Elder Law Prof Blog

Registration Open for Stetson Special Needs Trust Administration Webinar

More info/register:  http://www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=81947

REGISTER NOW! 
The Center for Excellence in Elder Law at Stetson University College of Law presents

The Fundamentals of Special Needs Trust  Administration

Half-Day Webinar for Special Needs Trust Trustees, Financial Planners, Money Managers and Attorneys involved in Special Needs Trust Administration

Date:  April 23, 2010

Schedule

12:00 p.m.
Welcome and Introduction
Rebecca C. Morgan
Program Chair
Boston Asset Management Faculty Chair in Elder Law
Stetson University College of Law, Gulfport, Florida

12:15 p.m.
Bumps in the Road of SNT Administration
Mary Alice Jackson
Boyer & Jackson, Sarasota, Florida

1:30 p.m.
Taxes and Accounting: Reporting Requirements for SNTs
Robert B. Fleming
Fleming & Curti, P.L.C., Tucson, Arizona

2:45 p.m.
What Every Trustee Needs to Know to Properly Administer a SNT
Craig C. Reaves
Reaves Law Firm, Kansas City, Missouri

4:00 p.m.

Adjourn

CLE Credit Pending Approval Approval is pending for 4.5 hours of general CLE credits with the Florida Bar. Those who are requesting credit outside of Florida will receive forms to apply for credit in those states. (Please note on registration form). CLE accreditation for some states may require an additional fee from registrants (payable to the bar associations of those states). For additional information, please contact Stetson's Office of Conferences and Events at 727-562-7312.

News of the Old: Skeletons found in mass grave are executed Vikings c. 1000 AD

Fifty-one decapitated skeletons found in a burial pit in Dorset were those of Scandinavian Vikings, scientists say.  Mystery has surrounded the identity of the group since they were discovered at Ridgeway Hill, near Weymouth, in June.  Analysis of teeth from 10 of the men revealed they had grown up in countries with a colder climate than Britain's.  Archaeologists from Oxford believe the men were probably executed by local Anglo Saxons in front of an audience sometime between AD 910 and AD 1030.  The Anglo Saxons were increasingly falling victim to Viking raids and eventually the country was ruled by a Danish king.  The mass grave is one of the largest examples of executed foreigners buried in one spot.

Source:  BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/dorset/8563377.stm

A Pitch for Privacy Rights

By John T. Brooks, partner, and Samantha E. Weissbluth,senior counsel, Foley & Lardner LLP, Chicago, from "Trusts & Estates, the Journal of Wealth Management"

Milwaukee pitcher Scott Schoeneweis is trying to keep prying eyes out of records detailing his dead wife’s demise. Problem is, he’s asking the Arizona courts to seal otherwise public records. The unlikely moral of this story, so far, for lawyers: in camera reviews just might provide needed relief.

On May 20, 2009, detectives from the Maricopa County Sherriff’s Office and Fire EMS personnel responded to a 911 call from the Schoeneweis residence in Fountain Hills, Ariz. The call was made by Gabrielle Dawn Schoeneweis’ 14-year-old daughter, who’d found her mother lying unconscious and unresponsive in the master bedroom.

Gabrielle was pronounced dead at the scene.  The coroner’s investigation found that Gabrielle, age 39, had died of an overdose of cocaine and lidocaine.  The coroner’s report indicated that Gabrielle’s cocaine use may have harmed another person, though no details were provided.

Gabrielle’s husband, Scott Schoeneweis—then an Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher—was appointed personal representative of Gabrielle’s estate and promptly requested that the probate court seal Gabrielle’s death certificate and related documents.

. . . 

The probate court—without conducting an in camera review—denied Scott’s request to seal documents related to Gabrielle’s death.  Although the probate court was not unsympathetic to Scott’s desire for privacy, it held that “personal concerns” do not constitute grounds for sealing a record. 

