Older Americans Report articles from December 2004

Older Americans Report archives from December 2004

Providers face hard choices in using limited supplies of flu vaccine.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Long-term care facilities need more guidance from the federal government when deciding who should receive flu vaccinations when supplies cover only part of a facility's needs, an industry leader told Congress last month. Although the CDC...

Budget leaves aging service providers with even fewer dollars per person.
December 3, 2004... With only $19 million in additional funds for Fiscal 2005, the Administration on Aging will provide lower levels of support to the aging network when inflation, population growth and greater longevity are taken into account. The...

DOJ, HHS object to elder justice act, causing bill to falter in Senate.
December 3, 2004... Although they did not seem insurmountable when they were raised a few months ago, Bush administration objections to the Elder Justice Act (S. 333) caused the measure to stall last month, just when proponents thought they had removed the last...

Saying fiscal pressures remain strong, Oregon Board retains health plan fee.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Caught in a fiscal and human dilemma, Oregon legislative leaders refused last month to remove a premium on the poorest of participants in the Oregon Health Plan, saying the lost revenues would have forced the state to drop about 250 people from...

Euthanasia groups vote to merge in bid to strengthen movement.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Two euthanasia groups are merging, following a vote in Portland, Ore., by their combined boards Oct. 30. One is the Compassion in Dying Federation, based in Portland. The other is Denver-based Endof-Life Choices. The new organization...

Correction and update.(Correction Notice)
December 3, 2004... A funding opportunity from the Brookdale Foundation was misnamed (OAR, Nov. 12, p. 352). It is the "Relatives as Parents Program." Meanwhile, a deadline has been set for local and regional programs: Jan. 13. Contact: Melinda Perez-Porter, (212)...

Funding opportunity canceled.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services withdraws a 2001 notice inviting for-profit entities to operate a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, which combines Medicaid and Medicare under a capitated system. No proposals have...

Nursing home group asks for chance to defend feeding-assistants rule.
December 3, 2004... Saying their ability to serve people who need the most help is at stake, the American Health Care Association has asked a federal judge to let it join the Department of Health and Human Services in defending a rule permitting the use of feeding...

Experts decry latest statement by DEA on proper use of pain medications.
December 3, 2004... Accusing the Drug Enforcement Administration of contradicting itself, an expert on pain medication said the agency's attempt to disavow its own guidance on the subject is "likely to interfere in medical practice... while contributing little if...

Pennsylvania seeks tighter oversight of personal care homes.
December 3, 2004... After decades spent regulating the nursing home industry, public officials are turning to the largely unregulated assisted living sector. In Pennsylvania, for example, personal care homes face unannounced annual inspections and more staff...

Contact OAR.(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... We are very interested in what you are doing to help seniors in your community and to get state and local lawmakers to provide adequate funding for home and community-based services. Please contact Mark Sherman, editor, at (301) 587-6300, ext....

AoA: Senior Medicare Patrol.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... AoA: Senior Medicare Patrol. Information collection. The Administration on Aging will survey participants in Senior Medicare Patrol program after they have been trained in fraud prevention. Comments are due in 60 days. Contact: Barbara Dieker,...

CMS: Ambulatory surgical costs.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... CMS: Ambulatory surgical costs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services revises the list of items and services for which it will reimburse ambulatory surgical centers in addition to a doctor's time. Comments on CMS-1478-P are due Jan. 25...

CMS: Disease management.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... CMS: Disease management. Information collection. CMS has contracted with Mathematica Policy Research to evaluate disease management programs from the perspective of physicians. Comments are due in 60 days. Contact: Reports Clearance Office,...

CMS: Drug rebate records.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... CMS: Drug rebate records. Final rule. CMS requires drug makers to retain information about the prices it charges for drugs subject to rebates under Medicaid for 10 years and to retain such records indefinitely when the firm knows the records...

CMS: Evaluating carriers.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... CMS: Evaluating carriers. CMS sets criteria for evaluating three groups: fiscal intermediaries, which pay hospitals, nursing homes and other groups for services under Medicare Part A; Supplementary Medical Insurance carriers, which pay for...

CMS: Hospital outpatients.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... CMS: Hospital outpatients. Final rule. CMS revises the way it pays hospitals for outpatient services under Medicare and raises payments by 3.3 percent for 2005. Payments for certain procedures, including bone density studies, receive even...

