ELF News Archives
September 2004- LENORE SKENAZY: The end of nursing homes -
Baby boomers have revolutionized music, food, fashion, childbirth and sex. Finally, they're focusing on something important:
Nursing homes.
"I aim to close every nursing home in America," says geriatrician William Thomas, 44. "And I have 77 million allies. (Boomers) are going to resist being institutionalized on a massive scale."
Hell no, we won't go! But . . . where else is there?
Right now, Thomas admits, there aren't many options. Either you can live alone, which gets boring. Or you can enter a "home." To younger folks, maybe a 180-bed institution looks like a place to make 179 new friends. But to elders, it looks like a place filled with 179 strangers -- one of whom will be sharing the bathroom.
Detroit Free Press 9/30
- Merck withraws arthritis drug Vioxx -
Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. (MRK) is pulling its blockbuster arthritis drug Vioxx from the market worldwide because data from a clinical trial found an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
USA Today 9/30
- Consumer Reports "Watch List'' exposes three area nursing homes -
Three nursing homes in the Coastal Empire are on Consumer Reports annual Nursing Home Watch List.
Savannah Now.com 9/30
- Long Term Care Organization Says “Nursing Home Watch List” Inaccurate and Misleading -
The American Health Care Association (AHCA) today said that a new report issued this week by the Consumers Union entitled, "How Good are Your State's Nursing Homes?” is misleading consumers with its conclusions about quality in our nation’s nursing homes.
American Health Care Association 9/28
- Medicare safety net blow-out: Labor -
TREASURY figures showed the cost of the Federal Government's Medicare safety net would blow out by an extra $350 million within three years, Labor said today.
News.Com.Au 9/28
- Social Security This Week: September 24, 2004 -
Mike Tanner Responds to Kerry's Social Security Claims; Heritage Foundation Refutes Washington Post's Claims; New York Times Highlights Difficulties in Selling Social Security Reform
Cato Institute 9/27
- The Forgotten Payroll Tax -
It's a huge tax that most Americans don't understand. And most of those who support leviathan government want to keep it that way. They're betting on the apathy and ignorance of the average American when this tax is discussed.
Ludwig Von Mises 9/24
- The Meaning of Security -
Submission and compliance: that is what is meant by the term security in the state's lexicon. It is an interesting choice of words. Its use in public life dates at least to the advent of Social Security, a tax scheme that promises to put you on welfare in your old age in exchange for paying 14 percent of your income to support current retirees who constitute the wealthiest demographic slice of the American population. Even in this case, the term security meant compliance, as shown by the tendency of recipients to back ever more redistribution.
Ludwig Von Mises 9/24
- Charges filed against worker held in nursing home assault -
Santa Clara County prosecutors have filed criminal charges against a Palo Alto nursing home worker who allegedly had sexual contact with an elderly female resident, officials said Monday, the same day state investigators visited Lytton Gardens.
Mercury News 9/21
- UPDATE 1-Snow says U.S. Social Security needs to be changed -
U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow on Monday agreed with recent calls to reform Social Security and Medicare but offered no new proposals to keep the income and heath insurance programs for the elderly solvent.
"Simply put, change is needed
Reuters 9/21
- This Week in Social Security -
Now Is the Time to Tackle Entitlements; Rich Lowry: Kerry Likely to Attempt Demagoguery on Social
Security; Jagadeesh Gokhale: True "Cost" of Reform Is Mischaracterized
Cato Institute 9/15
- Pension agency may be broke by 2020 -
The analysis of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. suggests that, without a taxpayer-funded government bailout, "retirees would suffer strongly from cash exhaustion" at the agency, which pays benefits to some 1 million Americans and insures private pensions of about 43 million more.
CNN 9/15
- Medical costs eat at Social Security -
With a new Medicare drug benefit set to begin in 2006, Americans 65 and older can expect to spend a large and growing share of their Social Security checks on Medicare premiums and expenses, previously undisclosed federal data show.
USA Today 9/14
- Social Security's future topic of AARP forum -
"Social Security: Our Future. Our Fight" will include discussion of the condition of the program that provides benefits to millions of retirees, the disabled and survivors, and its outlook if changes are not made and possible solutions to keep it secure in the future.
The Flint Journal 9/14
- Picking the best Medicare drug discount card is tougher than ever -
The wallets of senior citizens sure have been getting fatter over the past few years--but not from extra cash. Instead, they've been bulked up by the host of prescription discount cards sponsored by groups ranging from AARP to drugstore chains. The most recent entrant into the discount derby? Uncle Sam.
US News & World Report 9/13
- Immigration plan envisions 'incentives' to illegal aliens -
Millions of illegal aliens in the United States would be free from arrest and deportation, have access to tax-deferred savings accounts and Social Security credits, and get unrestricted travel to and from their home countries under President Bush's guest-worker program.
Washington Times 9/13
- Going for the bold -
Defying conventional political wisdom that cautions against raising complex, risk-taking issues in the midst of a tight election, Mr. Bush has thrown into the campaign mix Social Security privatization and reforming the nation's federal tax code to make the system fairer and maybe flatter.
Washington Times 9/13
- WAKE -UP CALL To All Senior Citizens -
According to a September 4, 2004 article by the Associated Press, Medicare premiums for Part A, which covers doctor visits and other non-hospital expenses will rise by 17% in 2005. It will be the largest increase is the program's 40-year-history. Monthly payments will jump to $78.20, up from $66.60.
Independent News 9/06
- Nursing Home Abuse -
Report: Elderly Abused at 1 in 3 Nursing Homes: Reports of serious, physical, sexual and verbal abuse are "numerous" among the nation's nursing homes, according to a congressional report released today.
ABC News 9/06
- Kerry: Bush Aims to 'Bamboozle,' Hide Medicare News -
Democrat John Kerry rebuked President Bush on Saturday for trying to "bamboozle" U.S. voters and burying the largest increase in Medicare history with an announcement at the start of a long holiday weekend amid a rush of news at home and abroad.
Reuters 9/06
- Nursing Homes Are Also Hard for Those Left Behind -
Moving into a long-term care facility can be very difficult for patients with dementia, and new research shows that their caregivers may also suffer during the transition.
Yahoo News 9/04
- Social Security This Week: May 21, 2004 -
President Bush Commits to Private Accounts; Greenspan Issues New
Social Security Warning; Indianapolis Star Endorses Private Retirement Accounts; Republican and Democratic Platforms Vary Widely on Social Security
Cato Institute 9/03