"Health & Medical News"

Washington — Nearly 1,000 physicians convened in Washington, D.C., earlier this month to help lobby lawmakers on Medicare payment reform in the face of a tight timeline and an even tighter budget.

Although the American Medical Association’s National Advocacy Conference covered a range of health policy issues, its main focus was on patching the Medicare payment system that otherwise will cause a 10.6% reduction in doctor pay starting July 1. The event featured congressional speakers and an opportunity for more than 100 physician and medical student attendees to meet with lawmakers following an April 2 rally on Capitol Hill.

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Washington — Physicians are being called upon, once again, to address concerns about the safety of childhood vaccines. This time families’ queries are driven by a special vaccine court’s decision to pay for the care of a young girl injured by vaccines.

The court ruled last fall that 9-year-old Hannah Poling’s underlying mitochondrial disorder was aggravated by the shots which she received as a toddler and resulted in brain dysfunction and “features of autism spectrum disorder.”

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Washington — Most physicians are prepared to meet the April 1 federal deadline for writing many Medicaid prescriptions on tamper-resistant pads, according to medical, pharmacist and other organizations. But these groups continue to reach out to doctors who may be unaware of, or confused about, the law.

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U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey is asking Congress to reverse a decision by the U.S. Sentencing Commission to apply reduced sentences for crack-cocaine offenses retroactively, Reuters reported Feb. 6.

The commission recently voted unanimously to reduce the crack penalties to bring them more into line with those for powdered-cocaine offenses and to apply the reduced penalties to individuals already in prison. The policy takes effect next month.

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The NAACP, National Urban League and other groups called on Congress to end the federal ban on funding needle-exchange programs, saying that the harm-reduction strategy has been proven to prevent HIV/AIDS, the Associated Press reported Feb. 6.

The plea was made in coordination with the Harm Reduction Coalition and in conjunction with National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Federal funding for needle exchanges have been banned for 20 years, although most states fund the programs.

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By Bob Curley

Drug-prevention advocates and others are raising the alarm over President Bush’s FY2009 budget plan, which slashed $198 million from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and calls for elimination of the Recovery Community Support Programs and the STOP Underage Drinking program.

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U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey is asking Congress to reverse a decision by the U.S. Sentencing Commission to apply reduced sentences for crack-cocaine offenses retroactively, Reuters reported Feb. 6.

The commission recently voted unanimously to reduce the crack penalties to bring them more into line with those for powdered-cocaine offenses and to apply the reduced penalties to individuals already in prison. The policy takes effect next month.

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A nude pout is sexy now, ever since the first lip plumpers appeared in the beauty market in 1999, and women have been enthralled at the chance to emulate their favourite celebrity pouters. However, not everyone likes the idea of a painful jab. So, the alternative is to find something to pucker up those lips using gentle .
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The Foundation for Health Coverage Education (FHCE) has launched a new Internet resource center that provides eligiblity and other information on more than 144 government-sponsored programs designed to help people who lack health insurance, PNN Online reported Jan. 18.

The? Coverage for All website and the group’s U.S. Uninsured Help Line (800-234-1317) helps individuals navigate local bureaucracy to get the services they are entitled to under the law. The site provides online access to applications for every state Medicaid, Medicare, and VA health program in the U.S.

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The federal Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) will be spending millions for a one-shot Super Bowl ad that warns against the dangers of prescription drug abuse, AdAge reported Jan. 24.

The ad features a drug dealer lamenting that business is off because so many teens are getting high on prescription drugs taken from parents’ medicine cabinets. It is part of a new 12-week, $14-million campaign focused not on teens, but their parents. “Teens don’t need a drug dealer to get high, safeguard your prescriptions,” says an announcer at the end of the Super Bowl ad. “Safeguard you teens.”

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