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Recent Personal HealthPosts

Bright Ideas to Keep You Healthy

Posted on 05/24/2013 by | News, Culture, Sights and Sounds | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal Health | TechnologyYes, the talking companion dog stole the show at the Healthy Aging Forum on Capitol Hill May 23 (you can meet him in the video below), but there were plenty of other ideas on display from government agencies, big health care companies, foundations and entrepreneurs about improving the lives of America’s aging population. If the turnout was a bit underwhelming, the products, services and innovations on display had the power to change lives in ways both big and small. Sponsored …

Great News for Illinoisans Looking for Health Coverage

Posted on 05/24/2013 by | All the news that matters for Illinoisans over 50. | Comments

health care | Personal Health | Your LifeHey blog readers! This is Gerardo Cardenas with AARP Illinois’ Communications Team bringing you great news from our state Capitol in Springfield! For too long, thousands of Illinoisans have not had access to basic health and dental care even when employed. But on May 23rd, the State Senate passed a key legislative measure that will establish the state’s first Health Insurance Marketplace. House Bill 3227  passed the Senate by a vote of 39-19 and is on its way to the State House. We …

What Do Hospitals in Your Area Charge? Look It Up

Posted on 05/24/2013 by | Who's News | Comments

Bulletin Today | Money & Savings | Personal HealthLast week the Obama administration started publishing comparative data on what more than 3,000 hospitals across the nation charge for services — information that has long been hidden from consumers. And the results were pretty shocking. As Modern Healthcare reports, the data show enormous disparities in what hospitals charge for the same treatments — not just from region to region, but even among hospitals in the same metropolitan area. Treatment for kidney and urinary tract infections, for example, typically costs $40,902 …

Is Poverty Among Older Americans Undercounted?

Posted on 05/24/2013 by | Washington Watch | Comments

Bulletin Today | Money & Savings | Personal Health | PoliticsPoverty levels are much higher for older Americans when you factor in how much they need to spend on health care, the Census Bureau has found. While 9 percent or so of all Americans 65 and older were below the official poverty threshold in 2011 ($10,788 for an individual), 15 percent were below an alternative threshold that takes into account spending on health care. The alternative measure also takes into account variations in the cost of living, taxes, whether a …

Happy 114th Birthday to the Oldest Living American!

Posted on 05/23/2013 by | Who's News | Comments

Bulletin Today | Home & Family | Personal HealthOK, so Jeralean Talley of Inkster, Mich., who was born on May 23, 1899, isn’t quite the oldest person in the world — that distinction belongs to Jiromon Kimura, a Japanese man who turned 116 in April. That said, the oldest living American has been around for a long, long time. When Talley was born in Montrose, Ga., William McKinley was President, Henry Ford was just getting started as an automobile maker, music was played on phonographs with big horns instead …

We Need More Nurses to Provide Primary Care

Posted on 05/23/2013 by | Public Policy | Comments

health care | Personal Health | Public Policy InstituteA recent survey of doctors and nurses has put the spotlight on a topic that is becoming more important every day — the shortage of primary care providers and the role for nurses in fixing it. According to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, the doctors and nurses broadly agreed that, “Nurse practitioners should be able to practice to the full extent of their education and training.” Unfortunately, they held very different views on just what that …

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