Older Americans Report articles from June 2005

Older Americans Report archives from June 2005

Social security poorly understood, even by older Americans.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... With so much attention being paid to Social Security these days, one might imagine that the system's principal features were well known, but that is not so, according to the International Longevity Center in New York. For example, only 54...

Governors update Medicaid strategy, take pass on HHS commission.(United States. Department of Health and Human Services)
June 3, 2005... The National Governors Association inched towards a new Medicaid policy this week but held off on such things as whether states should be able to get out of consent decrees. Meanwhile, the group said it saw no reason to participate in a...

Medicaid commission to offer advice, but ideas will come at a price.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... The Medicaid commission being put together by HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt has come under fire for being less than independent of the Bush administration. So far, however, no one has raised the issue of its cost. When a Medicaid panel was...

Between changing bedpans, staff learn to field questions about life's meaning.
June 3, 2005... As the body declines, people who may have never been churchgoers start to reflect on what might be called the spiritual side of their being. Many aging professionals, however, are not sure how to be helpful, and there may be no chaplain on site...

Population growth, 2000 to 2030.(Illustration)
June 3, 2005... Population Growth, 2000 to 2030 Census Bureau, Interim State Population Projections, 2005 All ages Over 65 Nevada +2,283,845 +114.3% +578,250 +264.1% Alaska ...

States face unequal tasks in demographic changes.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Since President Bush took office, the aging of the baby boomers has been described as a doubling of the older population over the next 30 years, and for the country as a whole, that is true. Individual states vary widely in how hard that...

Varied assisted living rules pose challenge for families.(Housing)
June 3, 2005... States set such varied rules for assisted living facilities that consumers may have difficulty understanding the concept and deciding whether such care is appropriate for their family members, a new report says. "The report demonstrates...

Active adult rental apartments may gain niche, developer says.(Housing)
June 3, 2005... Middle-income seniors are looking to cash in on their home equity, but many do not want to turn around and sink that money back into real estate. So says Virginia developer John Rhoad, Jr., who is betting on their willingness to try a more...

Plan offered.(Housing Resources)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... PLAN OFFERED. The Cohousing Association of the United States has published its 2004-2006 strategic plan, Mobilizing Cohousing's Champions to Advance the Movement. Cohousing promotes the development of a committed group of buyers and renters to...

Workshop set.(Housing Resources)(Abraham Paiss and Associates)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... WORKSHOP SET. To focus solely on cohousing programs for the elderly, Abraham Paiss and Associates will sponsor an Elder Cohousing: Getting Started workshop June 23-26 in Boulder, Colo. For information, call (303) 413-8066 or visit the Web at...

Book offers advice.(Housing Resources)(Ageless Marketing)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... BOOK OFFERS ADVICE. Ageless Marketing is a book that examines the core values and buying behaviors of the Baby Boomer generation. The book is $22.50 for National Association of Home Builders members and $25 for nonmembers from Builder Books at...

More states get CMS approval to pool resources on drug purchases.(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Louisiana, Maryland and West Virginia last week received approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to pool their resources when paying for drugs prescribed for Medicaid beneficiaries. Under a deal with Provider Synergies,...

Helping caregivers.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... HELPING CAREGIVERS. The Virginia Department for the Aging is distributing a manual called Taking Care: A Resource Guide for Caregivers. The 57-page document explains how to develop a care plan, locate resources within the aging network and...

Coping with shingles.(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... COPING WITH SHINGLES. Researchers at the Department of Veterans Affairs say a vaccine could reduce the severity of symptoms suffered by people with shingles and reduce by half the number of people who get the condition, which is a reemergence...

AoA: performance outcomes.(Funding Opportunities)(United States. Administration on Aging)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... AoA: Performance Outcomes. The Administration on Aging invites applications from state units on aging that are willing to help develop final versions of tools employed as part of the agency's Performance Outcomes Measures Project. The agency is...

CDC: immunization programs.(Funding Opportunities)(United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... CDC: Immunization programs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will award a cooperative agreement for $250,000 to help state public health officials take advantage of federal immunization programs. The deadline is July 25. Contact:...

