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New FDA Regulation Of Tobacco Products Has Problems
New US legislation granting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
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Improved Recovery In Patients Who Exercised Prior To Stroke
A person who has exercised regularly prior to the onset of a stroke appears to recover more quickly, say researchers from Mayo Clinic in Florida, who led a national study.
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CDC Prioritizes H1N1 Vaccinations For Pregnant Women
When the H1N1 flu vaccine becomes available in the fall, pregnant women should be among the first groups vaccinated because of their high risk for serious complications, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert panel said on Wednesday, the Washington Post reports. The 15-member committee advises CDC on vaccine policy. The priority list also includes caretakers of infants, health care workers, children and young adults, and older people with chronic conditions. Anthony Fiore, a physician and epidemiologist at CDC, told the committee that about 6% of H1N1 deaths and hospitalizations are among pregnant women (Brown, Washington Post, 7/30). According to a CDC study published online Wednesday in the journal Lancet, pregnant women who contract the H1N1 virus -- also known as "swine flu" -- are at least four times more likely to be hospitalized than other people with the virus, the AP/Google reports. The study analyzed the first 34 U.S. cases, including six deaths, in pregnant women from April to mid-June of 2009. Although it is not clear if pregnant women are more susceptible to the virus, they have a higher risk of complications after becoming infected. The study"s authors said pregnant women suspected of having H1N1 should be administered Tamiflu as soon as possible, prior to the completion of diagnostic testing. CDC"s Denise Jamieson, the lead author of the study, said that Tamiflu appears relatively safe for pregnant women, despite limited safety data on its use in that population.Most pregnant women who contract H1N1 have mild flu symptoms like a cough or fever, according to the World Health Organization. Jamieson said that CDC does not recommend specific precautions for pregnant women but that doctors should act quickly -- preferably within 48 hours -- if a pregnant woman shows symptoms. She added that the pregnant women who died were basically healthy, and nearly all had viral pneumonia before experiencing acute respiratory problems prior to their death (Cheng, AP/Google, 7/29).CDC"s priority groups include about 159 million people out of a total U.S. population of more than 300 million, the Chicago Tribune reports. The agency expects to have about 120 million doses of the vaccine by the end of October. Officials are confident there will be enough for their target groups because only 20% to 50% of those recommended to receive seasonal flu vaccines seek them out. However, if supplies of the vaccine are unexpectedly restricted, the panel recommended that a smaller group -- about 41 million of the most susceptible to adverse side effects from infection or most likely to spread the virus -- be given priority for the vaccine. This smaller group also includes pregnant women (Maugh, Chicago Tribune, 7/30).
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States Undergo A Variety Of Health Care Policy Developments

Connecticut: The Associated Press/Hartford Courant reports, "Gov. M. Jodi Rell has vetoed two health insurance bills he said were "well-intentioned" but "would cost the state billions of dollars before any economic recovery is complete." Unions and health care advocates had pressured the Republican governor to sign the measures. "[O]ne of the billsò€¦ opens the state"s health insurance plan to municipalities, small businesses and nonprofit agencies. The second bill creates a new public authority to develop a plan to extend coverage to the state"s uninsured." It"s not yet clear if Democrats, who have a veto-proof majority in the General Assembly, will try to override Rell"s action (7/8). Maine: The Maine Public Broadcasting Network reports, "Maine is undertaking an experimental new way to deliver care to patients. A couple dozen primary care practices have signed up to be so-called "medical homes"ò€¦a model in which doctors spend more time coordinating their patients" care -- and get paid extra for their efforts." The state"s Medicaid program and four largest insurers have agreed to participate (Huang, 7/8). Michigan: The Detroit Free Press reports, "Attorney General Mike Cox and a group of Republican lawmakers proposed Wednesday the creation of an independent auditor to weed out fraud and abuse in Michigan"s Medicaid programs, a move they say could reap hundreds of millions of dollars in annual savings to taxpayers." A similar move in New York contributed to a tripling of the amount recovered through investigating fraud case over a single year. Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm said the suggestion raised "serious legal questions" concerning patient privacy, because investigators would access their records (Bell, 7/9). Pennsylvania: A new mental health court opened Wednesday in Philadelphia to oversee legal issues surrounding nonviolent, mentally ill inmates upon their release from jail, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. "We want to stop the revolving door of recidivism," the judge overseeing the program said (Slobodzian, 7/8). Texas: The Houston Chronicle reports that "health class will no longer be a state requirement for high school students this fall, making Texas one of the few states in the country with no required health education, officials said." Some are raising concerns that "Texas students will miss out on critical topics like alcohol awareness, sex education and basic nutrition." School districts still can require students to take health classes, but Gov. Education Commissioner Robert Scott"s action wiped out the state requirement in favor of a new law that increases the number of electives students must take to graduate (Castro, 7/7). 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.


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