Free Republic

President Joe Biden’s proposed infrastructure legislation has the political class seemingly locked in a debate about what “infrastructure” means. Biden and Democratic leaders—backed by a majority of the U.S. population—believe that “infrastructure” is more than just roads and bridges and encompasses all the structures that help modern society function. Their new bill reflects that understanding, including improvements to water pipes and the electrical grid, universal broadband access, charging stations for electric vehicles, physical upgrades to schools and universities, and—perhaps most innovatively—home care for the elderly and disabled, support for families with children, and expanded access to health care. Republican elected...

WASHINGTON, DC – As the population ages, incidents of elder abuse increase, according to the World Health Organization. WHO estimates that almost 17% of seniors 60 years of age and older have experienced some form of abuse over the past 12 months. “Nearly 42 million residents of the U.S. are 60 years old. That means more than seven million seniors were ill-treated by caregivers, family members and even friends last year. But, the alarming fact is that segment of the population is growing exceptionally fast. In fact, each day 10,000 more citizens turn 65. The Census Bureau estimates that by...

In one of Minnesota’s largest labor organizing efforts since the Depression, home care workers across the state on Tuesday voted to join the Service Employees International Union, giving that organization the power to bargain on their behalf. The vote is the culmination of one of the most sweeping union expansion efforts in Minnesota history and represents a victory for Gov. Mark Dayton and the DFL-controlled Legislature, who pushed through legislation that enabled the certification vote. Workers and those they care for erupted in cheers and chants of “When we fight, we win!” when results were announced at the labor pavilion...

President Obama issued a directive today granting home health care workers the same protections of minimum wage and overtime that other workers get. Noting that home health care workers were classified in the same category as babysitters and therefore exempt from most labor rules, the president noted that many of these employees required government assistance just to make ends meet. "This means that many homecare workers are forced to rely

It was after hundreds of patients and providers complained about the program after it was implemented on January 1 that the legislation to abolish the bidding program was introduced. The federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has designed the bidding program in a manner that is arbitrary and severe, which has restricted the number of companies that are allowed to provide commonly used medical equipment and services. Durable medical equipment and services (DME) providers have advised President Obama to abolish Medicare's questionable "competitive" bidding for homecare. They argue that this decreases quality and availability of homecare for older...

Sen. Tom Daschle, Rep. Jason Altmire, Healthcare Experts Tout Homecare As Cost-Effective Solution In The Healthcare Reform ProcessArticle Date: 26 Jul 2009 - 0:00 PDT During a roundtable discussion on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Blue Dog Democrat Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) stressed the cost-effective role that homecare can play in the reform of the U.S. healthcare system. The roundtable also addressed the controversial competitive bidding program for home medical equipment and services. The American Association for Homecare hosted the event, which was attended by congressional staff and media. Senator Daschle and Representative Altmire...

Hey all. King Vanity is not doing well and we have had lab work done in home ....meaning no treatable health care needs. He is a LeveL 5 cEREBRAL pALSY LIVING 28 YRS. Those that know him understand he has been going south this last year. I just got a few in home lecture series for him as he can not be in public with all the machines in a normal lecture hall. Brass is last night he took a bad turn and because of his home hospice meaning me Mom going all the way..... We are blessed to have...

he amount of money Medicare spends on chronically ill patients varies substantially from state to state, with nearly $40,000 spent per patient in New Jersey and the District of Columbia, but less than $24,000 spent in states such as Indiana and West Virginia. Yet, there is no indication that patients in the states with the highest spending are better off than those in states with the lowest spending. In fact, the reverse seems to be true, according to researchers at Dartmouth Medical School...(snip) "We need to redirect resources away from acute care and invest in infrastructure that can better coordinate...

19 September 2005 EXCLUSIVE: GRAN STARVES TO DEATH Ivy, 79, abandoned by family, friends and social services By Robert Stansfield A GRAN starved to death because her council home had no letterbox so her pension could not be delivered. Penniless Ivy Allen, 79, had barely drunk or eaten in the last three months of her life. None of her 10 children, 30 grandkids, social services or pensions officials noticed she was dying at her home in Warrington, Cheshire. Grandson Anthony Bradbury, 24, said: "I can't forgive myself." _______________ TRAGIC Ivy Allen's pension was sent back each week after the council...

<p>Nellie Plank, 96, was forced out of a nursing home by Medicaid cuts and now lives with her son, James Hosier. "I've called a bunch of politicians and that was really a big help," Hosier said sarcastically. "I've voted my last vote — there's no point to it. You call when you need help and all you get is a bunch of bull, blaming it on somebody else."</p>

HOLLAND -- Black hair frames Jesse Barrera's round face, and long eyelashes veil brown eyes as he moves his head from side to side. His hands curl up at his chest like a newborn baby. "Are you the best boy? Yes, you are. You're my boy," Lilly Barrera coos to her son as she bends next to his oversized recliner and presses gentle kisses onto his fists. At 23, Jesse has lived nearly five times longer than his doctors predicted when they diagnosed him shortly after birth with severe cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder, and lung and heart problems. Jesse's...