CDC: public health emergency preparedness.(Funding Opportunities)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... CDC: Public health emergency preparedness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has $862 million to help states upgrade their ability to respond to terrorist events and other public health emergencies. No matching funds are required....

CMS: real choice.(Funding Opportunities)(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... CMS: Real Choice. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has $30 million to transform the infrastructure of the long-term care system under the Real Choice System Change program. States that received a Real Choice Comprehensive Systems...

HUD: SuperNOFA deadlines.(Funding Opportunities)(United States. Department of Housing and Urban Development)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... HUD: SuperNOFA deadlines. Saying many organizations could not apply for certain grants because of an attack on the grants.gov website, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is extending the deadlines for various programs listed in its...

Access board: passenger vessels.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... Access Board: Passenger vessels. Advance notice of proposed rulemaking. The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board has drafted two sets of guidelines governing the accessibility of newly constructed or altered passenger...

CMS: homebound demonstration.(Federal Register)(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... CMS: Homebound demonstration. Information collection. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is requesting emergency review by OMB of a survey for the Medicare Home Health Independence Demonstration, which exempts permanently and...

CMS: hospice programs.(Federal Register)(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... CMS: Hospice programs. Proposed rule. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services revises the conditions of participation for hospices with an eye toward ensuring patient satisfaction rather than enforcing "process" rules. For example, the...

CMS: inpatient rehabilitation.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... CMS: Inpatient rehabilitation. Proposed rule. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services awards a market-basket update of 3.1 percent for inpatient rehabilitation facilities and increases the rural adjustment factor from 19.1 percent to...

FDA: consumer medication information.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... FDA: Consumer medication information. The Food and Drug Administration has developed draft guidance for package inserts that help consumers understand what drugs they are taking. Such inserts are written by organizations or individuals other...

FNS: senior farmers markets.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... FNS: Senior farmers markets. Proposed rule. The Food and Nutrition Service explains how it will run the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, which provides coupons to low-income seniors for redemption at farmers markets, roadside stands and...

OPM: federal LTC insurance.(Federal Register)(Office of Personnel Management)(Brief Article)
June 3, 2005... OPM: Federal LTC insurance. Final rule. The Office of Personnel Management completes its guidance on how to obtain federal long-term care insurance. Although the program is limited largely to federal employees, the issues raised may be of wider...

Reauthorization proposals grounded in experience of frontline staff.(National Family Caregiver Support Program)
June 10, 2005... When leaders of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging say they want to expand the National Family Caregiver Support Program, they talk about constituencies who might benefit from the program's menu of respite and counseling...

Advocates push to strengthen, expand family caregiver support program.
June 10, 2005... As members of Congress begin reauthorizing the Older Americans Act, which expires Sept. 30, one of the questions will be whether to expand the reach of the National Family Caregiver Support Program. Currently, services may be provided to...

Hospices caught between federal law, patients' needs on medical marijuana.
June 10, 2005... Emphasizing comfort over cure in the face of intractable conditions, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization favors measures that relieve pain for people who are terminally ill even if such techniques will not do any good in the...

Medical marijuana case has similarities to other disputes between U.S., states.
June 10, 2005... For advocates of medical marijuana, the issue is less about the plant's medicinal properties than it is about the power of states to regulate medical practice. In that respect, it bears a parallel to two other disputes. In one, physicians...

Americans with disabilities act extends to foreign cruise ships, court says.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... The Americans with Disabilities Act may be a domestic law, but foreign cruise ships are not exempt, the Supreme Court said this week. Each year, about 7 million Americans take trips on foreign cruise ships that dock at U.S. ports, noted...

Partnerships, innovation spur growth of assisted living in rural areas.(Housing)
June 10, 2005... At a time when affordable assisted living is a pipe dream in many rural communities, Washington state has 11 projects underway thanks to public/ private partnerships that bring together community agencies, state government and developers. ...

Bush signs plan expanding access to reverse mortgages for seniors.(Housing)(George Bush)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Senior citizens who want to set up reverse mortgages and tap into home equity will benefit from new legislation signed into law by President Bush. The measure, P.L. 109-13, would increase the number of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages...

