A state-by-state snapshot of poverty among seniors: Findings from analysis of the supplemental poverty measure
Kaiser Health News, May 20, 2013
During recent deficit reduction discussions, policymakers have debated whether to increase Medicare beneficiaries' contributions toward their medical care and reduce the cost of living adjustment to Social Security benefits. Having a clear picture of the extent of poverty among seniors, both nationally and at the state level, is important in the context of these debates. Traditionally, the Census Bureau has estimated poverty rates using the "official" poverty measure, which was created in the early 1960s. Some have expressed concern that the official measure is outdated and does not accurately reflect individuals' incomes or financial resources.
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US won't mirror Mass. on health exchanges
Boston Globe, May 20, 2013
WASHINGTON - When millions of Americans around the country sign up for insurance under President Obama's sweeping health care law in October, the system they encounter will lack some of the key protections and cost controls that Massachusetts consumers receive.
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Advocates struggle to reach growing ranks of suburban poor
NPR, May 20, 2013
Poverty has grown everywhere in the U.S. in recent years, but mostly in the suburbs. During the 2000s, it grew twice as fast in suburban areas as in cities, with more than 16 million poor people now living in the nation's suburbs - more than in urban or rural areas.
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New report says 1 out of 5 children has a mental disorder
MD Mama blog, Boston.com, May 20, 2013
In your average classroom of 20 children, four of them have a mental disorder. That's the finding of a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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Bans of same-sex marriage can take a psychological toll
NPR, May 20, 2013
When several states passed laws banning same-sex marriages, researchers found that the mental health of gay residents seemed to suffer. Conversely, stress-related disorders dropped after the legalization of gay marriage in one state.
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GOP seeks to ensnare health law in IRS scandal
Boston Globe, May 20, 2013
WASHINGTON - Congressional Republicans - not resting with the Internal Revenue Service scandal - are moving to broaden the matter to an array of tax malfeasances and "intimidation tactics" they hope will ensnare the White House.
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Still, a question persists: How big is drug lab crisis?
WBUR Special Report, May 19, 2013
BOSTON - Nine months after Massachusetts authorities closed a state drug lab, officials are still trying to determine just how big the crisis is — and how many criminal cases are potentially compromised.
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How concentrated is Mass. health market? Now you can take a look.
Health Care Stew blog, Boston.com, May 18, 2013
Check out a great new resource on the Massachusetts health care system from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts: the Massachusetts Health Care Delivery System Map. As the state's new Health Policy Commission seeks to get its mind and arms around the issue of market concentration, the Foundation's new site boils the issue down to the key factors in an impressively accessible and compelling way.
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Mass. Senate budget tempers Gov. Deval Patrick's transportation and education push
Boston Globe, May 15, 2013
State Senate leaders unveiled a $33.92 billion annual budget today that boosts spending on services for the elderly and special education, but falls well short of Governor Deval Patrick's plan to provide universal access to childcare and broadly expand the state's aging transportation network.
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State health inspections backlogged months as department pleads for money
Boston Globe, May 14, 2013
The Massachusetts health department, reeling from years of budget cuts, has fallen significantly behind on investigating consumer complaints about medical facilities and lacks sufficient staff to conduct safety inspections of everything from summer camps to food manufacturers to migrant farm workers' housing.
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Poverty as a childhood disease
New York Times Op Ed by Perri Klass, MD, former pediatrician at Dorchester House, May 13, 2013
Poverty is an exam room familiar. From Bellevue Hospital in New York to the neighborhood health center in Boston where I used to work, poverty has filtered through many of my interactions with parents and their children.
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Complex, flawed - and necessary: Here comes ObamaCare
WBUR Radio, May 13, 2013
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the news, the dorsal fin of Obamacare has sliced the water's surface. Diehard opponents vow to make next year's midterm elections a referendum on a law they've disparaged as socialist claptrap. Meanwhile, conservative pundit David Brooks spies logistical icebergs ahead as the hellishly complex reforms are implemented.
