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Health Care Reform Debate Renews Focus On Insurance Coverage Of Abortion Care
The issue of whether government-subsidized health care programs should include coverage for abortion procedures is gaining attention as Congress continues drafting health care reform legislation, Time reports. Currently, the Hyde Amendment -- a legislative provision attached annually to major spending bills since 1976 -- prohibits states from using federal Medicaid funds to pay for abortion. All but 17 states have similar restrictions on their own funds. Although current versions of health reform legislation do not yet address the issue of abortion, congressional s involved in the process say that an explicit ban on abortion coverage could have "much further-reaching implications" than the Hyde Amendment. According to Time, the restrictions could deny abortion coverage to women whose private insurance plans currently cover the procedure. A 2002 Guttmacher Institute survey found that nearly 90% of private insurers cover abortion procedures. Under the legislation being worked on in three House committees, U.S. residents with incomes up to 400% of the poverty level -- about $88,000 annually for a family of four, or $43,000 for an individual -- would be eligible for government subsidies to help purchase coverage. However, antiabortion-rights lawmakers are pushing to prohibit those subsidies from being used to purchase health insurance policies that include abortion coverage, Time reports. Such restrictions would mean that women who currently have abortion coverage in their private plans would have to give up the benefit. According to Time, such a provision also "would raise all sorts of other questions if insurers were allowed to discriminate among their customers based on whether or not they are using federal dollars to pay for their policies."Pelosi Negotiating With House Dems Over ConcernsLast week, 19 House Democrats sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stating that they "cannot support any health care reform proposal unless it explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan." They also said that abortion "must be addressed clearly in the bill text" of the legislation. The signers of the letter include Reps. Bart Stupak (Mich.) and Charlie Melancon (La.), both members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, one of the three panels with jurisdiction over health care reform. According to Time, Pelosi"s office is attempting to address the concerns through negotiations.Poll Shows Support for Reproductive Health CoverageMeanwhile, abortion-rights advocates are "pushing back" against those seeking to specifically exclude abortion coverage in health care reform legislation, Time reports. The National Women"s Law Center on Monday released results of a nationwide poll of 1,000 likely voters showing that 71% of respondents favor including reproductive services like birth control and abortion in health care reform (Tumulty, Time, 7/8). The poll also found that 72% would oppose exclusion of abortion coverage from any national health care plan (Eaton, Plain Dealer, 7/7). In addition, 75% of respondents said that an independent commission, not Congress, should determine what medical services are included in the basic benefits offered under health reform. Congress also is weighing giving that power to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (Time, 7/8).Judy Waxman, NWLC vice president, said that 80% of employer-based insurance plans provide coverage for abortion services, adding that "people will be angry if they don"t get to keep what they already have" under any public insurance option (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 7/7). Waxman said Congress should "refrain from practicing medicine and instead let medical professionals determine what health care services will be included in a benefits package" (Time, 7/8).
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National Medical Societies Offer Tips To Prevent Injuries; Children Often Victims
- Using a lawn mower can be as routine as bike riding or barbeques during spring and summer months. But often, people find themselves in terrifying situations with these seemingly safe household machines. In fact, 200,000 people - 16,000 of them children - are injured in lawn mower-related accidents each year, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports. However, lawn mowers don"t "attack" on their own. Most injuries - such as severed fingers and toes, limb amputations, broken bones, burns and eye injuries - are caused by careless use and can be prevented by following a few simple safety tips.
News of the day
Women Vets Don't Always Get Privacy At Veterans Affairs Clinics
Kaiser Veterans Affairs hospitals and outpatient clinics under review are not always complying fully with federal privacy requirements, often exposing women when they bathe or receive exams, according to government auditors, The Associated Press reports.
Mental Health

Mesoblast Limited's First Patients In Bone Marrow Transplant Trial Show Earlier Engraftment

Australian regenerative medicine company Mesoblast Limited has announced successful results from the first five patients who underwent bone marrow transplantation with haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells expanded by the patented allogeneic, or "off-the-shelf", Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPCs). The Phase I/II trial in up to 30 patients is being conducted by Mesoblast"s US-based associated company Angioblast Systems Inc. at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy. The trial is funded through a grant awarded by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH). Successful bone marrow reconstitution and engraftment was achieved in all five patients with haematologic malignancies who received MP! C-expanded haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells from cord ! blood, w ith no cell-related adverse events. The median time to engraftment was 15 days, approximately two weeks faster than expected without MPC expansion. The MPC product used in this trial is being developed under a United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) orphan drug designation recently granted to Angioblast Systems Inc. for expanding haematopoietic stem and progenitor cell numbers in patients with haematologic malignancies. Executive Director Professor Silviu Itescu said these initial results achieved with the Angioblast allogeneic MPCs were extremely encouraging. "By significantly reducing the time to engraftment and increasing the overall success rate of an allogeneic bone marrow transplant, this technology has the potential to lower the risk of infections, bleeding, and death in critically ill patients with haematologic malignancies following chemotherapy," he said. In view of the important nature of the unmet medical need,! the Company will seek to obtain US FDA clearance to commence an accelerated Phase 3 program if subsequent patients in the trial continue to show enhanced bone marrow engraftment potential. "This would represent a significantly shortened timetable to product commercialisation", added Professor Itescu. About Orphan Drug Designation Orphan drug designation is reserved for therapies which are being developed for conditions affecting up to 200,000 patients annually in the US, and allows for an accelerated review process by the FDA, seven-year market exclusivity in the US upon obtaining marketing authorisation, tax benefits, and exemption from user fees. Mesoblast Limited


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