Bush's CDBG plan faces questions as lawmakers continue review.(George Bush)(Community Development Block Grant)
June 10, 2005... President Bush's plan to replace the Community Development Block Grant program serving seniors and other Americans faced tough criticism at a House of Representatives hearing in late May. "CDBG has been a force for enormous good in every...

Fiasco looming, lawmaker vows end to temporary fixes for pension plans.(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
June 10, 2005... Last year, Congress relieved companies with underfunded pension plans of their obligation to make catch-up contributions and gave all companies a chance to lower their payments by assuming an artificially high rate of interest on their...

Offering more workshops.(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... OFFERING MORE WORKSHOPS. The Center on Aging at the University of Maine has added several events to its calendar of workshops. On June 13, there will a session on Empowering Older Adults in Rural Areas, pitched at social workers. A...

IRS: tax advice for older Americans.(Funding Opportunities)(Internal Revenue Service)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... IRS: Tax advice for older Americans. The Internal Revenue Service invites applications from nonprofit groups that wish to participate in the Tax Counseling for the Elderly program, which serves people over 60. The deadline is Aug. 1. Contact:...

VA: Homeless providers.(Funding Opportunities)(Department of Veterans Affairs)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... VA: Homeless providers. The Department of Veterans Affairs has $38 million for the per diem part of its Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem program. The per diem component defrays the cost of supported housing or supportive services for...

CMS: retiree drug subsidies.(Federal Register)(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... CMS: Retiree drug subsidies. Information collection. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requests emergency clearance for a form that will let employers claim a 28 percent tax-free subsidy of their retiree drug costs under Medicare....

HUD: fair market rents.(Federal Register)(Department of Housing and Urban Development)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... HUD: Fair Market Rents. The Department of Housing and Urban Development updates its fair market rents for Fiscal Year 2006, trended forward to April 2006, the midpoint of the budget cycle. The numbers for FY06 are the first to incorporate...

HHS foresees private-sector control of health information standards.(United States. Department of Health and Human Services)(Brief Article)
June 10, 2005... Saying electronic health records could help providers lower costs, reduce errors and coordinate care, HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt announced the creation of a 17-member commission to guide the development of a web-based health information...

Supreme Court cites marijuana decision in vacating lower court ruling on ADA.
June 17, 2005... What do disabled parking placards, courthouse elevators and medical marijuana have to do with each other? Quite a bit, says the Supreme Court, which this week told a lower court to rethink officials' right to charge for the placards in light of...

Maine bill would require drug firms to disclose all clinical trial results.
June 17, 2005... Long before there was a Medicare prescription drug law, states were providing drugs to seniors who could not afford them and bargaining hard with manufacturers over prices. Likewise, lawmakers in Maine, not content to wait until Congress acts...

Looking for impartiality.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... The panel created by Food and Drug Administration Acting Commissioner Lester Crawford to monitor new evidence on the safety of approved drugs is less than independent, according to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Finance...

Governors pitch Medicaid changes directly to members of Congress.
June 17, 2005... It was a just slip of the tongue, but the joke that followed said volumes about what was going on Wednesday when leaders of the National Governors Association went to Capitol Hill and laid out a set of proposed changes to Medicaid. Senate...

Researcher says there is no evidence for charge that Medicaid is abused.
June 17, 2005... Some people say Medicaid has morphed from a safety net for the poor into an entitlement for the middle class, abetted by lawyers who show people how to transfer assets they would otherwise have to spend down. As a result, these critics say,...

New HUD program paves way for innovative housing rehab.(HOUSING)(Housing and Urban Development)
June 17, 2005... A new program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development is helping a Maryland partnership revitalize a 187-unit apartment building for low-income seniors. Victory Tower in Takoma Park, Md., received extensive renovations through a...

Section 8 gets funding.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... SECTION 8 GETS FUNDING. One Section 8 housing fund would receive a small increase under a fiscal 2006 spending bill from the House appropriations housing subcommittee. The plan would provide $15.5 billion for Tenant-Based Rental Assistance, up...

