This Month in the News

This Month in the News

Susan Zahner, Ph.D., an assistant professor of nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was recently presented the Van Hise Outreach Award as part of the 2006 Distinguished Teaching Awards.  The award, which carries a $5,000 stipend, was presented at a ceremony on April 18th. 

Richard Johnson, Ph.D., a principal research associate at the Urban Institute, was quoted in an April 18, 2006 article in the Sacramento Bee that examined the increasing trend of older women living alone into their final years.  The article states that according to the U.S. Census Bureau, “older women are nearly twice as likely as older men to live alone and in poverty.”  Johnson states that “most frail older people rely on an informal network of unpaid caregivers” because “Medicare covers only limited long-term care, and Medi-Cal (California’s version of Medicaid) is insufficient and limited to those with low incomes and few assets.”   

Glen Mays, Ph.D., M.P.H., a professor at the College of Public Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, was quoted in an April 19, 2006 article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that detailed the expansion of the Arkansas Surgical Hospital.  The article describes a $10 million expansion, which includes increasing the number of beds from 16 to 33, and adding six operating rooms.  The expansion was announced only one year after the hospital’s opening.  Mays states that although the number of beds is still fairly small, “that kind of growth certainly would attract the attention of hospitals in the market.  If that continues, they ultimately are going to be competing more head to head.” 

Mila Kofman, J.D., an associate research professor at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute, was quoted in an April 24, 2006 article in the Dallas-Fort Worth Star-Telegram that examined how health care costs burden small businesses.  The article states that many small businesses are asking employees to contribute more towards their health insurance or attempting to offer health plans options with stingier benefits to reduce their costs.  Kofman states that, “the rising cost of drugs, the development of new medical treatments and the aging population’s greater need for health services all contribute to the rising price of health coverage.” 

Bruce Stuart, Ph.D., director of the Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy & Aging at the University of Maryland, was quoted in a May 1, 2006 article in BusinessWeek Online that examined why some seniors will temporarily lose drug coverage through Medicare Part D.  The article states that many seniors were stunned when they unknowingly fell into what policymakers refer to as the “doughnut hole,” the $2,850 gap in coverage by many Medicare prescription drug plans.  Stuart said that “about 38 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are at risk” of losing drug coverage in this gap. 

David Blumenthal, M.D. , a health policy professor at Harvard Medical School, was recently named one of the 50 most powerful physicians in the United States by Modern Healthcare, according to a May 1, 2006 article in the Boston Globe. 

 
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