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Audrey Shelto named president of Blue Cross Foundation
Boston Globe White Coat Notes, May 10, 2013
Six months after the head of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation announced that she was leaving the nonprofit to be an executive at the group's namesake insurer, another of the insurer's leaders has been named to take her place.
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Court filing suggests Mass. pharmacy blamed for meningitis outbreak misled regulators
WBUR Radio, May 10, 2013
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - New court filings suggest a Massachusetts pharmacy blamed for a deadly outbreak of fungal meningitis last year may have used patient lists from a Nashville clinic to mislead regulators.
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Health centers to help uninsured individuals gain affordable health insurance coverage
HRSA Press Room, May 9, 2013
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced new funding to help more uninsured Americans enroll in new health insurance coverage options made available by the Affordable Care Act. Approximately $150 million will help community health centers provide in-person enrollment assistance to uninsured individuals across the nation. About 1,200 health centers operate nearly 9,000 service delivery sites nationwide and serve approximately 21 million patients each year.
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Medicare list of hospital charges for 100 procedures shows wide variation
Boston Globe White Coat Notes, May 8, 2013
US hospitals charge Medicare widely varying amounts for the same medical procedure, even when those hospitals are in the same city or right across the street from each other, according to data released Wednesday by the federal government. The data are attracting lots of attention from the media, but the findings probably won't surprise Massachusetts consumers.
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Dr. Ronald Dunlap to be president of the Mass. Medical Society
Boston Globe White Coat Notes, May 8, 2013
A Norwell cardiologist has been elected officially to be the next president of the Massachusetts Medical Society. Dr. Ronald Dunlap will serve a one-year term beginning Monday, after serving a year as president-elect. Dunlap is a physician with South Shore Cardiology in Weymouth with appointments at South Shore Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
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About half of adults lacked adequate health coverage in 2012
New York Times, May 6, 2013
About half of United States adults ages 19 to 64 didn't have health insurance for at least part of last year or were underinsured, a new report from the Commonwealth Fund says.
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About half of adults lacked adequate health coverage in 2012
New York Times, May 6, 2013
About half of United States adults ages 19 to 64 didn't have health insurance for at least part of last year or were underinsured, a new report from the Commonwealth Fund says.
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New worries for Democrats on health law
New York Times, May 6, 2013
WASHINGTON - As the administration struggles to put in place the final, complex piece of President Obama's signature health care law, an endeavor on a scale not seen since Medicare's creation nearly a half-century ago, Democrats are worried that major snags will be exploited by Republicans in next year's midterm elections.
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Cambridge Health Alliance, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center sign affiliation agreement
Boston Globe White Coat Notes, May 2, 2013
Cambridge Health Alliance and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center said Thursday that they have signed an agreement to form a clinical and academic affiliation to enhance care provided by both institutions.
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The Innovators: What the Innovation Fund for the Uninsured 2001-2010 teaches us about delivering better health care
Blue Cross Blue Shield, May 2, 2013
From 2001 through 2010, the Foundation awarded $10.5 million to 48 organizations across the Commonwealth through the Innovation Fund for the Uninsured. The organizations profiled in this report, along with the other grant recipients, were at the forefront of delivering higher-quality, more cost-effective care.
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Clipboard: Study finds gains for mental health, but not physical health, in Medicaid recipients
Boston Globe White Coat Notes, May 2, 2013
A new analysis of Oregon residents chosen at random from a pool of uninsured people to receive Medicaid coverage has found that after about two years, the health of recipients did not improve on key measures, such as blood pressure or blood sugar levels. But fewer of those on Medicaid were depressed.
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Suicide rate up sharply among middle-aged
WBUR Radio, May 2, 2013
NEW YORK - The suicide rate among middle-aged Americans climbed a startling 28 percent in a decade, a period that included the recession and the mortgage crisis, the government reported Thursday.
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