Meeting set for fall.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... MEETING SET FOR FALL. The Coming of Age of Seniors Housing & Care: Learning from the Past to Capitalize on the Future is the theme of the 2005 annual conference of the National Investment Center for the Housing and Senior Care Industries Sept....

Smoke-free housing gains in popularity for seniors.
June 17, 2005... Smoke-free housing is on the rise in Section 8 apartments used by the elderly, and a new legal analysis says such no-smoking policies should have protection under U.S. law. "A ban on smoking for new tenants who move into public or Section...

House panel defies Bush, votes to preserve CDBG.(George W. Bush)(Community Development Block Grant)(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... A Bush administration plan to terminate the Community Development Block Grant has hit a major roadblock on Capitol Hill. The House subcommittee responsible for federal housing spending this week rejected White House plans to terminate the...

Workshop presenter will address fears of violence, disease for field staff.
June 17, 2005... Far from the sanctums of public policy, on the doorsteps of ordinary people in ordinary neighborhoods, the vanguard of the aging network does its work: checking on the frail, the lonely, and the destitute, making sure people have received their...

Staying vigilant.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... STAYING VIGILANT. California Health and Human Services Secretary last week criticized lawmakers for proposing only $3 million in additional funds to fight West Nile Virus, compared to the $12 million boost she had sought. Last year, cases of...

Tracking outcomes.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... TRACKING OUTCOMES. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should look at how outcomes vary by sex when evaluating new treatments, especially when the agency requires ongoing data collection as a condition of Medicare coverage, according...

NIA: inflammatory processes.(Funding Opportunities)(United States. National Institute on Aging)(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... NIA: Inflammatory processes. The National Institute on Aging has $2 million to support research on the inflammatory underpinnings of many chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis and Alzheimer's disease, including the...

SSA: litigation database.(Federal Register)(United States. Social Security Administration)(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... SSA: Litigation database. System of records. The Social Security Administration is building a National Docketing Management Information System to track litigation involving the agency, both as defendant and as plaintiff. Comments are welcome;...

Palliative conclave.(Calendar Update)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
June 17, 2005... PALLIATIVE CONCLAVE. The Review Committee of the National Quality Forum will meet June 29-30 in Washington to discuss hospice and palliative care. Contact: NQF, (202) 783-1300, www.qualityforum.org/docs/palliative_care/TXRE GFORM06-2930-05.pdf....

Calling all photographers.(This Just In)
June 17, 2005... CALLING ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS. People with an eye for intergenerational bonds are invited to submit photos to Generations United for its International Photo Contest. Pictures may be in color or black and white and will be considered in five...

Neighborhood design to be studied as foundation for aging well.(Brief Article)
June 17, 2005... Where you live may affect how you age, or at least that is what researchers hope to learn with the help of about 500 older volunteers in Seattle and Baltimore. The Neighborhood Quality of Life Study for Seniors, funded by the National...

LTC insurance bill reintroduced, might end up in house package.(long term care)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2005... A set of tax incentives for long-term care and long-term care insurance proposed last week may benefit from the attention being paid to Social Security. Much hinges, however, on whether Republicans insist on letting people create private...

Governors accused of overstating size of medicaid problem in pitching plan.
June 24, 2005... Testifying on Capitol Hill last week, governors Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.) made a point of saying that Medicaid constitutes a larger share of state budgets than elementary and secondary education, but that is not true,...

Thanks, but no thanks.(United States. Department of Health and Human Services)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2005... The Medicaid Commission being put together by HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt was supposed to include eight members of Congress, and the Democrats have already declined to participate. Now, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), chairman of the Aging...

Variation in state Medicaid spending raises question of social equity.
June 24, 2005... Data on how much money states spend on Medicaid as a proportion of their budgets have cast doubt on how much additional flexibility governors need and shed light on a forgotten issue of fairness and national standards. The figures on state...

