Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles
Teeth Whitening Products

Washington, D.C., Church Addresses HIV Stigma, Teaches Safe Sex To Black, Gay Congregation
The Washington Post on Sunday featured Washington D.C.,-based Inner Light Ministries, a 16-year-old black community church with about 100 members, where many go "to share their experience of being black and gay, living and loving in a city where HIV and AIDS lurk in epidemic proportions. ò€¦" Some members of the congregation, as well as four of its leaders including Bishop Rainey Cheeks are HIV-positive. Cheeks teaches safe sex as a part of his sermons and the church provides condoms to its members. The article also discusses the stigma associated with HIV among gay black men. "Some men are reluctant to reveal their health status to possible partners for fear of being rejected," according to the Post. "That attitude, Cheeks said, is part of why gay black men in the District are disproportionately affected by HIV and AIDS. And why he has to keep preaching the message of safe sex," the article states (Fears, 7/26).
generic viagra online
Surgery Remains An Option For Advanced Lung Cancer
In recent years, oncologists have debated whether patients with a certain type of advanced lung cancer would benefit from surgery.
News of the day
Advocates Eager To Learn More About Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor's Abortion-Rights Views
Abortion-rights groups on Wednesday offered their support for Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor but said that they were eager to learn more about her views on abortion rights, an issue on which she has made few major rulings in her time as a judge, the New York Times reports. According to the Times, groups on both sides of the abortion-rights debate tend to believe that Sotomayor would uphold Roe v. Wade because she was nominated by President Obama, who supports abortion rights. However, when asked on Tuesday if Obama questioned Sotomayor about her views on abortion rights before the nomination, White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs said that the president "did not ask that specifically." In addition, none of her rulings has directly dealt with the underlying issues of constitutional privacy that are the foundation for the Roe decision, according to the Times. The abortion-related cases Sotomayor has handled in the past have "turned on other legal issues," rather than privacy, and they have resulted in rulings in favor of abortion-right opponents, the Times reports. For example, in 2002, she wrote an opinion upholding the Bush administration"s "global gag rule" policy banning federal funding of international groups that offer abortion information or services. "The Supreme Court has made clear that the government is free to favor the antiabortion position over the pro-choice position and can do so with public funds," Sotomayor wrote in the opinion. In 2004, she said that antiabortion-rights protesters were permitted to sue police who they claimed used excessive force in stopping a demonstration at a clinic. Sotomayor also has ruled on several immigration cases related to people fighting deportation orders to China over its family planning policies, the Times reports. Because of the limited information on Sotomayor"s abortion-rights views, advocates have stressed that senators ask questions about her views during her confirmation hearing. NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan in a letter to supporters urged them to press senators to ask Sotomayor about privacy rights. Keenan wrote, "Discussion about [Roe] will -- and must -- be part of this nomination process. As you know, choice hangs in the balance on the Supreme Court as the last two major choice-related cases were decided by a 5-to-4 margin" (Savage, New York Times, 5/28). Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said that she would be surprised if an Obama nominee did not support abortion rights but added that "other presidents have been surprised before" when their nominees" views did not align with their assumptions. Northup said that "no one has been able to give us an assurance" of Sotomayor"s views on abortion rights, adding that she would be "very concerned if the question is not asked and answered during the Senate hearings." Feminist Majority Foundation President Eleanor Smeal said, "What we know about [Sotomayor] we like, but I don"t know that answer on abortion rights" (Savage/Nicholas, Los Angeles Times, 5/28). The New York Times reports that more about Sotomayor"s views on abortion rights could come to light if a past writing on the subject surfaces, as was the case during Justice Samuel Alito"s confirmation process. Steven Waldman, editor in chief of beliefnet.com, said, "Everyone is just assuming that because Obama appointed her, she must be a die-hard pro-choice activist, but it"s really quite amazing how little we know about her views on abortion" (Savage, New York Times, 5/28). Thomas Goldstein, a leading appellate attorney and founder of scotusblog.com, said that the "fact that she hasn"t gone off on these sorts of questions" on contentious topics like abortion rights and gay marriage, "I think shows that honestly she"s not a dyed in the wool liberal." He added that there are issues on which Sotomayor could prove to be more conservative than retiring Justice David Souter (Lerer, Politico, 5/27).According to the Washington Post, many antiabortion-rights supporters are critic
Nutrition

A Selection Of Recent Studies And Surveys

The Urban Institute: "Capping The Tax Exclusion Of Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance: Is Equity Feasible?" "Some policymakers propose capping the amount of employer-sponsored insurance that is exempt from federal income and payroll taxes. If such a cap is based on employer premiums, inequities will result," based on an employer"s size and geographic location as well as the health status and age of the employees, Steve Dorn, of the Urban Institute, writes in a paper that "explores a way to cap the tax exclusion that avoids these inequities." "If each plan is evaluated in terms of its actuarial value - that is, the expected claims cost of enrolling a nationally representative population in the plan - only one factor would determine taxation: namely, the generosity of covered benefits. As suggested by prior experience with other legislation, actuarial standards can be defined with enough specificity that a cap on the exclusion of health insurance will be clear and objective in its application." (6/2). Kaiser Family Foundation: "Medicare Prescription Drug Plans in 2009 And Key Changes Since 2006" The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation on Thursday released a report based in part on "a series of Medicare Part D 2009 Data Spotlights documenting changes in drug coverage and costs since 2006." The report finds that while "Most PDPs [prescription drug plans] do not offer coverage in the coverage gap ò€¦ those that do primarily cover generics" and "even then, they ò€¦ cover fewer generics during the gap than in the initial coverage period." In contrast, Medicare Advantage drug plans "continue to offer coverage for at least a limited number of brand-name drugs in the gap." "The limited availability of coverage for brand-name drugs in the coverage gap puts Part D enrollees at risk of incurring substantial costs, an increasing concern as the size of the coverage gap increases each year (from $3,216 in 2008 to $3,454 in 2009)," the authors write, adding, "Among beneficiaries who reach the gap, one-fifth either stop taking one of their drugs or switch to another alternative in the drug class" (6/11). Trust for America"s Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Public Opinion Survey Americans rank disease prevention above all other health reform proposals, including providing tax credits to small businesses to offset the cost of health care, prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage to people with preexisting medical conditions, according to the results of a recent public opinion survey released Tuesday by Trust for America"s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "Overall, prevention was rated higher than all other proposals, including providing tax credits to small businesses and prohibiting health insurers from denying coverage based on health status." The poll - which was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Public Opinion Strategies - "reflects the responses from 1,014 registered voters" (6/8). The National Academy for State Health Policy and the Pew Center on the States: Children"s Dental Health In a May issue brief, findings were presented on ways to expand oral health care. conclusions were based on a literature review as well as a series of interviews with health experts. The authors write, "State examples and studies from around the world confirm that providers with a smaller scope of practice than dentists can efficiently and safely perform many components of dental care. States are working hard to gather data, build consensus, develop systems of care, and train and educate new types of providers who can join the dental team, supply basic primary dental care to underserved populations and expand the safety net" (5/09). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009