A round-up of some of the most popular long-term care news headlines for the week of October 20 2008.

An assessment of McCain’s and Obama’s health insurance proposals
They approach the problem of America’s growing uninsured and underinsured populations in dramatically different ways.
By Michael A. Hiltzik and Lisa Girion. Los Angeles Times. Oct 21, 2008

A labor dilemma for President BAM
Employer Free Choice Act likely to pass in early days of an Obama administration
By Richard A. Epstein. New York Post. Oct 21, 2008

New FDA drug safety web site debuts
Chicago Tribune. Oct 20, 2008
The latest safety information on pharmaceuticals is available at http://www.fda.gov/cder/drugSafety.htm, where drugs are searchable by name, and drugs that carry FDA safety alerts are highlighted. Adverse drug reactions can be reported at the MedWatch section.

An eroding model for health insurance
Working Americans once could rely on employer-based benefits. But more people are being forced into the individual market, where coverage is costly, bare-bones and precarious.
By Lisa Girion and Michael A. Hiltzik. Los Angeles Times. Oct 21, 2008

CA: U.S. Labor Department seeks ouster of L.A. union officers
A civil complaint against the United Long-Term Care Workers, already the focus of a spending scandal, contends that the March election of its president and his allies violated labor laws.
By Paul Pringle. Los Angeles Tmes. Oct 21, 2008

Florida association releases nursing home preparedness guidelines
McKnight’s Long-Term Care News & AssistedLiving. Oct 21, 2008
The new 290-page Emergency Management Guide for Nursing Homes was released last week by the Florida Health Care Association, which also has a new nursing home emergency preparedness website.

IA: Health care officials workings of cash-strapped system
By Samantha Pidde. Clinton Herald. Oct 20, 2008 10:44 AM
Steve Ackerson, executive director of the Iowa Health Care Association and the Iowa Center for Assisted Living told an audience of lawmakers, health care professionals and community members, “We lose money on every Medicaid resident in our building.” With reimbursement rates at $41.37 lower than the national average, Iowa is losing facilities unable to bear the financial strain.

MA: ‘A crime against humanity’: In Groton, families protest court decision to evict disabled from state nursing homes
More than 100 family members of the residents at Seven Hills Pediatric Center marched down Main Street yesterday afternoon in protest of the state’s announcement that their loved ones will soon be evicted from the facility.
By Hiroko Sato, The Sun, Lowell, Mass. Oct 20, 2008

MN: Nursing home caregiver stole narcotic, replaced it with Tylenol, feds say
By Paul Walsh, Star Tribune. Star Tribune. Oct 20, 2008

NJ: For a Jane Doe, Seeking an Identity and Immigration Status
By Anemona Hartocollis. New York Times. Oct 21, 2008
Across the country, health care facilities are housing unidentified long-term patients with no proof of citizenship or legal residency, unable to qualify for Medicaid coverage. Some may be illegal immigrants, purposely abandoned by families seeking long-term help.

NY: Medicaid cap saves New Yorkers over $100 million
Capital News. Oct 20, 2008

NY: New compromise could keep 264-bed Suffolk nursing home open
By Rick Brand. Newsday. Oct 20, 2008

Medicare Says ‘No’ to Bed Sores and Other Hospital Complications
By Cindy Skrzycki. Washington Post. Oct 21, 2008; D02
“It’s a sea change, and we hope this is just the beginning,” said Herb Kuhn, deputy administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “When you enter a hospital, you don’t want to leave with something else. Let’s get it right the first time.”

AHCA presses for Medicaid funds in potential stimulus package
McKnight’s Long-Term Care News & AssistedLiving. Oct 20, 2008
In the event Congress decides to add a second economic stimulus package, the AHCA and other healthcare advocacy groups are already pushing for added Medicaid funds to be included. A recent study performed by Eljay LLC “will underscore the chronic under-funding of long-term care and point to the need for policy leaders to address Medicaid in the coming months,” said AHCA officials in a statement. The study’s findings should be released next week.

Medicaid Spending Will Join Medicare in Out Running the Economy in Years Ahead
Long-term care for low-income senior citizens will help drive cost to $4.9 trillion in 10 years
Senior Journal. Oct 19, 2008
According to a CMS annual report released Friday, Medicaid spending will far exceed the rate of growth of the U.S. economy over the next 10 years.

