California hospitals have added registered nurses and increased access to professional nursing care since the state’s landmark nurse-to-patient staffing law was implemented, a new study concludes.

Just to be clear, the more than 100 registered nurses huddled around Irvine's Civic Center Plaza at high noon today are not there to implant a conscience into Larry Agran.

Helen Johnson gave a welcoming smile to the group of older men and women who had assembled at the senior center in the Maryland Eastern Shore town of Snow Hill on a recent evening. All of them were caregivers for spouses or parents with debilitating illnesses.

The average annual Social Security retirement benefit in 2009 was $13,406.40, slightly above the $10,289 federal poverty line for individuals age 65 and older, but less than the minimum wage.

By: Deborah Burger | Is tone deaf the new norm in Washington? Republicans insist on cuts to the bone in basic services while rejecting even modest revenue increases. The president floats proposals to increase the eligibility age for Medicare 65 to 67 along with reductions in Social Security.