Scott filed a petition for special action relief and application for stay to the appellate court naming the probate court judge, Barbara Hamner, as a respondent along with various officials, including the medical examiner.

Upon review, the Arizona appellate court said the issue was whether Arizona’s Public Records required disclosure of the documents related to Gabrielle’s death. The court delineated a two-step analysis for finding an answer to this dilemma:

• First the court had to determine whether the records at issue are “public records.”

• Second, the court must perform a balancing test to determine whether privacy, confidentiality or the state’s best interests outweigh the policy of disclosure. Schoeneweis v. Hamner 221 P.3d 48 (Ariz. Ct. App. Dec. 1, 2009)

Conducting the first step, the court noted that three types of documents were involved:

(1) an autopsy report (including photographs),

(2) investigative records, and

(3) a death certificate. 

As to whether these documents qualify as “public records,” the court said that the state Public Records Act applies to records required to be kept by law or necessary for discharging a duty imposed by law.  Therefore, 

• Arizona statute requires medical examiners to direct a death investigation and reduce their findings to writing; so, the autopsy report qualifies as a public record. 

• Autopsy photographs document the steps in an autopsy and support the autopsy findings; thus, those also qualify as public records. 

• The investigative report, including photographs of the scene and witness interviews are prepared and maintained by a state entity in furtherance of its official duties; so, they also qualify as public records. 

• Finally, because the medical examiner is required by law to execute a death certificate; the death certificate also is a public record.

As for the second step, the balancing test, the court addressed Scott’s contention that the documents were privileged medical information.  In refusing to apply the privilege, the court noted the purpose behind the privilege: to foster open communication between patients and doctors.  This purpose does not apply to autopsies, the purpose of which is  “fundamentally different from the diagnosis and treatment of a living patient.”

The court added that death certificates may not be disclosed to the general public but rather only to those who have a “legal or vital interest” in the certificate (defined by statute as seven categories of people, none of which include the general public.)

Therefore, the court held that the probate court erred in refusing to prohibit the public release of Gabrielle’s death certificate.
   
Moreover, the appeals court held that, because the probate court failed to conduct an in camera review of the documents at issue, the probate court could not properly weigh privacy concerns against the policy in favor of disclosure.  The appeals court stated that, when the performance of important governmental functions is implicated, privacy interests must yield to public disclosure—but when records of government action are merely incidental to an otherwise private matter, privacy interests prevail. 

Gabrielle’s case involved a death and potential injuries to another that resulted from apparent unlawful conduct.  Thus, the appeals court found, privacy concerns, including those of living crime victims, must be weighed against the need for public awareness about the government’s performance of its law enforcement functions (which the court aptly distinguished from public curiosity given that Scott is a prominent sports figure.) 

In remanding the case for an in camera review, the appeals court stated that it was difficult to conceive of circumstances that would justify disclosure in this case.

To read the rest, go to http://trustsandestates.com/wealth_watch/privacy-rights-schoeneweis-wife0218/

CMS issues sanction warning to Missouri re: Home health care restrictions in Medicaid

From the Center for Medicare Advocacy:

The state of Missouri requires Medicaid beneficiaries to be "confined to the home" in order to receive home health services provided under its Medicaid program. While this so-called "homebound" rule has been required by statute for home health services in Medicare since the beginning of the program, the Medicaid statute has never had such a requirement. In fact, the absence of a "homebound" requirement in Medicaid has been an important feature of that program for those dually-eligible for Medicare and Medicaid who may be denied home health services under Medicare for failure to meet the homebound standard.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has informed the Director of Missouri's Department of Social Services that the state is out of compliance with Medicaid law and that it will be sanctioned by the withholding of a portion of the federal share of payments until it comes into compliance.

This Alert focuses on the homebound issue, on CMS's legal rationale for sanctioning Missouri and on the important role of the advocacy community in bringing pressure to bear on Missouri to change its policy and on CMS to press the state to act.

