The Massachusetts Bar Association is raising awareness on what is at stake in the absence of adequate court funding.  

Follow this link to a video and other resources to learn more about the judicial system's response to the underfunding crisis.   

http://www.massbar.org/about-the-mba/initiatives/court-funding

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   February 7, 2012

Contact: HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343

The Obama Administration today announced new efforts to fight Alzheimer's disease, including immediately making an additional $50 million available for cutting-edge Alzheimer's research. In addition, the administration announced that its Fiscal Year 2013 budget will boost funding for Alzheimer's research by $80 million. Today's announcement also includes an additional $26 million in caregiver support, provider education, public awareness and improvements in data infrastructure.

In January 2011, President Obama signed the National Alzheimer's Project Act, which calls for an aggressive and coordinated national Alzheimer's disease plan. The Act also establishes an Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services, which brings together some of the Nation's foremost experts on Alzheimer's disease to inform the development of the national plan. The preliminary framework for the National Alzheimer's Disease Plan identifies key goals including preventing and treating Alzheimer's disease by 2025.

As work on the plan continues, the Obama Administration is taking action. "Today's announcement reflects this administration's commitment to confronting Alzheimer's, a disease that takes a devastating toll on millions of Americans," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "We can't wait to act; reducing the burden of Alzheimer's disease on patients and their families is an urgent national priority."

As many as 5.1 million Americans currently suffer from Alzheimer's disease, which is a progressive, irreversible brain disorder that destroys memory and thinking skills. With the aging of the U.S. population, the number of people with Alzheimer's disease could more than double by 2050. "These projections are simply staggering," said National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. "

This new funding will accelerate NIH's effort to use the power of science to develop new ways of helping people with Alzheimer's disease and those at risk." Together, the fiscal years 2012 and 2013 investments total $130 million in new Alzheimer's research funding over two years - over 25 percent more than the current annual Alzheimer's research investment. The additional NIH research funding will support both basic and clinical research. Investments will include research to identify genes that increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease and testing therapies in individuals at the highest risk for the disease.

On the clinical side, the funds may be used to expand efforts to move new therapeutic approaches into clinical trials and to develop better databases to assess the nation's burden of cognitive impairment and dementia. The initiative announced today also includes $26 million to support additional goals in the preliminary National Alzheimer's Disease Plan.

While the plan continues to be developed, experts have identified several goals that will be supported by today's announcement, including support for caregivers in the community, improving health care provider training, and raising public awareness. "These new funds will help increase our understanding about how to manage Alzheimer's disease, especially those services that allow families to plan in the early stages and support family caregivers," said HHS Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee. 

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A great decision just came down from The United States District Court for the District of Vermont in the class action lawsuit known as "Jimmo" vs. Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services.  The Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the case for Failure to State a Claim was DENIED.

Plaintiffs included six individual Medicare beneficiaries and seven national organizations (including the National Committee to Preserve Social Security, Parkinson's Action Network, Paralyzed Veterans of America, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Alzheimer's Association, and United Cerebral Palsy).  Plaintiffs allege that the Secretary has adopted an unlawful and clandestine standard to determine whether Medicare benefiiciaries are entitled to coverage, resulting in the wrongful termination, reduction, and denial of Medicare coverage for beneficiearies with medical conditions that are not expected to improve. Plaintiffs seek to certify a nationwide class and request, among other relief, an injunction or writ of mandamus enjoining the Secretary from applying this alleged unlawful standard.

Plaintiffs allege that this unlawful standard is implemented at the lower levels of Medicare's administrative review process, and denies coverage where the beneficiary needs "maintenance services only," has "plateaued," or is "chronic," "medically stable," or not improving.  This "rule of thumb" or clandestine policy is what plaintiffs refer to as the "Improvement Standard."  This Improvement Standard is contrary to the Medicare Act and federal regulations and precludes coverage for beneficiaries with conditions that are not expected to improve or that have not improved over the course of treatment.  Plaintiffs allege that this standard has been implemented without proper rulemaking procedures against beneficiaries that have little or no understanding of its application and no ability or reasonable opportunity to confront it.   Stay tuned for further developments. 

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 60 million Americans will increase 3.6 percent in 2012, the Social Security Administration announced today. The 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that nearly 55 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2012. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 30, 2011. Some other changes that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $110,100 from $106,800. Of the estimated 161 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in 2012, about 10 million will pay higher taxes as a result of the increase in the taxable maximum.  Information about Medicare changes for 2012, when announced, will be available at www.Medicare.gov.   For some beneficiaries, their Social Security increase may be partially or completely offset by increases in Medicare premiums.  The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated. To read more, please visit <http://www.socialsecurity.gov/cola>.