Readers of the Erickson Online Tribune these days are discovering a lot of changes in the format and content of the computer-accessed newspaper.

“We’re making it more functional, more robust, with content updated several times each day, with video news clips and wire services,” says John Makowski, director of new media for Maryland-based Erickson Senior Living. The goal: To be as relevant to the daily lives of its readers as Erickson sees its residents being to the world at large.

“We’re still tweaking it, “says Mr. Makowski, “but overall what we’re concentrating on is giving people what is often overlooked.”

Heavy emphasis is on health and fitness stories – especially those of interest to seniors. On the morning of Monday, January 29, readers viewed a front-page story on how American physicians take a more aggressive approach to high blood pressure than do European doctors; and could click on stories about a finding that most diabetics don’t get enough exercise, about a new workout called “cardio tennis” and about the long-term effects of post-traumatic stress disorder. Other stories ranged from the continuing controversy over climate change and global warming to the confusion many people have over whom to tip and how much.

Erickson uses Associated Press and other wire-service copy and has 11 fulltime staff writers and six freelancers, Mr. Makowski says. Updates are so frequent that he says “every time you come onto the site you may get a different story.”

Prior to the 2003 Medicare Part D legislation, many poor residents in an assisted living environment were free from co-pays in both Medicaid and Medicare, commonly called dual-eligibles. With the enactment of Medicare Part D rules in 2006, assisted living residents no longer qualify as dual-eligibles for Medicaid and Medicare benefits and are now required to provide co-pays, something the Assisted Living Federation of American (ALFA)would like to see reversed.

“Some providers are paying the co-pays because the residents simply cannot afford it, but still have to have their medicine,” says Paul Williams, director of public policy for ALFA. “Last year a piece of legislation, Senate Bill 2409, was going to exempt assisted living residents from co-pays, but it didn’t happen.”

Williams notes that qualifying residents in nursing homes remain dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. He hopes the dual-eligibles status will be reinstated for assisted living.

“We’re talking about the poorest and some of the most vulnerable people in assisted living,” Williams said. “We’re hopeful the legislature will take up the issue this year.”

Expected to come up early on the 110^th Congress’ agenda, the Employee Free Choice Act is generating concern at the Assisted Living Federation of America.

The proposed Employee Free Choice Act, also called “card check,” would make it possible for work places to become unionized if a majority of employees sign union authorization cards, not requiring the secret ballot elections that have been in place for almost sixty years. The proposed act would also have stronger penalties on companies that illegally coerce employees to prevent them from joining a union.

“Since the Taft-Hartley Act of the 1940s, the right to unionize has been under secret ballot election,” says Maribeth Bersani, senior vice president of public policy for ALFA

“With this so-called Employee Free Choice Act, formation would come from employees filling out a card. This could easily create an environment where a lot of pressure could be exerted to force someone to join a union.”

Under the proposed act, some employers say they also are concerned that employees will be illegally coerced into forming and joining a union. Pro-union forces have long said that current laws make it easy for employers to illegally coerce employees to prevent them from forming and joining unions.

“We don’t see the issue as company versus union,” Bersani says. “We see this as an employee issue and feel the employee should have the right to the secret ballot.”

Bersani and Paul Williams, ALFA’s director of public policy, didn’t have any statements at this time in regards to illegal immigration issues or legislation to lift the ban on the government being able to negotiate discounts for prescription drug prices. Regarding the minimum wage hike proposal now stalled in Congress, ALFA says that an increase would have little consequence in the assisted living industry.

“Our data shows that most all companies already pay more than the proposed hike in the minimum wage,” says Williams.