CHARLOTTE, N.C. The Republicans call them the #ReplaceObamacareDemocrats.

Here in Charlotte, they might be called the No-Show Health Care Caucus.

They are 10 Democrats running for Congress whom the National Republican Campaign Committee has identified as particularly vulnerable on President Barack Obamas health care reform law.

So vulnerable that they opted to stay home and campaign this week rather than come to their partys convention.

So vulnerable that most of them wouldnt even talk about the health care law by phone.

One of the Democrats California Rep. John Garamendi was at least willing to speak up for the law long-distance. Im not backing away from it. This is an issue I want to talk about, and do talk about, he said by telephone from his northern California district. Hes home, he says, because redistricting has forced him into a tough and expensive reelection race.

The rest, though, are keeping their silence.

Their absence from the convention is a counterpoint to the messaging thats likely to come out of Charlotte, where at least some of the speakers are expected to remind viewers of the popular parts of the law and hit Republicans for trying to take them away. It may also be a commentary on the declining relevance of the huge national political gatherings: The voters arent in Charlotte, either.

Garamendi and the other nine Democrats identified by the NRCC dont have all that much in common, other than the fact that the House Republicans want to beat them and think antipathy to the health care law in these districts can help woo voters and raise money.

Heres the deal: These 10 Democrats are against the full repeal of Obamacare, an NRCC website says. In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision, Republicans must retire each of them. But we need your help. Even $3 will go a long way. The ReplaceObamacareDemocrats site also promises matching funds, up to $5,000 per candidate in these contested races.NRCC spokesman Paul Lindsay said television ads have gone up against three of them so far.

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No-show health care caucus

NAPLES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Health Management Associates, Inc. (HMA) announced today that its management will present at the Robert W. Baird & Co.'s 2012 Health Care Conference to be held September 5 - 6, 2012, at the New York Palace Hotel in New York City.

Health Managements senior leaders will present on Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 11:20 AM EDT. The presentation will be webcast live over the Internet via Health Management's website (http://www.hma.com). Listeners are encouraged to go to the Investor Relations section of Health Management's website approximately five minutes prior to the event to register and download any necessary media player software.

Health Management enables America's best local health care by providing the people, processes, capital and expertise necessary for its hospital and physician partners to fulfill their local missions of delivering superior health care services. Health Management, through its subsidiaries, operates 70 hospitals, with approximately 10,500 licensed beds, in non-urban communities located throughout the United States.

All references to "Health Management," "HMA" or the "Company" used in this release refer to Health Management Associates, Inc. and its affiliates.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are identified by words such as "expects," "estimates," "projects," "anticipates," "believes," intends, "plans," may, continues, should, "could" and other similar words. All statements addressing operating performance, events or developments that Health Management Associates, Inc. expects or anticipates will occur in the future, including but not limited to incurrence of indebtedness, projections of revenue, income or loss, capital expenditures, earnings per share, debt structure, bad debt expense, capital structure, repayment of indebtedness, the amount and timing of funds under the meaningful use measurement standard of various Healthcare Information Technology (HCIT) incentive programs, other financial items and operating statistics, statements regarding the plans and objectives of management for future operations, innovations, or market service development, statements regarding acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures and other proposed or contemplated transactions (including but not limited to statements regarding the potential for future acquisitions and perceived benefits of acquisitions), statements of future economic performance, statements regarding legal proceedings and other loss contingencies, statements regarding market risk exposures, statements regarding the effects and/or interpretations of recently enacted or future health care laws and regulations, statements of the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing statements, and other statements which are other than statements of historical fact, are considered to be "forward-looking statements."

Because they are forward-looking, such statements should be evaluated in light of important risk factors and uncertainties. These risk factors and uncertainties are more fully described in Health Management Associates, Inc.'s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, including under the heading entitled "Risk Factors." Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of Health Management Associates, Inc.'s underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could vary materially from those currently anticipated. In addition, undue reliance should not be placed on Health Management Associates, Inc.'s forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, Health Management Associates, Inc. disclaims any obligation to update its risk factors or to publicly announce updates to the forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect new information, future events or other developments.

