"Health & Medical News"

Washington — Becoming a doctor isn’t cheap. The average debt for medical school graduates is approximately $140,000, according to the American Medical Association. But the burden could get a little lighter for some medical students under a bill passed last month by the House.

A provision inserted into legislation reauthorizing the federal government’s student loan programs would allow medical specialists with five or more years of graduate medical education to qualify for up to $2,000 in loan forgiveness annually for serving in areas of need. The maximum amount would be $10,000 for five years of service.

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Popularity: unranked [?]

By Bob Curley

An omnibus federal budget for FY2008 has been passed by the U.S. Senate and House and is headed for the president’s desk; the bill includes funding for addiction treatment and prevention programs as part of $555 billion in appropriations.

The consensus among addiction-field advocates seems to indicate that treatment, prevention and research programs fared reasonably well in another difficult budget year, despite some significant cuts in certain programs.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Washington — A House committee approved legislation that would make the National Institute of Standards and Technology responsible for setting federal health information technology standards and would make the institute available as a consulting body for private industry efforts.

The purpose is to speed up adoption of HIT, said Rep. Bart Gordon (D, Tenn.), who sponsored the measure.

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Popularity: unranked [?]

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a revised version of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill, but the measure once again fell short of the votes needed to override an expected presidential veto.

CNN reported Oct. 25 that the SCHIP bill passed 265-142, still short of the 290 votes needed for a veto override. The measure included some concessions to Republican concerns about the bill, including tighter income-based caps on eligibility. But it still retained the original bill’s $35-billion price tag and a funding mechanism based on a 61-cent-per-pack increase in the federal tobacco tax.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Washington — Community health centers, medical researchers and medical students would benefit from a fiscal 2008 Dept. of Health and Human Services budget passed by the Senate. But Congress must gather enough votes to override a threatened veto.

The Senate adopted a $479 billion HHS appropriations bill 75-19 on Oct. 23, easily achieving a two-thirds, veto-proof majority with the help of 29 Republicans. The House passed a similar $472 billion HHS budget in mid-July by a vote of 276-140 — short of a veto-proof level, despite the support of 53 Republicans.

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Popularity: unranked [?]

The addiction and mental-health parity bill has been approved by the third and final committee needed to get it to a vote on the House floor, CADCA Coalitions Online reported Oct. 18.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 this week. The vote means that the bill, H.R. 1424, is cleared for a vote by the full House. The measure currently has 273 cosponsors, more than enough for passage.

Popularity: unranked [?]

A mental-health and addiction parity bill has passed the California Senate and Assembly and is now on the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarznegger.

The bill, AB-423, was sponsored by Rep. Jim Beall, Jr. and would require health plans and insurers to cover behavioral-health problems on par with physical ailments. It was approved by the state Assembly in June and passed 27-12 in the Senate on Sept. 6.

Popularity: 7% [?]

SACRAMENTO—The Senate Health Committee today passed SB 1683, the Pharmaceutical Drug Right-to-Know Act. The bill, authored by Senator Jack Scott (Alta Dena) and sponsored by CALPIRG, would require drug companies to release the results of all their health studies for every drug sold in California.

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Popularity: 10% [?]

Doctors and patients one step closer to getting information on side effects of medicine

SACRAMENTO—The California Senate passed the Pharmaceutical Drug Information and Safety Act, SB 606 (Scott), yesterday. The bill requires pharmaceutical companies to disclose the results of the clinical studies so that doctors and patients have additional information on the side effects and effectiveness of drugs.

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Popularity: 6% [?]