Monday, August 07, 2006

Minnesota Nursing Homes Face Losses On Medicaid Patients, Study Says. The 395 nursing homes in Minnesota this year will lose an estimated $20 daily for each of the 30,000 residents whose care is paid for by Medicaid, according to recent study commissioned by America Health Care Association, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. The study, which was conducted by accounting firm [click link for full article] [Seniors / Aging News From Medical News Today] 12:49:31 PM    comment [] Natural Cocoa Compounds May Have Pronounced Vascular Benefits For Older Population, New Study Suggests. Flavanol-rich cocoa could offer powerful cardiovascular benefits for the nearly 78 million baby boomers in the United States today, suggests a new study published in the August issue of the Journal of Hypertension.Researchers at Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that drinking a standardized flavanol-rich cocoa beverage improved several measures of blood vessel function, especially among older study participants. [click link for full article] [Seniors / Aging News From Medical News Today] 12:49:19 PM    comment [] Researchers Develop Risk Predictor For Dementia. A team of researchers have developed a new method to predict dementia risk that could help to identify individuals who might benefit from intensive lifestyle consultations and drug interventions. They published their findings online in The Lancet Neurology.Risk scores have already been developed to predict the risk of cardiovascular events, diabetes, and mortality. [click link for full article] [Mental Health News From Medical News Today] 12:49:08 PM    comment [] Exposure To New Experiences Improves Memory And Could Help Treat Memory Problems. Exposure to new experiences improves memory, according to research by UCL (University College London) psychologists and medical doctors that could hold major implications for the treatment of memory problems. The study, published in "Neuron" in August, concludes that introducing completely new facts when learning, significantly improves memory performance. [click link for full article] [Mental Health News From Medical News Today] 12:48:53 PM    comment [] Strategies That Teach A Caregiver To Manage A Loved One's Illness Also Helps In Coping With Death. An intervention aimed at preventing depression and easing the burden of caring for a relative with dementia also helps to prevent complicated grief and depression following the death of the loved one, according to a University of Pittsburgh-led study. The findings, which are published in the August issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, could help the millions of American families caring for relatives with dementia. Approximately 4. [click link for full article] [Depression News From Medical News Today] 12:48:39 PM    comment [] Former HHS Secretary Thompson Expected To Release Paper Suggesting Changes To Medicaid. Former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson on Friday plans to release a "white paper" in which he recommends that the responsibility for long-term care of elderly Medicaid beneficiaries shift from joint state and federal funding to the federal government, the Washington Post reports. Thompson, who will speak to the National Governors Association on Saturday in Charleston, S.C. [click link for full article] [Health News from Medical News Today] 12:48:25 PM    comment [] 90% Of People Over Age 65 Have Prescription Drug Coverage, Many Enrolled In Medicare Benefit Concerned About Future Coverage, Study Says. More than 90% of U.S. residents ages 65 and older have some form of prescription drug coverage, in part because of enrollment in the Medicare prescription drug benefit, according to a study published Tuesday on the Health Affairs Web site, the Miami Herald reports (Hatcher, Miami Herald, 8/1). [click link for full article] [Medicare / Medicaid / Tricare News From Medical News Today] 12:47:43 PM    comment []

© Copyright 2006 Norman G. DeLisle, Jr.. Last update: 9/1/2006; 5:54:21 AM.