Read the rest of this CMA alert:  http://medicareadvocacy.org/InfoByTopic/MedicaidAndRelatedTopics/MedicaidandRT_10_03.11.MedicaidAndHomeHealth.htm

European Court of Human Rights Awards Damages to Mentally Disabled Man

MDAC welcomes last week's judgment of the European Court of Human Rights which ordered the Russian government to pay 25,000 EUR compensation to a man with mental health disabilities who was unlawfully deprived of legal capacity and arbitrarily detained in a psychiatric hospital for more than six months. This is the largest amount of compensation the Court has ever awarded in a disability rights case. 

 

The Mental Disability Advocacy Center today welcomes the 4 March 2010 European Court of Human Rights judgment which ordered the Russian government to pay 25,000 EUR damages to MDAC's client Pavel Shtukaturov. The issued by the same court in March 2008, which found that Russia was in violation of several provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. The client has been represented in proceedings by MDAC's Legal Monitor in Russia, attorney Dmitri Bartenev.

 

Welcoming the judgment, MDAC's Executive Director Oliver Lewis said, 

"This judgment is a milestone for global human rights as 25,000 euro is the largest amount of compensation the European Court of Human Rights has ever awarded to an applicant in a disability rights case. This sum reflects the gravity of human rights violations faced by people with disabilities the world over and the seriousness with which the mainstream human rights community now views these violations. The judgment sends a clear message to governments that it will be expensive if they fail to take legislative and policy action to effectively implement international human rights law for people with disabilities."

 In its judgment last week the Court reiterated that the amount of compensation for non-pecuniary damage (meaning compensation for pain and suffering) is assessed with a view to providing "reparation for the anxiety, inconvenience and uncertainty caused by the violation" and that the respondent State is under a legal obligation to "restore as far as possible the situation existing before the breach."

More info from the Mental Disability Advocacy Center, http://www.mdac.info/en/node/144

New on SSRN: ELDER LAW STUDIES ABSTRACTS

 

Income, Material Hardship, and the Use of Public Programs Among the Elderly

Helen Levy, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor - Institute for Social Research (ISR), National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Euthanasia and the Right to Life in the Netherlands: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing?

Ademola Oladimeji Okeowo, Faculty of Law, Queen's University, Canada

Guardianship for Your Own Good: Improving the Well-Being of Respondents and Wards

Jennifer L. Wright, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN - School of Law

Update on cryogenics case

A dispute over the frozen remains of a 71-year-old Colorado Springs woman has ended in a settlement.  The family of the late Mary D. Robbins, a retired nurse, agreed Wednesday to end a legal battle aimed at preventing her from being cryo-preserved by an Arizona nonprofit.  In return, Alcor Life Extension Foundation, of Scottsdale, Ariz., has agreed to pay a mortuary to cremate any part of her remains that Alcor deems not suitable for preservation and return those ashes to her family. Alcor also agreed not to pursue a $50,000 annuity that Robbins had set aside in 2006 to pay for her preservation.  Both sides agreed not to publicly discuss what parts will be frozen or cremated. But in her contract with Alcor, Robbins specified that her head was to be frozen.  She died on Feb. 9. On Monday, an El Paso County Probate Court magistrate upheld the will and awarded Alcor custody of Robbins’ remains.  Her body has been kept packed in dry ice at the Shrine of Remembrance mortuary in Colorado Springs pending the outcome of the legal dispute.