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Health Management to Present at the Robert W. Baird & Company 2012 Health Care Conference

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Sept. 4, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ResCare, Inc., the country's largest private human services company, has joined Hero Health Hire, a coalition of companies and other entities in the health care industry united with the goal of employing wounded veterans. Launched in Washington, D.C., in 2011, Hero Health Hire includes health care companies, associations and hospitals that collectively employ hundreds of thousands of people. Each member commits to helping veterans with disabilities find and retain jobs in health care.

"ResCare continues its focus on recruiting and hiring veterans of our military services by joining Hero Health Hire," said Ralph G. Gronefeld, Jr., ResCare President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our commitment to hiring wounded veterans isn't a charitable endeavor; it's a deliberate plan to add effective, experienced, dedicated leaders to our company at all levels. We know our veterans are strengthened and enriched by their service, and it only makes sense to put them in a position to apply their skills and positive attitude in helping the people we serve."

Hero Health Hire unites the health care industry with government agencies and the military to understand and eliminate the barriers to employment facing veterans with disabilities. The organization also develops ways to support veterans in their transition from military to civilian life. Since its inception, Hero Health Hire has recruited additional industry partners representing nearly one million employees with worksites in every U.S. state.

The health care industry is considered the fastest growing industry in our economy, requiring talented individuals to help meet multi-generational health care needs. The industry is also uniquely positioned to understand and support the needs of our nation's wounded warriors who return home to face physical and mental health challenges.

About Hero Health Hire

Hero Health Hire is a coalition of 34 health care industry leaders who share a common goal of helping wounded warriors gain employment within health care organizations that are well-suited to their skills and will offer them opportunities for professional, financial and personal stability. For more information, visit http://www.HeroHealthHire.com.

About ResCare

ResCare is a human service company that provides residential, therapeutic, job training and educational supports to people with developmental and other disabilities, to seniors who need in-home assistance, to youth with special needs and adults who are experiencing barriers to employment. Based in Louisville, Ky., ResCare and its nearly 45,000 dedicated employees serve some 57,000 people daily in 42 states, Washington, D.C., Canada and Puerto Rico. Please visit the company's website at http://www.ResCare.com.

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ResCare Joins Hero Health Hire

ScienceDaily (Sep. 4, 2012) The protection of the savings of the elderly -- one of the primary goals of Medicare -- is under threat from a combination of spiraling healthcare costs and increased longevity. As the government attempts to reduce Medicare costs, one suggestion is that the elderly could pay a larger proportion of the costs of their healthcare. But exactly how much would this be and what impact would it have on their finances?

A new study by Amy Kelley at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and her colleagues, funded by the National Institute on Aging, aims to identify the portion of wealth Medicare beneficiaries spend on healthcare costs in the last five years of life. Their work appears online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, published by Springer.

Medicare provides nearly universal health care coverage to the population over 65. However it does not pay for everything. There are co-payments and deductibles, and more importantly, homecare services and non-rehabilitative nursing home care, which are not covered. If proposals suggest the elderly should make even larger contributions to care, it is important to know more about patients' out-of-pocket spending under the current Medicare program.

The authors analyzed data from 3,209 individuals with Medicare coverage included in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) from 2002-2008. They measured total out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures in the last five years of life, and looked at these costs as a percentage of total household assets. More than three quarters of households spent at least $10,000, with spending for all participants averaging $38,688 in the last five years of life. Even more shocking was the fact that a quarter of participants made an average contribution of $101,791, and the same number spent more than their total household assets on healthcare.

Kelley and colleagues note that the amount spent on healthcare varied widely with the type of illness suffered, with dementia costing the most money. Out-of-pocket spending for individuals or their spouses dying with dementia was more than twice the average for dying from gastrointestinal disease or cancer. The majority of these costs are related to nursing home expenses which accounted for 56 percent of average spending in those suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Thus far, attempts to promote legislation to help with long-term care requirements have all been deemed too expensive. Until someone comes up with a financially viable scheme, the authors speculate that the financial outlook for the elderly in coming decades is discouraging. They conclude that, "as more baby boomers retire, a new generation of widows or widowers could face a sharply diminished financial future as they confront their recently-depleted nest egg following the illness and death of a spouse."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Springer.

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Health-care costs hit the elderly hard, diminish financial wellbeing