According to the Alzheimer’s Association’s® 2012 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report released today, caring for people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias will cost the United States an estimated $200 billion in 2012, including $140 billion paid by Medicare and Medicaid. Medicare payments for an older person with Alzheimer’s or other dementias are nearly...
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The following is from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: The Centers for Medicaid & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today that it will partner with Text4Baby, a free national health texting service, to promote enrollment in both Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and provide pregnant women and new mothers...
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In between college and full-time work, Alex Hall became one of 2.5 million young adults added to a parent’s health insurance policy since that portion of the Affordable Care Act took effect. “Without a full-time job, he would have gone uncovered,” said his father, Jim Hall of Cedar Rapids. As co-owners of Rehab Management...
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The following is from Families USA:  Washington, D.C.—Caucus participants in Iowa may be studying Republican presidential candidates to try to find differences, but a report released today instead reveals what the candidates have in common—they have all endorsed repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and they all support drastic changes to Medicaid and Medicare....
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The 1-month-old baby didn’t stand a chance, even with the best care available at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Suffering from whooping cough and in grave condition when brought to the Iowa City hospital, the tiny boy became one of the victims of a vaccine-preventable disease. Dr. Jody Murph, associate professor of pediatrics...
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Cuts to the Medicaid program could leave millions of blacks and Latinos without access to doctors’ visits, medications and treatment to control chronic diseases such as asthma, diabetes and cancer, according to a new report. The report, released Thursday, Oct. 13, shows cutting Medicaid would put blacks and Latinos with serious health care needs...
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The following was released today by the National Association of Community Health Centers:   WASHINGTON, D.C. — A report released today shows that a growing number of Americans affected by the economic downturn — including middle class families — are turning to Community Health Centers for their health care needs. An estimated 60 million...
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DES MOINES – The prolonged U.S. economic downtown has contributed to a rise in the level of uncompensated “charity care” and unpaid medical debts that Iowa hospitals have incurred in recent years, officials said Tuesday. Overall, the 118-member Iowa Hospital Association provided about $850 million worth of care last year for which the facilities...
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The following came today from the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform & Modernization: “Modernizing Rural Health Care: Coverage, Quality and Innovation” is a report that offers unique data detailing the challenges facing 50 million rural Americans (including 1.3 million in Iowa, 43 percent of the state population) and proposes solutions for improving quality, access and affordability in rural areas....
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Iowa’s general fund will benefit from the state’s share of more than $23 million in savings under a new Medicaid integrity initiative. “We consider it a significant achievement,” said Iowa Medicaid Director Jennifer Vermeer. “$23 million is a lot of money.” Savings come from a $14 million, three-year contract with OptumInsight of Eden Prairie,...
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