Read more:  http://www.gazette.com/articles/agreed-95073-frozen-robbins.html

Family opposes sending body for cryogenic preservation

The frozen remains of a 71-year-old Colorado Springs woman will remain packed in dry ice for 72 hours while her family decides whether to appeal a magistrate’s decision to turn her body over to an Arizona non-profit for cryogenic preservation.  El Paso County Magistrate Barbara L. Hughes ruled today that Mary Robbins’ last will and testament directs that her body be turned over to the Alcor Life Extension Foundation of Scottsdale, AZ.  Her daughter Darlene Robbins of Pueblo had contested the will, stating that her mother changed her mind about cryogenics while suffering terrible pain from terminal cancer a few days before her Feb. 9 death.  Hughes granted a 72-hour stay of her ruling to allow Robbins to take the case to the Colorado Court of Appeals.  “All I can say is that we’re disappointed,” lawyer Robert Scranton said as he and Darlene Robbins left El Paso County Probate Court after Hughes announced her decision.  Mike Robbins, grandson of Mary Robbins, called the ruling, “tragic.”  Eric Bentley, a lawyer for Alcor, welcomed the decision.  “We are very pleased that the written desires of Ms. Robbins will be fulfilled,” he stated in a prepared release handed out immediately after the ruling.

Full story:  http://www.gazette.com/articles/springs-94927-arizona-court.html

ALCA free webinar: Ombudsman and Citizen Advocacy in Assisted Living

The Assisted Living Consumers Alliance is pleased to present:

Ombudsman and Citizen Advocacy in Assisted Living

Join us for a Webinar on March 18

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/936268457

Long-term care ombudsmen and citizen advocates are increasingly working with consumers receiving services in assisted living settings.  Some have been working in this area for many years, others are just beginning to venture into this arena.  Regardless of an advocate’s experience in assisted living, they will find that the skills and knowledge they have gained in the nursing home arena can be applied to successful individual and systemic advocacy in assisted living.  At the same time, however, there are features of assisted living that pose special challenges for advocates and call for different strategies.

During this webinar, we will look at commonalties and differences between advocacy in assisted living and nursing homes and will present a range of strategies for assisted living work.  Lori Smetanka, Director of the National LTC Ombudsman Resource Center, will lead the discussion with ombudsmen and citizen advocates around issues including care or service planning, promoting residents’ rights, resident autonomy/choice, transfer/discharge, staffing, resident agreements/contracts, and disclosure.  We will also discuss some ethical issues that arise in assisted living and how ombudsman programs can develop internal program guidance for addressing them.

Thursday, March 18th at 3pm ET/12pm PT       
Date:  Thursday, March 18, 2010       
Time:  12:00 PM - 1:00 PM PDT

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Special Issue from BePress: Studies in Ethics, Law, and Technology

Small Divides, Big Challenges? Nanotechnologies and Human Health

 

This special issue is a collaborative effort to examine the impact of nanotechnology-based innovations on biomedical products development, on public health infrastructure, and on healthcare service delivery. In particular, appropriate policy measures seem a condition for avoiding that the current unequal distribution of risk and benefits between developed and developing countries are reproduced or even worsened by the introduction of nanotechnology into healthcare, as well as for fully delivering the promises of nanoscale research and technology to help address the most pressing and urgent health needs of the developing world. This collection of article attempts to examine these policy issues, by assessing the impacts of nanotechnologies on the potential and actual disparities in access to healthcare, especially at the international level, and by exploring the possible strategies to make nanotechnology help attain the highest standard of health for all.

Editorials

 

Nanotechnologies and Equal Access to Healthcare

Simone Arnaldi and Mariassunta Piccinni

New on SSRN: Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law Abstracts

WILLS, TRUSTS, & ESTATES LAW ABSTRACTS Sponsored by The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) Foundation Vol. 6, No. 5: Feb 18, 2010 ROBERT H. SITKOFF, EDITOR John L. Gray Professor of Law, Harvard Law School rsitkoff@law.harvard.edu Browse ALL abstracts for this journal

Links: Subscribe ~ Unsubscribe | Distribution | Network Directors | Submit ~ Revise Your Papers

Announcements Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law is sponsored by The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Foundation (http://www.actec.org/) and is edited by Robert H. Sitkoff of Harvard Law School.

