rights and responsibilities.

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Grassley Probes Paxil Maker GlaxoSmithKline

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, wants drug maker GlaxoSmithKline to furnish the panel with documents regarding the antidepressant medication Paxil

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Senate Panel Posturing To Reform MA Plans

The Senate Finance Committee plans to continue monitoring and holding hearings on Medicare Advantage private fee-for-service plans this year even though the Bush White House in 2007 nixed numerous recommended changes to such plans.

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House OKs Stimulus Bill Sans Medicaid Funds; Senate Amendment Would Include Funding

House lawmakers vote 385-35 in favor of a $146 billion economic stimulus package that does not include a temporary increase in the federal medical assistance percentage for states' Medicaid programs.

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Additional Proposed Funding Rules Issued on Pension Protection Act

The Treasury Dept. and the Internal Revenue Service have issued proposed regulations that provide employers sponsoring single-employer defined benefit plans with guidance regarding the measurement of pension assets and liabilities under the new funding rules enacted as part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

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Clinton Campaign Reaches Out to Seniors

The Clinton campaign has released what it described as Clinton's "agenda to ease the burden on families that are struggling to balance caring for elderly parents, spouses and children, while meeting their job obligations."

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Proposals Sought for Programs to Strengthen Geriatrics Training

The Reynolds Foundation expects to commit up to a total of $20 million under this call for proposals. Up to 10 grants will be awarded, each totaling up to $2 million over four years, with a limit of $500,000 in each grant year.

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Lupus Foundation Urges SSA to Nix Proposed 5-Day Rule

The Lupus Foundation of America has fired off a strongly worded letter to the Social Security Administration regarding a proposed change to the rules which could make it more difficult for people appealing a Social Security determination.

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CCP Becomes Newest Supporter of National Awards Program

The newest supporter of the National Awards program Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging is the Center for Civic Partnerships (CCP).  The Center for Civic Partnerships, part of the Public Health Institute, is a nonprofit support organization that strengthens individuals, organizations,...

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During Deadly Ice Storm, Providers Mobilized to Safeguard Patients

In several Midwestern states impacted by severe ice storms, seniors on home oxygen therapy were taken to warming centers or shelters because of power outages that cut electricity needed for oxygen systems.

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OSHA Publishes Final Rule on Employer-Paid Personal Protective Equipment

OSHA publishes a final rule that requires employers -- including agencies providing home healthcare providers -- to pay for personal protective equipment for their employees.

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AARP Iowa Members Want More on Healthcare, Financial Security

With only three weeks until Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses, Iowa AARP members of both political parties say they are following the campaign closely, they are not yet settled on their candidate preferences, and the issues of health and financial security will weigh on their caucus decisions.

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Publisher's Year-End Survey

We want to know what you think!

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Publisher's Year-End Survey

We want to know what you think!

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Leavitt Warns of Veto if Medicare Bill Calls for Sweeping Changes

HHS Secy. Mike Leavitt warns the Senate Finance Committee that White House advisers will press President Bush to veto Medicare legislation that calls for cuts in Medicare Advantage plans or changes to the Medicare prescription drug benefit.

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Global Guide to Age-Friendly Cities

The World Health Organization has developed a new guide aimed at encouraging cities to become more age-friendly so that they can tap the potential of older people.

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