CMS: Information technology.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... CMS: Information technology. CMS invites comments on how to expedite the integration of information technology systems in the health care field in keeping with a call by President Bush for full interoperability within 10 years. Comments are due...

CMS: Inpatient psychiatric services.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... CMS: Inpatient psychiatric services. CMS creates a prospective payment system for services provided in psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric units of acute care hospitals and critical access hospitals. The system is effective Jan. 1 but will be...

CMS: Part B payments.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... CMS: Part B payments. Final rule. CMS revises the way it calculates payments to physicians and other practitioners under Medicare Part B and raises payments by 1.5 percent for 2005 in keeping with the Medicare Prescription Drug Act. The changes...

CMS: Service terminations.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... CMS: Service terminations. Final rule. CMS explains how to ask a Quality Improvement Organization to review a Medicare provider's decision to terminate services in what is known as an expedited determination. CMS also explains how to ask a QIO...

SSA: Help with Part D.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... SSA: Help with Part D. Information collection. The Social Security Administration has revised two forms it will use to take applications for help with the cost of Medicare Part D: Application for Help with Medicare Drug Plan Costs (SSA-1020)...

Wrapping everyone in.(Calendar Update)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... WRAPPING EVERYONE IN. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will hold an Open Door Forum Dec. 16 in Baltimore to discuss ways to serve a diverse clientele. The meeting will include an update on the Cancer Prevention and Treatment...

Huddling on transportation.(Calendar Update)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... HUDDLING ON TRANSPORTATION. The Policy Committee of the White House Conference on Aging will meet Jan. 8 in Washington as part of the Transportation Research Board conference. No registration is required; just come to the South Cotillion Room...

Improving clinical trials.(Calendar Update)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... IMPROVING CLINICAL TRIALS. The Food and Drug Administration will hold a workshop Jan. 12-13 on how it oversees clinical trials, including informed consent and adverse event reporting. The event is cosponsored by the Society of Clinical Research...

Deciding what to cover.(Calendar Update)(Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee )(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... DECIDING WHAT TO COVER. The Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee will meet Jan. 25 in Baltimore to discuss whether diet, exercise, stress reduction, group counseling and other lifestyle changes can help prevent conditions such as diabetes and...

Blending research and practice.(Calendar Update)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... BLENDING RESEARCH AND PRACTICE. The Southern Gerontological Society will meet March 30-April 2 in Orlando, Fla. Abstracts are due Dec. 15 to Lora Gage, lgage4sgs@aol.com. Contact: SGS, (239) 541-2011, www.wfu.edu/ academics/gerontology/sgs.

Serving food, stretching dollars.(Calendar Update)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... SERVING FOOD, STRETCHING DOLLARS. The Meals on Wheels Association of America will meet Aug. 31-Sept. 2 in Richmond, Va. Workshop proposals are due Jan. 30. There are 10 topic areas, including voucher programs, grant writing and volunteer...

ABA: Community needs, elder abuse.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... ABA: Community needs, elder abuse. The Commission on Law and Aging at the American Bar Association has two funding opportunities under its Partnerships in Law and Aging Program. Under "Community Identified Need," the commission will provide...

HUD: Sec. 202 predevelopment.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... HUD: Sec. 202 predevelopment. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has $45 million to defray the cost of developing proposals to create Sec. 202 housing for the elderly programs. The goal of this demonstration program is to see...

Meals on Wheels: Senior nutrition.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Meals on Wheels: Senior nutrition. Groups that supply home-delivered meals to seniors may apply for help in collaborating with hospitals. The goal is to make sure seniors have maximum nutritional support after being discharged. Five grants of...

Elder justice act dies in final hours; search for new chief sponsor begins.
December 10, 2004... Leaders of the Elder Justice Coalition were in a sober mood this week after the 108th Congress dissolved without taking action on the Elder Justice Act (S. 333), which would have boosted prosecution of elder abuse and neglect and provided more...

R.I. panel seeks changes in wake of shutdown of providence home.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... After examining the circumstances that led a nursing home to go bankrupt, a Rhode Island task force is recommending 42 changes to the state's nursing home system. A grand jury also is investigating the Hillside Health Center, a 165-bed...