Table of Contents Burn the Rembrandt? Trust Law's Limits on the Settlor's Power to Direct Investments John H. Langbein, Yale University - Law School Testacy and Intestacy: The Dynamics of Wills and Demographic Status Alyssa A. DiRusso, Samford University - Cumberland School of Law It is Logic Rather than Whom You Trust: A Rejoinder to Prof. Cohen Douglas A. Kahn, University of Michigan Law School Who is Entitled to Life Insurance Benefits and Top-Hat Benefits from an ERISA Plan Following a Divorce or a Marital Separation? Albert Feuer, Law Offices of Albert Feuer

McKnight's Long Term Care News to host online Expo

McKnight’s Long-Term Care News is hosting a free online Expo. It is open to Owners, Nurses and Administrators in the long-term care industry.   This year the Expo is happening on March 24th and 25th.  Two days of webcasts, networking, and education – All without leaving your desk.  Plus, by attending the 5 webcasts, you can earn up to 5 free Continuing Education Units. Attending the Expo is easy!  Simply register @ www.mcknights.com/expofree

KFF updates Medicare Part D documents

The Kaiser Family Foundation has issued a collection of analyses related to the Part D Medicare stand-alone drug plan options available to seniors for calendar year 2010. Each of the spotlights focuses on a key aspect of the drug plans available to Medicare beneficiaries in 2010 and examines relevant trends since the Medicare drug benefit took effect in 2006. They were prepared by a team of researchers at Georgetown University, NORC and the Kaiser Family Foundation. The spotlights are available at http://www.kff.org/medicare/med110909pkg.cfm

Funding opportunity from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Active Aging: Supporting Individuals and Enhancing Community-based Care through Health Information Technology

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is requesting applications from organizations that propose to develop specialized centers for the purpose of (a) utilizing communication and information based technologies to improve and expand health-related services available to older adults, and (b) developing effective strategies to translate research advances into practice efficiently. Research results are intended to enhance the independence and functional capabilities of older adults through development of tools, production of demonstration projects, and construction of educational programs. Deadline: March 25, 2010. The agency’s website http://www.ahrq.gov/

Health and Aging Policy Fellowships: Application deadline April 15

The Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program is a unique opportunity for professionals in health and aging to receive the experience and skills necessary to make a positive contribution to the development and implementation of health policies that affect older Americans.

The nine-to-12-month Program offers fellows the opportunity to participate in a residential track or a non-residential track. The residential track allows fellows to participate in the policymaking process on either the Federal or state level as legislative assistants in Congress, professional staff members in executive agencies or policy organizations. The non-residential track allows fellows to work on a policy project and brief placement(s) throughout the year at relevant sites. Core program components focused on career development and professional enrichment are provided for fellows in both tracks. Fellows also have the opportunity to apply for second-year funding to continue components of their fellowship experience/project either at their placement sites, at the state/local levels, or with non-governmental organizations.

We are delighted to announce our partnership with the John Heinz Senate Fellowship in Issues of the Aging. Our programs have combined to create the joint John Heinz/Health and Aging Policy Fellowship. Each year, one individual will be designated the John Heinz/Health and Aging Policy Fellow. (For more information about the John Heinz Senate Fellowship please visit www.heinzfamily.org/programs/senatefellowship.html.)

We are equally delighted to announce our partnership with the Healthy Aging Porgram at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For the 2010-2011 fellowship year, the CDC is sponsoring a non-residential Health and Aging Policy Fellow. (For more information, please see this website under "About the Fellowship - Partnerships" at www.healthandagingpolicy.org/about/congressional_fellow.html.)

The Health and Aging Policy Fellows program is directed by Harold Alan Pincus, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University (in collaboration with the American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship Program) and made possible by the generous support of The Atlantic Philanthropies.

NEW! The application deadline for the 2010-2011 fellowship year is April 15, 2010.

NEW! For the 2010-2011 fellowship year, the CDC is sponsoring a non-residential Health and Aging Policy Fellow.

