ShAARP Session: Observations from AARP

I particularly like the part where Jamie Oliver bashes his chicken with the blunt end of a frying pan in this thoroughly entertaining video from the New York Times.

With the health care crisis affecting so many, it's not surprising to find Americans cutting back on check-ups, medication and other health care that they simply can't afford. But health care professionals are also finding ways to cut back costs for patients so people who need medical attention aren't left at the way side. AARP Bulletin has a great article about how many hospitals are actually making home visits to patients to avoid readmission and the costs that come with it:

"Traditionally, hospitals haven't followed their patients' progress after they've been discharged. But high readmission rates have been linked to spiraling--and unnecessary--health care costs, prompting hospitals like Rush to start pilot programs to give patients the help they may need when they first return home.

A study published in the April New England Journal of Medicine reports that, currently, about one in five Medicare patients returns to a hospital within 30 days of being discharged. And that's expensive."

This has become such a concern that President Obama's budget proposal and health care reform bills are calling for changes in the wat that hospitals are being paid, as well as pending legislation that would create a new Medicare benefit to extend services that assist folks' transition from hospital to home. But in the meantime, many hospitals are taking action on their own. For example, Rush University Medical Center created a program a couple of years ago, the Enhanced Discharge Planning Program, that consisted of follow up calls to patients days after being discharged as well as arranging home visits if necessary. About 60 percent of the people who get follow-up calls need help, according to the program's records.

Looks like they have the right idea. Check out the entire piece.

Folks are understandably concerned about President Obama's contention that no new taxes will be needed to pay for health care reform, which has in turn raised questions about cuts or changes to Medicare.

AARP's Inside E Street has a special report by Secretary of HHS Kathleen Sebelius responding to this concern. In short, there will be no cuts to Medicare benefits, but there would be to waste and fraud in the system, which will only help the program (and our pockets). Check it out.

You may have heard the term "public option" tossed around lately in the same breath as "health care reform.

If you're confused about what that means, be sure to check out and forward this valuable explanation from Nancy-Ann DeParle, White House Office of Health Reform, who appeared on AARP's Prime Time Radio this week.

We thought we'd fill you in on what AARP Executive Vice President, Nancy LeaMond, had to say in response to President Obama's speech today on Wall Street. You can read the full release here, but below is a snippet:

"Older Americans saw their retirement savings decimated by the economic crisis. AARP has long maintained that consumers must be armed with as much information as possible so that they can make sound financial decisions. In a world where individuals must plan for their own financial futures, information is imperative and greater protections are needed in the marketplace.

"AARP supports the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency that would advocate on behalf of consumers' needs in the financial marketplace. It is important that individuals know they are buying products and getting financial advice from industry certified advisors. It is important that when individuals buy a product that has been recommended to them it is the right product for their needs.

"In a recent AARP survey, 95 percent of people 25 years and older believe in having investment services firms increase their transparency around the costs, risks and benefits of all financial products they offer. The same number of individuals believe companies that manage 401(k) plans should be required to clearly explain their fees on participant's annual statements. AARP has long advocated for transparency in 401(k) plans, having known that the majority of investors are unaware of the fees associated with their retirement savings."