Seeing the broad picture.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services this week picked 10 groups to run its Chronic Care Improvement Program, which aims to help Medicare beneficiaries with multiple conditions adhere to their doctors' orders and avoid unnecessary...

Keeping the rebates coming.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... The Health Resources and Services Administration has picked Health Purchasing Partners International to run the Sec. 340B program, under which Medicaid providers get discounts on prescription drugs. The five-year agreement will let providers...

Seeking better advice.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is reluctant to make the process by which it issues advisory opinions more formal--i.e., legally binding--despite concerns by Medicare providers that the guidance they receive is unclear and...

Congress shrinks housing programs for seniors, people with disabilities.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... Programs at the Department of Health and Human Services are not the only items receiving modest allotments for Fiscal 2005. In fact, programs that were given tiny increases or even flat-funded did well compared with the Sec. 202 Housing for the...

Surviving at Veterans Affairs.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... The $65.4 billion budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs is 5.8 percent larger than in Fiscal 2004, including a 2.8 percent rise for construction of state extended-care facilities and a 4.7 percent increase for the Veterans Health...

You really can.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... Almost 850 groups have joined the You Can! campaign by the Administration on Aging, taking advantage of a coordinated effort to help seniors eat better and get more exercise. Seven states have more than 50 partner groups each, with Missouri...

Report, online database provide look at what states do to help caregivers.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... The Family Caregiver Alliance has released a survey of caregiver programs across the country, including the National Family Caregiver Support Program, Medicaid waiver programs and special state programs. State profiles, each several pages...

Grassley urges CMS to redouble efforts to answer hotline questions correctly.
December 10, 2004... Citing a report that only 61 percent of calls to the Medicare hotline are answered correctly, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has no time to lose in improving training. The report, by the...

CMS divides country into regions for prescription drug plans, PPOs.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... Implementing one of the selling points of the Medicare Prescription Drug Act, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services this week divided the country into various regions. The idea behind regional groupings was to make it hard for...

HHS purchasing flu vaccine based on European warrant of safety.(Department of Health and Human Services)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... In a concession to demands that it widen its search for flu vaccine, the Department of Health and Human Services this week purchased 1.2 million doses of a product approved not by the FDA but by its European counterpart. HHS bought the...

Citing commute, McGee leaves helm of White House Conference on aging.
December 10, 2004... Saying she could no longer afford to spend 20 hours a week traveling from her home in Williamsburg, Va., to an office in Bethesda, Md., the executive director of the 2005 White House Conference on Aging resigned last week along with an aide....

Creators of healthy aging toolkit say it's never too late to learn new habits.(More life to live)
December 10, 2004... A new year is approaching and with it a chance to help seniors make some heartfelt resolutions. But it is not easy to get people of any age to give up bad habits and adopt healthy new ones, so the Delaware aging unit has put together a toolkit...

Nursing homes put best face on delay in implementing 75-percent rule.
December 10, 2004... Attempts to preserve a rule requiring rehabilitation facilities to have at least 75 percent of their patients in certain categories failed last month when Congress passed the Fiscal 2005 budget. But nursing homes, which resent the higher...

Handheld devices provide crucial help to visually impaired transit riders.(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... As people age, they may become more dependent on public transportation, but if vision loss is part of the problem, negotiating a public transit system can be just as hard as driving a car. In Portland, Ore., however, TriMet unveiled a new...

NIA: Alzheimer's drug discovery.(Funding opportunities)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... NIA: Alzheimer's drug discovery. The National Institute on Aging has $1.5 million to help find drugs to treat or prevent the cognitive and behavioral symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. This may include preclinical testing in cellular, tissue or...

NIA: Alzheimer's pilot clinical trials.(Funding opportunities)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... NIA: Alzheimer's pilot clinical trials. The National Institute on Aging invites applications for pilot clinical trials of drugs that delay or prevent the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. The objective is to assess the possibilities for...

CDC: Tuberculosis control.(Federal register)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention proposes new guidance on how to protect healthcare workers from tuberculosis at www.cdc.gov/nchstp/tb/Federal_Register/ default.htm. Comments are due Feb. 4 and may be sent to...

