We at Basic American Comfort would like to bring to you a round up of some of the most interesting news in Long-Term Care this week.

Obama Administration Finds Health-Care Model in Green Bay

By Ceci Connolly, Washington Post. Jun 11, 2009

Today President Obama will be visiting Green Bay, Wisconsin — a city that is setting the example for improving health outcomes while controlling medical spending at the same time. Peter Orszag, the Obama administration budget chief and a key player on health-care reform said, “If we could make the rest of the nation practice medicine the way that Green Bay does, we would have higher quality and significantly lower costs.” 

Senators Weigh ‘Public Option’ Compromise in Health-Care Debate

By Laura Litvan. Bloomberg.com. Jun 11, 2009

Senators are mulling over a new idea proposed by Senator Kent Conrad, ND (D), which would create nonprofit health care cooperatives in which lower-cost rates could be negotiated directly between non-profits and health-care providers. These plans would be sold on an Internet “exchange” and could offer reduced group rates to consumers. The plan would be operated by members and not by the government; a concept that Democrats hope could help draw in Republicans support. 

Doctors’ Group Opposes Public Insurance Plan

By Robert Pear, New York Times. Jun 11, 2009

The American Medical Association recently submitted comments to the Senate Finance Committee expressing opposition to the Obama administration’s proposal to create a government-sponsored insurance plan. “The A.M.A. does not believe that creating a public health insurance option for non-disabled individuals under age 65 is the best way to expand health insurance coverage and lower costs,” the comments read. “The introduction of a new public plan threatens to restrict patient choice by driving out private insurers, which currently provide coverage for nearly 70 percent of Americans.” 

Officials: WHO likely to declare first flu pandemic in 41 years

By The Associated Press. USA Today. Jun 11, 2009

An emergency swine flu meeting was held on Thursday by the World Health Organization as the probability rises that this will be declared the first flu pandemic in 41 years. Such an announcement will likely encourage governments to take precautionary measures to contain the virus, and push drug manufacturers to accelerate swine flu vaccine production. 

Social Security and Medicare Projections: 2009

by Pamela Villarreal. National Center for Policy Analysis. Jun 11, 2009

“Unfunded liability” is the gap between the total dollar amount of promised benefits to current and future retirees and the actual dollar amount of Medicare premiums and dedicated taxes that can be collected. The current unfunded liability of Social Security and Medicare is now standing at almost $107 trillion, according to the 2009 Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports.  

Sick prison inmates could head to nursing homes

By Kurt Erickson. Quad-City Times. Jun 11, 2009

In hopes of reducing over-crowding and high medical costs at Ohio prisons, one of the top prison administrators, Michael Randle, helped to implement a plan to transfer incapacitated and terminally ill inmates to the state’s nursing facilities in order to shift the cost of medical care from general state funds to federal health care dollars. Randle has now moved to Illinois, where he is considering a similar money-saving strategy. Under the current system, Illinois nursing facilities have the option of denying a felon, or imposing strict rules for that person if they are to be admitted.  

 Hospital workers say yes to union

Caritas Carney is second in Catholic chain to join SEIU

By Robert Weisman. Boston Globe. Jun 11, 2009

By a vote of 299 to 78, workers of the Caritas Carney Hospital in Dorchester voted to affiliate with union Local 1199 of SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton which is another of the Caritas Christi Health Care hospitals, unionized in April. Represented in the bargaining unit will be licensed practical nurses, nurse assistants, respiratory therapists, radiology technicians, dietary workers, clerical workers, and housekeepers. The vote is making ripples throughout the state of Massachusetts, as SEIU ramps up its efforts to unionize workers on a massive scale. 

 Nursing home movement to let residents live on own terms offers potential payoffs, challenges

By Jeremy Olson. Pioneer Press. Jun 11, 2009

A patient-centered approach is changing the face of skilled nursing facilities across the country. Allowing residents the freedom to choose when to wake up, when to go to bed, when to have a snack and so-on is creating an environment where both residents and their caretakers are happier. Of course this concept is easier in the new facilities that are now often built around this style of care, but even older facilities can utilize these concepts and make improvements to the environment and quality of life they can provide to patients.