New data on women's health, Statehealthfacts: Statehealthfacts recently posted new and updated data on women's health, including family planning under Medicaid, abortion policies, insurance coverage of contraceptives, and cervical and breast cancer deaths (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 9/6).
Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
вторник, 24 апреля 2012 г.
вторник, 17 апреля 2012 г.
Blogs Comment On Supreme Court Nominee, Patients' Choice Act, Other Issues
The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries.
~ "Obama Supreme Court Pick: Sonia Sotomayor," Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times' "The Scoop From Washington": "President Obama was looking for someone with empathy and a 'real life' storyline" when making his Supreme Court nomination, and he "probably got both with his historic pick" of federal appellate court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, Sweet writes. She adds, "If confirmed, Sotomayor will be only the third woman justice in the history of the United States" and the first Hispanic to serve on the court. Sweet writes that although the Democrats have 60 votes in the Senate, "that does not mean there will not be a confirmation battle," adding, "Already on Tuesday morning, a videotape of comments Sotomayor made while on a panel discussion -- about how judges make policy -- is being replayed along with the story of her appointment." According to Sweet, the video will "become a rallying cry for groups already organizing to block her confirmation." She notes that Wendy Long, counsel to the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network, said that Sotomayor is a "liberal judicial activist of the first order who thinks her own personal political agenda is more important [than] the law as written. She thinks that judges should dictate policy, and that one's sex, race and ethnicity ought to affect the decisions one renders from the bench" (Sweet, "The Scoop From Washington," Chicago Sun Times, 5/26).
~ "Nelson Open To Filibustering Obama Court Nominee," Sam Stein, Huffington Post blogs: Senate Republicans -- who have "spent weeks working to frame the type of judicial resume that would be acceptable" for a Supreme Court nominee -- "got what could be a bit of a boost" when Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), a "key moderate Democrat," said he would be open to filibustering Obama's pick to replace retiring Justice David Souter, Stein writes. During an interview on Fox News Sunday, Nelson cautioned Obama against choosing an "activist judge," adding that he "would hope that there wouldn't be any circumstances that would be so extreme with any of the president's nominees that the other side would feel the need to filibuster or that I might feel the need to filibuster in the case of extraordinary circumstances." Earlier in the interview, Nelson said that he "understand[s] that there could be certain circumstances where you might vote against somebody on the filibuster" (Stein, Huffington Post blogs, 5/24).
~ "Patients' Choice Act: Nice Rhetoric, Swiss Cheese Policy," Julia Kaye, Womenstake: It is "heartening to know that members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have come to recognize the severe failures of the current health care system -- nowhere more obvious than in the individual market -- and more importantly, are introducing legislation to reform it," Kaye writes. However, she adds that the Patients' Choice Act of 2009 -- introduced last week by Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), and Reps. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) -- proposes a state-based marketplace for individuals seeking insurance. It also includes "nice" rhetoric but has holes in terms of some policy issues, Kaye writes, adding, "To start with, the summary does not actually state that insurers participating in the exchanges would have to provide coverage on a guaranteed issue basis -- which means that no one can be denied coverage for any reason. It says only: 'Guaranteed access to care.'" In addition, the proposal does not include incentives for insurance companies to join the state exchanges, which puts the idea that state-based exchanges will "provide a regulated environment" on "shaky ground," she writes. Lastly, Kaye writes that although the plan relies on tax credits to help cover the cost of premiums, they are capped tax credits that fail to "account for differences in premiums that unfairly penalize women and older people -- differences that are allowed under the new proposal." She concludes that the "Patients' Choice Act is not the yellow brick road to comprehensive, affordable, quality health care that meets women's needs" (Kaye, Womenstake, 5/22).
Antiabortion-rights blog
~ "Going Public About White House Abortion Meeting," David Brody, The Brody File: Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, is "going public with details from a private White House meeting about abortion reduction," Brody writes. According to an article recently Wright, White House Director of Domestic Policy Melody Barnes said that the goal of the meeting was to discuss how to "reduce the need for abortions," rather than "reduce the number of abortions." Brody writes that Wright and other antiabortion-rights advocates "are wary and skeptical of the Obama administration in this area," but it is "hard to argue that the Obama administration is not making a good faith effort." He continues, "If this is not a good faith effort, then the answer will lie in the final product because the real question is what will the final abortion reduction initiative look like" (Brody, The Brody File, 5/22).
Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.
© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.
~ "Obama Supreme Court Pick: Sonia Sotomayor," Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times' "The Scoop From Washington": "President Obama was looking for someone with empathy and a 'real life' storyline" when making his Supreme Court nomination, and he "probably got both with his historic pick" of federal appellate court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, Sweet writes. She adds, "If confirmed, Sotomayor will be only the third woman justice in the history of the United States" and the first Hispanic to serve on the court. Sweet writes that although the Democrats have 60 votes in the Senate, "that does not mean there will not be a confirmation battle," adding, "Already on Tuesday morning, a videotape of comments Sotomayor made while on a panel discussion -- about how judges make policy -- is being replayed along with the story of her appointment." According to Sweet, the video will "become a rallying cry for groups already organizing to block her confirmation." She notes that Wendy Long, counsel to the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network, said that Sotomayor is a "liberal judicial activist of the first order who thinks her own personal political agenda is more important [than] the law as written. She thinks that judges should dictate policy, and that one's sex, race and ethnicity ought to affect the decisions one renders from the bench" (Sweet, "The Scoop From Washington," Chicago Sun Times, 5/26).
