Georgia ranks 39th among the states on seniors’ health, one place better than last year, according to a new report on people 65 and older. America’s Health Rankings Senior Report listed several Southern states at the bottom, including Arkansas at 47th, Kentucky 48th, Mississippi 49th and Louisiana 50th. Georgia’s strengths, the report said, include a low prevalence…
From flashlights to tai chi to rewards programs, health care providers are using various strategies to prevent falls by patients. Falling is a dangerous — and very expensive — problem. Its direct medical costs are in the billions nationwide, more than $34 billion, according to recent reports. The total national cost of fall injuries is expected to soar to $59.6…
Nearly half of Georgia nursing homes have relatively low ratings — either 1 or 2 stars out of a possible 5, according to a report analyzing quality scores for these facilities nationally. The Kaiser Family Foundation, using the quality scores from the “Nursing Home Compare’’ website of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, found that Texas has…
As expected, Gov. Nathan Deal on Tuesday vetoed legislation that would have created a separate state agency devoted to older Georgians. House Bill 86 had passed overwhelmingly in the General Assembly session. It would have moved the current Division of Aging Services out of the Department of Human Services. The new agency, the Adult and…
The commissioner of Georgia’s Medicaid agency has written a sharply worded defense of nursing home payments now deemed improper by the federal government. A federal ruling saying Georgia should return more than $100 million in nursing home payments “is factually and legally incorrect,’’ Clyde Reese, commissioner of the Department of Community Health, wrote in a…
Federal officials want Georgia Medicaid to return more than $100 million in payments made to nursing homes. The feds say these payments were not permitted under the program’s regulations. The payments were made in fiscal years 2010 and 2011. But the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also asked Georgia to return any similarly inappropriate…
Jon Howell has resigned as president and CEO of the state’s powerful nursing home association, the group announced Thursday. The Georgia Health Care Association said Howell offered his resignation “to preserve the unity of the statewide association.” “The board accepted it with regret,’’ said the statement from William Davis, chair of GHCA’s board. Davis’ statement…
More than a million Georgians — or roughly 1 out of 10 people in the state — are 65 or older. And over the next 30 years, Georgia is facing an estimated 143% increase in its senior population. With this aging trend looming, the General Assembly will consider a bill that would move the current…
Though aging was beginning to affect his normal activities, retired Col. Irv Schoenberg declared, “I’m not moving again.” And that was that. Between his career in the Air Force and his subsequent career in private business, Schoenberg had lived in nine states, as well as in Asia and Europe. Now, at his home in Dunwoody,…
A state health agency Thursday delayed approval of a change in the Medicaid eligibility system for people in long-term care whose incomes are above the government program’s thresholds. The Department of Community Health’s board had been set to approve a switch for some lower-income Georgians — who now use “Qualified Income Trusts” (QITs) to qualify…