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Milestone Robotic Prostatectomy For NJ Surgeon
Marking a unique milestone in prostate cancer surgery, the director of urologic oncology at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) has completed his 500th robotic prostatectomy at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), the Flagship Hospital of CINJ, which is a Center of Excellence of UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
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Appeals Court Panel Says Pharmacists Must Distribute Emergency Contraception Under Washington State Regulation
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Wednesday unanimously ruled to lift an injunction blocking Washington state officials from penalizing pharmacists who refused to dispense the emergency contraception pill Plan B, the Los Angeles Times reports (Williams, Los Angeles Times, 7/9). The panel said the district court judge who issued the injunction refused to consider women"s need for EC (Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 7/9). The panel"s ruling is part of a larger case before the district court involving the constitutionality of a 2007 state regulation requiring pharmacies to stock and dispense EC. Joyce Roper, an assistant attorney general for Washington state, said the appeals court ruling means that the 2007 regulation will take immediate effect.The plaintiffs in the case, Stromans -- a supermarket pharmacy owner -- and two pharmacists employed elsewhere, argued that the state regulation requiring pharmacists to stock and dispense EC violated their First Amendment right to freedom of religion (Los Angeles Times, 7/9). The regulation said that pharmacies must stock and fill legally prescribed prescriptions but allowed individual pharmacists to object on moral or religious grounds if another pharmacist was available, in person or by telephone, to fill the order (San Francisco Chronicle, 7/9). The plaintiffs argued that the regulation would force them to choose between following their religious beliefs and keeping their jobs. They contended that EC prevents implantation of a fertilized egg, which they equated with abortion. The U.S. District Court in Seattle awarded the plaintiffs the temporary injunction in November 2007, pending trial on the constitutionality of the regulation (Los Angeles Times, 7/9). Plan B contains a high dose of a drug found in most birth control pills that generally prevents ovulation or the fertilization of an egg. Recent research suggests that it does not prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus (Woodward, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 7/8). FDA in April lowered the age limit for nonprescription purchase of Plan B from 18 to 17 (San Francisco Chronicle, 7/9). Appeals Panel Returns Case to District CourtThe appeals court panel ruled that the freedom to exercise one"s religion "does not relieve an individual of the obligation to comply with a valid and neutral law of general applicability." The panel added, "Any refusal to dispense -- regardless of whether it is motivated by religion, morals, conscience, ethics, discriminatory prejudices or personal distaste for a patient -- violates the rules" (Los Angeles Times, 7/9). The panel ordered the district judge to reconsider the 2007 regulation under Supreme Court standards that allow states to pass neutral laws that may affect religious practices. According to the panel, the regulation does not aim to interfere with religious practices or beliefs and is intended to promote patients" health. In addition, the panel said the district court judge did not consider how the injunction would affect "sexually active women of childbearing age who will be denied reasonable access to Plan B" (San Francisco Chronicle, 7/9). According to the Times, the panel"s ruling could foretell future judgments in the case, including that a patient"s right to timely medication surpasses a pharmacist"s personal beliefs (Los Angeles Times, 7/9).
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An Examination Of California's Proposed Budget Cuts
The New York Times reports on a series of deep budget cuts to help California, which is some $24 billion in the red, deal with its" ongoing financial woes.
Public Health

Local Groups React To Proposed Changes In Medicare And Medicaid

Local news coverage details concerns about Medicare and Medicaid spending reductions that could affect senior and nursing care. The Providence Business News reports that the Obama administration has pledged to root out Medicare waste and called for a $1.05 billion reduction in Medicare spending on nursing homes in the White House"s draft budget for the 2010 fiscal year. The Rhode Island Health Care Association, which represents the state"s nursing homes and rehabilitation centers, has said "the proposed cuts would drain more than $9 million from the Rhode Island economy, with $6.19 million less in business activity and $3.18 million less in personal income due to the loss of 94 jobs." The association also noted that the cuts would end savings created from Medicare money that provide short-term care to patients recuperating after a hospital visit and that the state has already suffered from a reduction in their Medicaid program, which covers two-thirds of the nursing home population (Nesi, 6/1). Public radio station WHCQ in Wilmington, N.C., reported on how proposed Medicaid cuts could impact thousands of local residents who receive in-home care. The Association for Home and Hospice Care of North Carolina criticized the senate"s proposal that "carves $55-million out of Medicaid funding for personal care services." The group"s CEO Tim Rogers said each patient receiving Medicaid for in-home care costs the state $750 a month, far less than nursing home care, according to WHCQ. Meanwhile, the powerful seniors group AARP is pushing lawmakers to improve long-term care as health care reform heats up, according to Channel 13 WOWK, a CBS affiliate television station in Charleston, W.V. "Millions of older Americans rely on Medicaid for the long-term services and supports they need, but the program"s bias toward institutional care prevents most from getting more affordable care where they want it: their own homes," the station reports. AARP has endorsed the Empowered at Home Act (S. 434), "which would provide incentives and greater opportunities for states to expand access to home and community based services." The group also supports the Retooling the Health Care Workforce for an Aging America Act (S. 245/H.R. 468), legislation that "would provide support, training and information to family caregivers, and improve the health and long-term care workforce to better meet the needs of the aging population" (6/1). 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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