Advocates for older Americans alarmed by views of new appeals court judges.
June 24, 2005... The debate over judges that nearly brought the Senate to a standstill last month had nothing to do with the aging process, but older people have a big stake in who gets confirmed, according to Ed King, executive director of the National Senior...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
June 24, 2005... A story on a bill that would require people to give businesses 90 days' notice before suing them over violations of state disability law did not clearly convey the views of Lauren Saunders, director of the Federal Rights Project at the National...

Advocates make case to Senate for interagency senior council.(Housing)
June 24, 2005... An interagency council to coordinate senior housing programs would help older Americans stay in their own homes and navigate an often-intimidating array of age-in-place options, witnesses told a Senate panel last week. By 2030, the nation...

AARP calls for new focus on 'livable communities'.
June 24, 2005... Communities need diverse, affordable housing options to keep senior citizens involved in their communities, says a new AARP report that finds few cities, towns and neighborhoods able to provide such opportunities. An inability to provide...

New group examines major elements of affordable assisted living projects.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2005... Some of the nation's key senior housing leaders are joining forces for a new workgroup to promote affordable assisted living. The Affordable Assisted Living Finance Workgroup is bringing together NCB Development Corp., the National Council...

High Court ruling on eminent domain threatens right to age in place.
June 24, 2005... Growing old at home is often characterized as a chance to stay out of a nursing home, but a ruling yesterday by the Supreme Court indicates that people may lose the opportunity to age in familiar surroundings for reasons that have nothing to do...

Employing a triage.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2005... EMPLOYING A TRIAGE. Vermont is taking a three-part approach to keeping people out of nursing homes under a waiver approved last week by the Department of Health and Human Services. The Vermont Long Term Care Plan will give people needing the...

Getting the subsidy.(Brief Article)
June 24, 2005... GETTING THE SUBSIDY. Employers and union health plans can find out everything they need to know about getting the Medicare subsidy for their retiree drug coverage at http://rds.cms.hhs.gov. Meanwhile, registrations are still being accepted for...

Calling all states.(Calendar Update)(National Academy for State Health Policy)(Calendar)
June 24, 2005... CALLING ALL STATES. The National Academy for State Health Policy will meet Aug. 7-9 in Nashville, Tenn. Speakers include Patrick Flood of the Vermont Department of Aging and Independent Living and Carol Freels of the California Office of Long...

Exchanging tips.(Calendar Update)(Calendar)
June 24, 2005... EXCHANGING TIPS. The Florida Council on Aging will meet Aug. 22-25 in Orlando, Fla. Speakers will discuss the outcome of the legislative session and the integration of eligibility determinations through the state's Aging Resource Centers, along...

CMS: Medicare drug coverage.(Federal Register)(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2005... CMS: Medicare drug coverage. Information collection. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposes to create a form titled "Notice of Denial of Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage" for use by Part D sponsors. In addition, it will...

CMS: Medicare Integrity Program.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2005... CMS: Medicare Integrity Program. Proposed rule. Because more than three years have elapsed since it proposed a rule on this topic, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is issuing a new proposed rule for Medicare Integrity Program...

SSA: Medical equivalence.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2005... SSA: Medical equivalence. Proposed rule. The Social Security Administration wants to be able to consider nonmedical evidence in all parts of the country in assessing whether claimants' conditions are medically equivalent to an item on the...

SSA: SSI redeterminations; fugitive felons.(Federal Register)(United States. Social Security Administration)(supplemental security income)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2005... SSA: SSI redeterminations; fugitive felons. Information collections. The Social Security Administration is revising its forms for reassessing the nonmedical factors upon which claims for SSI benefits were made. In addition, the agency is adding...

VA: newly discovered records.(Federal Register)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2005... VA: Newly discovered records. Proposed rule. The Department of Veterans Affairs is revising its rules on whether newly discovered service records bear on a claim. Comments on RIN 2900-AM15 are due Aug. 19 and may be made at www.regulations....

CMS: real-time access.(Federal Register)(United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
June 24, 2005... CMS: Real-time access. Information collection. CMS is requesting emergency clearance for a form that providers will use to access a database of Medicare beneficiaries. Comments on the Real-Time Eligibility Agreement and Access Request form are...