NEW! The 2010 application cycle for the Practice Change Fellows Program is now open.  Please visit www.practicechangefellows.org Click here for the application.

 

February 2010 Issue of Bifocal

Attached is the February 2010 issue of Bifocal, Journal of the ABA Commission on Law and Aging. Download Feb 10 ABA Bifocal J

 

In this issue:

 

• Advocacy Victory for People with Younger-Onset Alzheimer's Disease Results in Expedited Benefits (by Leslie Fried)
• Access Express/Resputos Rapidos Brings Knowledge of Legal Issues to Remote Elders and Lawyers Who Serve Them (by Janay Haas and Robert Mead)
• More Help Is Needed for Persons with Cognitive and Other Brain Impairments Who Want to Vote (by Ellen Klem)
• The Brooke Astor Case: “An Appalling Set of Circumstances” (Part 2 of an Interview with Alex Forger) (by Lori Stiegel)
• Borchard Foundation Center on Law and Aging Announces Fellowship Opportunity
• Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders Is Awarded Grant to Establish National Resource Center
• New Article Appraises Current State of Elder Law Education
• ABA Commission Welcomes Law Intern from Israel
• Plus: You and Your Aging Parents (book review); A Primer on Veterans Administration Law, Practice, and Procedure (free DVD-ROM); and Legal Guide for the Seriously Ill (book review)

 

The ABA Commission on Law and Aging distributes Bifocal six times a year to elder bar section and committee officers and members, legal services providers, elder law and other private practitioners, judges, court staff, advocates, policymakers, law schools and elder law clinics, law libraries, and other professionals in the law and aging networks.

 

To subscribe or to submit news or a manuscript for consideration, e-mail Jamie Philpotts at philpotj@staff.abanet.org. Include the word "SUBSCRIBE" in the subject heading.

 

Jamie Philpotts

Editor, Commission on Law and Aging

American Bar Association

740 15th St., N.W.

Washington, DC 20005

202-662-8688

Philpotj@staff.abanet.org

www.abanet.org

Seeking: Principal Counsel, Health Law and Medical Center Services, University of California

Reporting directly to Max Reynolds, Deputy General Counsel – Health Law and Medical Center Services, this position will focus on Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement and operations.  The incumbent’s clients will include attorneys and senior executives at each of the University’s medical centers and medical schools as well as executives in the University’s Office of the President.  The incumbent will counsel clients and interact with regulators regarding Medicare and Medi-Cal billing requirements for hospitals and physicians, federal and state health care fraud and abuse laws, medical staff matters and appropriate corrective and remedial action in connection with compliance matters.

 

Qualifications include a Juris doctor degree and several years of experience advising hospitals or physicians in several of the above-referenced areas.   Requires sufficient understanding of applicable laws, industry practices, and enforcement trends to identify, assess, mitigate and resolve legal risks associated with Medical Center and Medical School activities.  Should have significant experience advising medical center and physician executives on sophisticated and often highly complex matters with minimal preparation time.  Active membership in good standing in a state bar within the United States (membership in California state bar is preferred but not essential).

 

Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience.  The University provides an excellent benefits package, including a variety of tax-deferred savings and retirement programs.  All interested applicants, go to:  http://jobs.ucop.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=53029  The position will remain open until filled.  Candidates should submit an application within 30 days of this posting, in order to ensure full consideration.

 

Katina Ancar
Counsel - Educational Affairs & Campus Services
University of California
510-987-9793
www.ucop.edu/ogc

 

 

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) delivers ethical, timely, efficient and high quality legal services to the University of California ten campuses, five medical centers, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as well as to the Board of Regents, the President, the Chancellors and other officers of the University. Its services include prosecuting and defending litigation, drafting and negotiating agreements, providing advice, counsel and interpretation of laws, regulations and policies, and assisting with development of effective compliance and risk mitigation strategies to facilitate the University's complex operations.

