This brief explores the implications for Medicare and beneficiaries of repealing Medicare provisions in the ACA. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that full repeal of the ACA would increase Medicare spending by $802 billion from 2016 to 2025. Full repeal would increase spending primarily by restoring higher payments to health care providers and Medicare Advantage plans. The increase in Medicare spending would likely lead to higher Medicare premiums, deductibles, and cost sharing for beneficiaries, and accelerate the insolvency of the Medicare Part A trust fund. Policymakers will confront decisions about the Medicare provisions in the ACA in their efforts to repeal and replace the law. 

Janet Yellen Following FOMC Meeting: "On financial regulation we lived through a devastating financial crisis that took a huge toll on our economy. Most members of Congress and the public came away from that experience feeling it was important to take a set of steps that would result in a safer and stronger financial system. I feel that we have done that. That has been our mission since the financial crisis; that's what *Dodd Frank was designed to do."

For the new work, Joel Cracraft, George Barrowclough, and their colleagues at Nebraska University, Lincoln and Washington University examined a random sample of 200 bird species through the lens of morphology — the study of the physical characteristics like plumage pattern and color, which can be used to highlight birds with separate evolutionary histories. This method turned up, on average, nearly two different species for each of the 200 birds studied. This suggests that bird biodiversity is severely underestimated, and is likely closer to 18,000 species worldwide. 

Margaret Cullison writes: Other than my two grandmothers, we didn’t have any relatives living nearby. Most of my parents’ families had moved away from Iowa. This was not the norm in our small town of Danish and German families whose gatherings ran to thirty or forty family members. It made me feel slightly deprived not to enjoy the closeness of a large family like my friends did. But my parents had developed a circle of friends with whom we got together for family dinners.

Benjamin Han, assistant professor at the New York University School of Medicine and the study’s lead author, fears that marijuana used with prescription drugs could make the elderly more vulnerable to adverse health outcomes, particularly to falls and cognitive impairment. "While there may be benefits to using marijuana such as chronic pain," he said, "there may be risks that we don’t know about." Study participants said they did not perceive the drug as dangerous, a sign of changing attitudes.

Several pharmaceutical executives and managers, formerly employed by Insys Therapeutics, Inc., were arrested on charges that they led a nationwide conspiracy to bribe medical practitioners to unnecessarily prescribe a fentanyl-based pain medication and defraud healthcare insurers. The Massachusetts indictment alleges that these executives conspired to bribe practitioners in various states, many of whom operated pain clinics, in order to get them to prescribe a fentanyl-based pain medication. The medication, called “Subsys,” is a powerful narcotic intended to treat cancer patients suffering intense episodes of breakthrough pain. In exchange for bribes and kickbacks, the practitioners wrote large numbers of prescriptions for the patients, most of whom were not diagnosed with cancer.

"Full disclosure: I'm an early riser and fade in the afternoons. I exercise regularly but need someone to open jar lids. I gave up my car when moving downtown, so if you still drive, including "at night," you're my hero. Sorry if you're down in the dumps, but I'm looking for someone upbeat. You should be able to text. Please have a smart phone and know how to send messages. I love quality TV. If you haven't heard of Netflix, we're likely not a match. And if you don't have a sense of humor, we have nothing in common."

About 7.4 million Americans are blind or visually impaired and may face difficulty reading prescription drug container labels. Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act required the US Access Board to develop best practices for accessible labels and NCD to conduct an informational campaign on these best practices. However, stakeholders GAO contacted said these individuals continue to face barriers accessing drug label information, including identifying pharmacies that can provide accessible labels.

"Polluters would clearly be the ones who benefit from Pruitt being the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator. Regular Americans would be the losers. The head of the Environmental Protection Agency should be making sure that our air is clean to breathe and our water is safe to drink, not working to make sure polluters make more money."

The Emoluments Clause appears in Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution. It bars any "person holding any office of profit or trust under" the United States from accepting any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign state” "without the consent of the Congress." The word "emolument" comes from the Latin emolumentum, meaning profit or gain.  

'To be back in Holland is always an important moment for me and especially in order to present the exhibition 'To Audrey with Love', an emotional tribute to Audrey Hepburn in her native country and in the great Gemeentemuseum. I am convinced that Audrey would have been very proud and happy with this beautiful project of exhibition. We love you Audrey.' — Hubert de Givenchy 

On December 1, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing entitled “Examining Sexual Harassment and Gender Discrimination at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).” The hearing is in response to widespread media coverage and reporting of sexual harassment of female employees at the Forest Service. One of the witnesses, Ms. Denise Rice, testified in her capacity as a whistleblower about her own experience of sexual assault, reporting, and retaliation.