DEA: Controlled substances registration.(Federal register)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... Proposed rule. The Drug Enforcement Administration says people who prescribe controlled substances in more than one state will have to register in each state. Comments on Docket No. DEA-244 are due Feb. 7 and may be made at www.regulations.gov....

HUD: Home Equity Conversion Mortgage.(Federal register)(Department of Housing and Urban Development)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... Advanced notice of proposed rulemaking. The Department of Housing and Urban Development seeks comments on how to implement a law that permits it to waive a 2-percent up-front premium on reverse mortgages, formally known as Home Equity...

Calendar update.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
December 10, 2004... PLOTTING STRATEGY ON DRUGS. The National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices will meet Jan. 28 in Washington. Dick Cauchi, health program director at the National Conference of State Legislatures, will give an update on states...

Bush names former Utah governor to replace Thompson at HHS.
December 17, 2004... President Bush's nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services is drawing praise from senior citizen groups but faces a host of policy challenges as he heads into the Senate confirmation process next month. Bush on Dec. 12 tapped Mike...

With CDC input, some states expand flu vaccine access.
December 17, 2004... After reallocating supplies to the most at-risk groups, some states say they have extra flu vaccine--a trend that paves the way for healthier individuals aged 50 to 65 to receive their shots. Even as it conducts a national campaign to limit...

Conviction of doctor underscores need for guidance on pain medication.
December 17, 2004... A jury convicted a Virginia doctor this week of abusing his privileges to prescribe pain medications, but at least two observers say the case makes it more imperative than ever for the Drug Enforcement Administration to give doctors clear...

Will states intervene?(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... Although Congress is unlikely to get involved in the dispute between clinicians and the Drug Enforcement Administration over prescribing pain medications, state lawmakers might. In 1997, California passed the Pain Patient's Bill of Rights...

GOP, democrats plan changes for senate aging committee.
December 17, 2004... Major changes are underway at the Senate Special Committee on Aging, which will get new leadership from both parties in 2005 along with a high-profile new appointee--Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). Both parties must select new leaders...

GAO report cites growth, fraud in Medicare wheelchair program.
December 17, 2004... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services must do more to curb the huge growth of payments for power wheelchairs during the past five years, a government watchdog agency says. Spending on power wheelchairs increased from $289 million...

Iowa's ambassador program offers transportation options.
December 17, 2004... Senior citizens in and around Davenport, Iowa, should make a new friend soon--one of many volunteers trained to help them navigate the local public bus system. Generations Area Agency on Aging is launching its "Ambassadors" transportation...

Maintaining a critical mass.(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... Although weight gain can complicate the aging process, weight loss is a larger danger in nursing homes, prompting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last month to add a weight-loss measure to its Nursing Home Compare website, which...

Hunger and the elderly.(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... About 6.2 percent of elderly living alone suffered from "food insecurity" in 2003, meaning they were at risk of hunger. This rate is down slightly from 2002, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture report, Household Food Security in the United...

More homeless shelters count elderly people among regulars.
December 17, 2004... WESTERN MARYLAND -- At age 68, Grant stands out from the other men signing in at 7:30 p.m. for a spot at the homeless shelter. He walks a little slower than the others, with his white hair tucked under a well-worn knit cap to fight the cold....

More research, communication may improve end-of-life care.(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... Despite progress on many fronts, end-of-life care remains a struggle for families due to a lack of continuity in care and poor communication with health care practitioners, a panel of experts says. Terms such as palliative care, end of life...

Report on livable communities uses one man's story to illustrate choices.
December 17, 2004... A report from the National Council on Disability, Livable Communities for Adults with Disabilities, is long at 186 pages. But it is worth reading if only for the story of the authors' visit with Clyde Berger, 85, a resident of New York City's...

Plan seeks fewer payment errors.(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is taking steps to measure error rates in Medicare payments more accurately. Using the new measurement system, the net error rate for 2004 was 9.3 percent, CMS said. About 4.1 percent of...

Medicare project seeks improvement in cancer detection for minorities.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... The federal government is offering funds for innovative projects to improve early cancer detection and reduce health disparities among African Americans, Hispanics and American Indians. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has $25...