 

UC maintains the largest health sciences and medical training program in the United States.  It also operates premier quaternary medical centers at UC Davis, UC San Francisco, UCLA, UC Irvine, and UC San Diego.  Collectively, the University’s health enterprise provides over $5 billion in patient care annually and is among the largest recipients of NIH research support in the United States. 

Elder Financial Protection Network hosts 6th annual conference and awards ceremony

The Elder Financial Protection Network’s  6th annual Call to Action conference, luncheon and award ceremony will be held on March 25 in San Francisco.The keynote Speaker will be Philip Marshall, Grandson of Brooke Astor.

The featured panel presentation will be America’s Landmark Case: Brooke Astor, presented by Elizabeth Loewy, Assistant District Attorney of the New York County District Attorney’s Office.

The conference will also feature Triumph Over Torture presented by the masterful Paul Greenwood, Deputy District Attorney, San Diego District Attorney’s Office and several other dynamic sessions presented by an amazing lineup of speakers.

The Honorable Judge Kim Hubbard of the Orange County Superior Court will be our Master of Ceremonies for the luncheon and annual awards presentation.

This will be a historic event, a conference that you do not want to miss! For more information and to register, visit www.bewiseonline

New on SSRN: Elder Law Studies Journal abstracts

The Elder Law Studies Journal is sponsored by Syracuse University College of Law, which offers a certificate in Gerontology in cooperation with the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs.

Table of Contents Policy Learning and Cross-National Diffusion in Social Long-Term Care Insurance: Germany, Japan, and the Republic of Korea John Creighton Campbell, affiliation not provided to SSRN Naoki Ikegami, Keio University - School of Medicine - Department of Health Policy & Management Soonman Kwon, Seoul National University Testacy and Intestacy: The Dynamics of Wills and Demographic Status Alyssa A. DiRusso, Samford University - Cumberland School of Law Protecting Our Aging Retirees: Converting 401(K) Accounts into Federally Guaranteed Lifetime Annuities Lawrence A. Frolik, University of Pittsburgh - School of Law Insurer Bargaining and Negotiated Drug Prices in Medicare Part D Darius Lakdawalla, RAND Corporation, National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Wesley Yin, Boston University A Conversation About End-of-Life Decisionmaking Alicia R. Ouellette, Albany Law School Timothy Quill, affiliation not provided to SSRN Robert Swidler, Northeast Health Thaddeus Mason Pope, Widener University Law School - Health Law Institute Nancy Dubler, Montefiore Medical Center - Department of Epidemiology and Social Medicine

Informational site addresses hospital-acquired infections

HAIWatch.com is a website devoted to providing information about health-care acquired infections, which can be very serious due to the super-bacteria that they often involve.  Here's an excerpt from the site:

When someone develops an infection at a hospital or other patient care facility that they did not have prior to treatment, this is referred to as a healthcare-associated (sometimes hospital-acquired) infection (HAI).Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a global crisis affecting both patients and healthcare workers.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at any point in time, 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from infections acquired in hospitals.  A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report published in March-April 2007 estimated the number of U.S. deaths from healthcare associated infections in 2002 at 98,987.  The risk of acquiring healthcare-associated infections in developing countries is 2-20 times higher than in developed countries.  Afflicting thousands of patients every year, HAI often leads to lengthening hospitalization, increasing the likelihood of readmission, and adding sizably to the cost of care per patient.  Financially, HAIs represent an estimated annual impact of $6.7 billion to healthcare facilities, but the human cost is even higher.  Until recently, a lack of HAI reporting requirements for healthcare facilities has contributed to less-than-optimal emphasis being placed on eliminating the sources of healthcare associated infections. However, growing public anxiety regarding the issue and resulting legislation on state and local levels demanding accountability is serving to accelerate initiatives to combat HAIs.

To learn more about the impact of healthcare-associated infections for both medical professionals and patients, please visit www.haiwatch.com"

This site is sponsored by Kimberly-Clark.