We at Basic American Comfort would like to bring to you the most interesting news in long-term care this week from AHCA/NCAL Gazette.

White House team joins talks on health care bill
By David M. Herzenhorn and Robert Pear, New York Times. Oct 15, 2009

A White House delegation yesterday joined a group of Democratic Senators in a closed-door session on the Hill, where discussion focused on the difficult task of merging the various versions of a health reform bill. Among the participants were Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Christopher J. Dodd, acting chairman of the health committee, and Senator Max Baucus. “The conversations are just starting,” Ms. Sebelius said as she left the meeting. “People are eager to keep the momentum going.”
Meanwhile, Democrats in both the House and Senate addressed halting the large cuts to doctors’ Medicare payments that begin in January. A bill introduced to the Senate by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) on Tuesday would block the cuts and eliminate the existing formula.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/health/policy/15health.html
 
Public option is next big hurdle in health debate
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times. Oct 15, 2009

Still promoting a ‘public option,’ President Obama reportedly “looks favorably” on a compromise proposal by Republican Senator Olympia Snowe to establish a “trigger” that would create a “government-run plan in states where at least 5 percent of residents lacked access to affordable care.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/health/policy/15public.html?_r=1&hp
 
Studies: Some nursing home elderly get futile care
By The Associated Press. Oct 14, 2009

Two new federally funded studies have found that many frail, elderly people being treated for dementia or undergoing dialysis in nursing homes, are sustaining unnecessary suffering from futile end-of-life care.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hU4WyhNhnJuCwbUUt40Pb92SCQtwD9BB3NMO0
 
Risks call dialysis into question for nursing home patients
By Rita Rubin, USA Today. Oct 15, 2009

 
According to a report today in The New England Journal of Medicine, more than a half of nursing home patients who start dialysis die within a year, and another third of them experience significant decline in ADLs, bringing into question the advisability of performing aggressive and uncomfortable procedures on those who may find more benefits in receiving palliative care.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-10-14-dialysis-elderly_N.htm
 
Families Need to Know When Dementia Becomes Terminal
HealthDay News. Atlanta Journal Constitution. Oct 14, 2009
A new study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, shows that the effects of end-stage dementia are far-reaching and eventually fatal. Nearly half of patients entered in the study received aggressive interventions , such as tube feeding, IV nutrition, or hospitalization during the last three months of life.
“When families are more prepared, their loved ones get less burdensome interventions,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Susan Mitchell, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a senior scientist at the Hebrew Senior Life Institute for Aging Research in Boston..
http://www.ajc.com/health/content/shared-auto/healthnews/alzh/631940.html
 
Interim Guidance on Infection Control Measures for 2009 H1N1 Influenza in Healthcare Settings, Including Protection of Healthcare Personnel
CDC. Oct 14, 2009 2:00 PM ET

CDC is releasing updated interim guidance on infection control measures to prevent transmission of 2009 H1N1 influenza in healthcare facilities. The updated guidance applies uniquely to the special circumstances of the current 2009 H1N1 pandemic and will be updated as necessary as new information becomes available throughout the course of this influenza season. It provides general guidance for all healthcare facilities.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidelines_infection_control.htm.
 
MA: Home-care system leaves elderly at risk, auditor says
By David Abel, Boston Globe. Oct 15, 2009

Massachusetts Auditor A. Joseph DeNucci  has issued a report saying the $332 million state home-care services program is vulnerable to fraud and has employed felons  as personal care attendants. The state Medicaid program is one of only four in the nation that has no requirements for training, education, and criminal background checks for personal care attendants.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/10/15/home_care_system_leaves_elderly_at_risk_auditor_says/
 
NY: Breslin, lawmakers won’t budge
By Carol DeMare, Times Union. Oct 15, 2009 

Albany county Executive Mike Breslin is adamant that the county is getting out of the nursing home business, saying that subsidizing the nursing home by taxpayers is running about $18 million annually.
long-term health care that is community-based and provided at home.
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=853051&category=ALBANY&BCCode=&newsdate=10/15/2009
 
Hidden costs of Medicare Advantage
By  Philip Rucker, Washington Post. Oct. 15, 2009

 
“The promise of Medicare Advantage and Medicare HMOs was to save the government money, to save consumers money, all the while providing additional benefits and coordinating care,” said Joseph Baker, president of the Medicare Rights Center. “That promise has been unfulfilled overall because the plans are overpaid by the federal government at this point.”
Free gym memberships, medical equipment and over-the-counter medications are some of the perks bundled into Medicare Advantage plans in order to entice seniors to purchase them. However, these perks are ultimately funded by taxpayers and in some instances by higher co-pays and additional fees for care.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/14/AR2009101403953.html
 
Dancing With Wheels
By Michele Morgan Bolton, Boston Globe. Oct 15, 2009

A group of wheelchair dancers is bringing joy and entertainment to nursing homes and is helping its disabled dancers to develop coordination skills and a sense of independence and self-worth.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2009/10/15/wheelchair_dancers_find_new_fulfillment_in_the_spotlight/