HUD: emergency grants.(Housing and Urban Development)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... The Department of Housing and Urban Development has $10 million in emergency repair grants for elderly public housing projects. One-time funds are available for repairs that pose an "immediate threat" to resident health, safety and quality of...

Federal register.(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... CMS: Hearings and appeals. CMS is proposing to modify a system of records for the Medicare hearings and appeals system. Individuals have 40 days after publication to comment. Contact: Michael Crochunis, (410) 786-3203. Federal Register, Dec....

Manifesto for an aging society aims to break stereotypes about seniors.(Brief Article)
December 24, 2004... Seminal documents tend to be eloquent, yet concise. Years from now, a five-page booklet from the International Longevity Center may achieve the rank of a watershed statement: Something that crystallizes a shift in the way people think about the...

Smith makes plans to elevate profile of Aging Committee in New Year.
December 24, 2004... Saying he wants the Senate Aging Committee to be more than a think tank, Chairman-designate Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) promises to tackle the big issues facing seniors, including Medicare, pensions and Social Security, while promoting the Oregon...

Garbage in, garbage out.(Brief Article)
December 24, 2004... Computerization does not prevent medication errors, according to the United States Pharmacopeia. In 2003, staff using automated dispensing devices made almost 9,000 medication errors, of which more than 100 led to patient harm. In fact, when it...

Expanding independence plus.(Brief Article)
December 24, 2004... Maryland is the seventh state to give people with disabilities more options under the rubric of the Bush administration's Independence Plus program. Participants hire their own aides using a monthly budget that can also be spent on items not...

Stealing identities.(Brief Article)
December 24, 2004... Six percent of people who complained to the Federal Trade Commission about identity theft in 2003 were over 65, according to AARP's Public Policy Institute. Of these victims, 44 percent said the stolen information was used to commit credit card...

Comments sought.(Brief Article)
December 24, 2004... The Center for Medicare Advocacy invites input from stakeholders as it prepares comments on proposed procedures for appealing a Medicare provider's decision to terminate services (OAR, Dec. 3, p. 367). The interim final rule was published Nov....

Correction.(Correction Notice)
December 24, 2004... Congress subjected the Fiscal 2005 budget to an across-the-board cut of only 0.8 percent, not the 0.83 percent approved in conference ("Budget Leaves Aging Service Providers with even Fewer Dollars per Person," Dec. 3, p. 361; "Congress Shrinks...

HHS sets terms for importing drugs, draws flak over link to liability.
December 24, 2004... This week, the HHS Task Force on Drug Importation set out conditions for any legislation that would permit the importation of prescription drugs. For the most part, the requirements are about making sure the drugs have passed muster with a...

NIH stops Alzheimer's drug trial, citing risks from pain reliever.(Brief Article)
December 24, 2004... Prompted by bad news about a painkiller used in a trial conducted by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health this week halted an experiment under which people with a family history of Alzheimer's disease took that or...

Mass. court mulls agency's obligations when evicting disabled tenants.
December 24, 2004... In a case before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, an elderly couple is arguing that their landlord should have taken their disabilities into account before trying to evict them from their public-housing apartment. Izarail Shkolnik...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
December 24, 2004... The National Adult Protective Services Association wants the adult protective services component of the Elder Justice Act placed under the purview of the Administration for Children and Families, rather than the Administration on Aging, because...

Sex offenders in long-term care pose dilemma for states, homes.
December 24, 2004... A new report shows that nearly 400 convicted sex offenders reside in nursing homes nationwide. But while many advocates warn of dire consequences, states are trying to figure out how to balance privacy concerns with issues of safety and...

Data lets states look in the mirror, gauge progress on healthy aging.
December 24, 2004... State officials who want to compare their seniors' health to seniors in other parts of the country may wish to consult a report card from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Merck Institute of Aging & Health. At 19.4...

Fewer states go it alone.(Brief Article)
December 24, 2004... The number of states that do not provide any home and community-based services except with federal help rose from two in 1996 to five in 2003, according to AARP's Public Policy Institute. Likewise, states spent $1.4 billion on state-funded HCBS...

More money for transit.
December 24, 2004... Not all numbers in the Fiscal 2005 budget are grim. The Sec. 5310 transportation program for the elderly and people with disabilities will rise to $94.5 million, a hike of 4.9 percent over last year's figure of $90.1 million. However, a...