Jo-Ellen Darcy said she based her decision on a need to explore alternate routes for the Dakota Access Pipeline crossing. Her office had announced on November 14, 2016 that it was delaying the decision on the easement to allow for discussions with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, whose reservation lies 0.5 miles south of the proposed crossing. Tribal officials have expressed repeated concerns over the risk that a pipeline rupture or spill could pose to its water supply and treaty rights.         The Department of the Army will not approve an easement that would allow the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe…

In Is Uncle Sam Inducing the Elderly to Retire? a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a team that includes Alan Auerbach, a UC Berkeley professor suggests that prospective retirees can forget the Social Security Administration-provided benefit calculations that come in the mail. "They’re completely meaningless," says Auerbach.

When Tamara Sims started the research, she didn't expect to find much of a correlation between technology use and well-being because adults over 80 are considered to be the most unfamiliar with these technologies and are least likely to use them. "Part of me wondered whether the use of technology would make much of a difference for this population because pervasive stereotypes characterize this age group as technologically inept, in addition to being physically and cognitively frail."

Sonya Zalubowski writes: Summertime and of course Mom had to have all her pull-on capri pants, the new white ones she liked so well. And her favorite long pants, the faded nubby blue and white polyester checked ones, her first pair of trousers from the 60s, her index finger wagging 'women's lib' at Dad back then. And all the matching tee shirts and blouses, the maroon and white checked one I'd picked out for Mother's Day. The piles of clothing draped over my arms, so high I could just see over them, I made my way from my packed car at the entrance of the nursing home.

That level of control has been debated ever since the government began acquiring the areas in the 19th century, with some Westerners resenting the vastness of the federal authority, which amounts to 47 percent of land in 11 states. Some states, like Nevada, where the government owns 84.5 percent of the land, see more control than others. But few know about the existence and history of revenue-sharing programs, with some dating to 1906, through which the federal government has been compensating states and counties for lost tax revenue on the lands it controls.

The new research confirms the results of several other studies that also have found steady declines in dementia rates in the United States and Europe. The new research provides some of the strongest evidence yet for a decline in dementia rates because of its broad scope and diverse ranges of incomes and ethnic groups, John Haaga, director of behavioral and social research at the National Institute on Aging, said.

Rose Mula writes: This morning, starting on yet another health kick, I figured I'd forego my usual breakfast of a humongous blueberry muffin dripping with butter or an automobile-tire-sized bagel slathered with cream cheese or a stack of pancakes swimming in syrup. Feeling noble, I decided to have a much less lethal boiled egg on whole wheat toast. But instead of simply boiling some water and tossing in an egg for three minutes, as I normally would have done, for some reason, I consulted Chef Google. Big mistake.

The Pulitzer Prize board "has in general stood firmly by a policy of secrecy in its deliberations and refusal to publicly debate or defend its decisions. The challenges have not lessened the reputation of the Pulitzer Prizes as the country's most prestigious awards and as the most sought-after accolades in journalism, letters, and music. The Prizes are perceived as a major incentive for high-quality journalism and have focused worldwide attention on American achievements in letters and music."

Julia Sneden wrote: This morning was a bright, brisk, autumn day in North Carolina, which is in itself enough to make anyone thankful. As I took my morning walk, I was enjoying scuffling through the leaves when I heard it: the sound of a basketball being dribbled. There was a small ping! in my heart, which is what sometimes happens when I hear or see something that reminds me of my sons, long grown and gone from home.

"We were surprised that so many students at Cal had a need for a place to spend Thanksgiving and to eat a traditional holiday meal at a time when the rest of us can be with family and eat more than we should," said Gary Kohler, director of sales and marketing for Hotel Durant and Henry’s, who estimated that it cost $12,000 to provide staffing and food for the students and volunteers. "It's a population we didn't realize was there. We wanted to help."

If President-elect Donald Trump is successful with his proposed $1 trillion, 10-year program to fix America's disintegrating and inadequate infrastructure, the states have a list of critical projects handy for him. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that fixing all the roads, bridges, public transit, railroads, energy systems, schools, public parks, ports, airports, waste systems, levees, dams, drinking water facilities and hazardous waste installations in the 50 states and the District of Columbia would take $3.6 trillion by 2020.