Health stories in the news
President Obama to address American Medical Association
President Barack Obama will address the annual meeting of the American Medical Association, which represents about one-third of U.S. doctors.
Washington Post reporter Ceci Connolly writes in today’s paper:
In the midday address in Chicago, Obama is expected to reprise familiar themes. He will make the case that health reform is a core component of broader economic reform. He’ll hit on a new favorite subject—geographic variations in medical spending in this country suggest there’s plenty of fat to cut.
And according to one aide, Obama may offer a bit more explanation on what exactly is — and is not — a public option.
The public option is a health insurance plan supported by the federal government that would compete with private insurers. Opponents of the proposal say the plan would inevitably be given an unfair advantage that would drive private insurers out of business.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that Mr. Obama has indicated that he is open to changing malpractice laws as part of his health-care reform package.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Robert Pear report:
“In closed-door talks, Mr. Obama has been making the case that reducing malpractice lawsuits — a goal of many doctors and Republicans — can help drive down health care costs, and should be considered as part of any health care overhaul, according to lawmakers of both parties, as well as A.M.A.”
The offer to thrown in malpractice reform into the overall health reform package could serve as a “bargaining chip that might keep doctors, and more important, Republicans, at the negotiating table, Stolberg and Pear write.
Consumer groups and trial lawyers, long-time supporters of the Democrats, have opposed such reforms, arguing they protect bad doctors and deny injured patients fair compensation.
To learn more:
- Read Cece Connolly’s Washington Post blog: Daily Dose.
- Read Stolberg and Pear’s article: Obama Open to Reining in Medical Suits.
- Visit the AMA’s Web page on medical liability reform.
Census data suggests bias for boys among some Asian groups
An analysis of U.S. census data suggests that some Asian families are using sex selection techniques, such as in vitro fertilization, in order to have sons, New York Times reporter Sam Roberts writes in today’s issue of the paper.
Roberts writes:
“In general, more boys than girls are born in the United States, by a ratio of 1.05 to 1. But among American families of Chinese, Korean and Indian descent, the likelihood of having a boy increased to 1.17 to 1 if the first child was a girl, according to the Columbia economists. If the first two children were girls, the ratio for a third child was 1.51 to 1 — or about 50 percent greater — in favor of boys.
“Studies have not detected a similar preference for males among Japanese-Americans.”
To learn more:
- Read Sam Roberts’ article: U.S. Births Hint at Bias for Sons in Some Asians.
Budget cuts threaten local TB control, public health official warns
In a Seattle Times op-ed piece today, Dr. David Fleming, director and health officer of Public Health – Seattle & King County, warns that budget cuts threaten local efforts to control the spread of tuberculosis (TB).
King County has more than 100,000 cases of TB, giving the area a rate 50 percent higher the national average. Most of the cases are immigrants.
“TB will take advantage when we drop our guard. In the early 1990′s, the United States saw a resurgence of the disease as funding fell for TB-control activities. But if learning means changing behaviors, we have not yet learned the need for maintaining active public-health programs, including TB control. Public Health — Seattle & King County has cut our TB program twice in the past year — not because we do not know better, but because there is no public-health money to support it.”
To learn more:
- Read Dr. Flemings op-ed: A never-ending battle to keep TB at bay.
- Visit Public Health – Seattle & King County’s Tuberculosis Control Web page.
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