Nursing-home residents get help realizing their dreams
Bard Lindeman. Orlando Sentinel. Oct 20, 2008
Second Wind Dreams, under the guidance of founder Paula Kay Beville, Ph. D., makes dreams come true for nursing home-bound seniors nationwide.

ME: For elders, staying independent can be difficult as care needs increase
BY Colin Hickey. Morning Sentinel. Oct 19, 2008
Medicaid funding favors institutional care for seniors over home and community-based care, directing almost 3 times more money into institutional care. 85-year-old Jeannette Ross of Waterville, Maine said, “Home is where you want to be as long as you have health. I’m lucky to have the (home-based care providers) to help me. You don’t want to leave your home and go somewhere else to live if your mind is still alert. As long as my mind is alert, with the help from the girls, I should be able to stay home. Nobody wants to leave their home. Nobody.”

MN: Crisis in long-term care: Motion sensors could help seniors stay in their homes longer
What if seniors could live alone but someone would be alerted if they stopped eating or had a fall? Motion detectors being developed and tested in Minnesota may make that a reality.
By Jeremy Olson. TwinCities.com. Oct 19, 2008
Joyce Denning of Minnesota is monitored by motion sensors in her home as she goes about her daily activities. A computerized system compares her movements to her normal daily routine and notifies nursing staff if anything unusual is detected. These monitors have enabled Denning to continue to live independently though her legs are weakening with each passing year.

NJ: Safe Escape: Long-Term Care Facilities Prepare for Disaster
By Catherine Spader, RN. Nurse.com. Oct 20, 2008
“Everyone has an evacuation plan, but in LTC it’s hard to find the time to test and evaluate the effectiveness of a plan,” explains the director of the Center for Public Health Preparedness at Burlington Community College, Joy Spellman, RN, MSN. Spellman works with a project called Helping Those Who Can’t Help Themselves, training LTC staff to deal with a variety of disaster scenarios.

OH: Cost-cutting has own cost
By Catherine Candisky. Columbus Dispatch. Oct 18, 2008
Cuts in Ohio state spending may result in a drastic increase in long-term care spending for low-income seniors.

RI: Congress reacts warily to RI Medicaid overhaul
By Ray Henry, Associated Press. Oct 19, 2008
Under Gov. Don Carcieri’s (RI) new proposal to overhaul the Medicaid program, a miscalculation of allocation of lump-sum funding could result in cuts in services for those deemed less needy. While the overhaul could save the state millions of dollars, some worry about the possible fallout if the program does not work as planned.

TN: Realtors PAC the lead donor; Two nursing home PACs in the top tier
By Tom Humphrey.. Knoxville News Sentinel. Oct 20, 2008
A PAC representing National HealthCare Inc., and another representing the Tennessee Health Care Association are in the top tier for donations to state Legislative candidates.

TX: For-profit providers need share of disaster funding
By Tim Graves and Bruce Yarwood. Houston Chronicle. Oct 20, 2008
Under the Stafford Act, only not-for-profit LTC facilities are eligible to receive federal assistance after incurring damages during major storms. This is a growing issue for for-profit facilities damaged in recent hurricanes.

WA: System failing abuse victims
Vulnerable adults at risk, says Disability Rights Washington
By Ruth Teichroeb. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Oct 18, 2008

WV: 8,000 nurses at risk of losing licenses
Annual renewal deadline switched to Oct. 31
By Eric Eyre. The Charleston Gazette. Oct 20, 2008
Health care facilities that employ unlicensed nurses would likely be forced to return reimbursements to health insurance companies, and Medicaid and Medicare. “Private facilities would have to pay back a lot of money,” said Laura Rhodes, the nursing board’s director.

WY: Wheatland Citizens Hope To Save Nursing Home
KGWN TV, CBS 5, Cheyenne. Oct 18, 2008
Banner Health has announced it will close Platte County’s only nursing home in March, due to financial difficulties. On Saturday, community members, anxious to keep the facility open, joined in a Circle of Hope, forming a human chain in front of the nursing home.

Obama Attacks McCain on Health Care and Medicare, in Some Ways Inaccurately
By Kevin Sack. New York Times. Oct 18, 2008