STATE SENATE PASSES RENEWAL OF AUTISM INSURANCE MANDATE - Friday, May 17, 2013
The state Senate has approved a bill to extend California’s landmark law requiring health-insurance companies to provide coverage of treatment for autism-spectrum disorders. San Francisco Chronicle

U.S. SENATE CONFIRMS NEW HEAD OF MEDICARE AND MEDICAID - Thursday, May 16, 2013
The Senate has confirmed Marilyn Tavenner, a former intensive-care nurse with a businesslike approach to a politically divisive public-policy area, to lead the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, administering care for more than 100 million Americans with an $850-billion budget that eclipses spending on national defense. The Washington Post

COVERING THE RISING COST OF LONG-TERM CARE - Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Few sticker shocks are as bracing as the price of hiring someone to help with the simplest activities such as bathing and dressing following surgery or an illness – and people requiring full-time nursing or assisted-living care face even steeper costs. The New York Times

RETIRED COUPLES MAY NEED $220K FOR HEALTH CARE - Wednesday, May 15, 2013
After years of increasing health-care costs, the outlook is improving for seniors worried about paying their medical bills during retirement, but, even so, estimates indicate that a 65-year-old couple retiring this year would need $220,000 on average to cover medical expenses. The Associated Press

REDUCING ANTIPSYCHOTICS PRESCRIPTIONS - Tuesday, May 14, 2013
After partnering with the federal government in a major campaign to reduce the unnecessary use of antipsychotic medications for seniors in nursing facilities, CAHF’s national affiliate, the American Health Care Association, is calling on officials to step up oversight of doctors who prescribe these medications. McKnight’s Long-Term Care News

NURSING HOME WEEK BEGINS - Monday, May 13, 2013
Established in 1967 by CAHF's national affiliate, the American Health Care Association, National Nursing Home Week, May 12-18, invites everyone to learn more about the contributions made by both medical and non-medical staff in the nursing-home professions. The Orange County Register

FUND ESTABLISHED FOR BAY AREA FIRE VICTIMS - Friday, May 10, 2013
Following a tragic May 4 limousine fire that took the lives of five women associated with CAHF member Fruitvale Healthcare Center in Oakland, the facility has established a fund for the four survivors of the accident and for the families of the deceased. Anyone wishing to help can donate to "The San Mateo Bridge Angels Fund Account" at any branch of the Bank of America. Read more in The Oakland Tribune.