~ "Nelson Open To Filibustering Obama Court Nominee," Sam Stein, Huffington Post blogs: Senate Republicans -- who have "spent weeks working to frame the type of judicial resume that would be acceptable" for a Supreme Court nominee -- "got what could be a bit of a boost" when Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), a "key moderate Democrat," said he would be open to filibustering Obama's pick to replace retiring Justice David Souter, Stein writes. During an interview on Fox News Sunday, Nelson cautioned Obama against choosing an "activist judge," adding that he "would hope that there wouldn't be any circumstances that would be so extreme with any of the president's nominees that the other side would feel the need to filibuster or that I might feel the need to filibuster in the case of extraordinary circumstances." Earlier in the interview, Nelson said that he "understand[s] that there could be certain circumstances where you might vote against somebody on the filibuster" (Stein, Huffington Post blogs, 5/24).
~ "Patients' Choice Act: Nice Rhetoric, Swiss Cheese Policy," Julia Kaye, Womenstake: It is "heartening to know that members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have come to recognize the severe failures of the current health care system -- nowhere more obvious than in the individual market -- and more importantly, are introducing legislation to reform it," Kaye writes. However, she adds that the Patients' Choice Act of 2009 -- introduced last week by Sens. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.), and Reps. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) -- proposes a state-based marketplace for individuals seeking insurance. It also includes "nice" rhetoric but has holes in terms of some policy issues, Kaye writes, adding, "To start with, the summary does not actually state that insurers participating in the exchanges would have to provide coverage on a guaranteed issue basis -- which means that no one can be denied coverage for any reason. It says only: 'Guaranteed access to care.'" In addition, the proposal does not include incentives for insurance companies to join the state exchanges, which puts the idea that state-based exchanges will "provide a regulated environment" on "shaky ground," she writes. Lastly, Kaye writes that although the plan relies on tax credits to help cover the cost of premiums, they are capped tax credits that fail to "account for differences in premiums that unfairly penalize women and older people -- differences that are allowed under the new proposal." She concludes that the "Patients' Choice Act is not the yellow brick road to comprehensive, affordable, quality health care that meets women's needs" (Kaye, Womenstake, 5/22).
Antiabortion-rights blog
~ "Going Public About White House Abortion Meeting," David Brody, The Brody File: Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, is "going public with details from a private White House meeting about abortion reduction," Brody writes. According to an article recently Wright, White House Director of Domestic Policy Melody Barnes said that the goal of the meeting was to discuss how to "reduce the need for abortions," rather than "reduce the number of abortions." Brody writes that Wright and other antiabortion-rights advocates "are wary and skeptical of the Obama administration in this area," but it is "hard to argue that the Obama administration is not making a good faith effort." He continues, "If this is not a good faith effort, then the answer will lie in the final product because the real question is what will the final abortion reduction initiative look like" (Brody, The Brody File, 5/22).
Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.
© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.
вторник, 10 апреля 2012 г.
"A Huge Alzheimer Tsunami Is Coming At America's Women"
The burden of Alzheimer's disease on women is huge, with 65% of all patients being female (3 million in America) and 6.7 million women caring for somebody with the disease, says The Shriver Report, a collaboration between California's First Lady Mary Shriver and The Alzheimer's Association. Woman's Nation takes on Alzheimer's reveals how enormous the Alzheimer's toll is on American women, businesses, families and government - all of whom are not adequately prepared. The authors emphasize that people need to learn the facts about AD (Alzheimer's disease).
By the year 2050 approximately 8 million women will have AD in the USA. Co-authors Karen Skelton and Angela Timashenka Geiger write:
A huge Alzheimer tsunami is coming at this nation's women.
Below are some of the highlights of the report:
Over 10 million American females either have AD or look after a patient with the disease
65% of Alzheimer's patients are female
60% of caregivers of Alzheimer's patients are female
40% of caregivers who are female say they have no choice
One third of all female caregivers are caring for somebody with AD around the clock, seven days a week
The impact of AD on business, families and government is estimated to be $300 billion annually
Nearly two-thirds of caregivers who also have a job say they have no choice but to get to work late, clock off early and sometimes take time off to care for somebody with AD.
The Report reveals that as of 2009, women comprised approximately 50% of all workers in the USA; they have emerged as major primary breadwinners. The colossal emotional and physical impacts of being a major breadwinner, bringing up children, driving consumer decisions and caring for an elderly relative are steadily growing.
The current $300 billion impact of AD is set to triple within a few decades, the authors write. 78 million baby boomers are rapidly reaching the age of Alzheimer's onset, Mary Shriver points out; this will soon push up the economic and social costs for America as a whole. In America, 60% of the estimated $56,800 costs related to caring for an Alzheimer's patients are borne by families.
Despite hundreds of clinical trials and millions spent on research, Alzheimer's disease is still incurable. Researchers and experts continue to hope, and say we are making progress. Even so, there is a feeling among most Americans that scientific progress is too slow. When compared to innovative breakthroughs that have occurred in diabetes, stroke, cancer and heart disease, Americans rank Alzheimer's at the bottom of the list.
The Report states that not enough is being done to change the trajectory of AD into a "true national priority", despite current research and media broadcasting.
As the sheer dimensions of the Alzheimer's impending impact become more evident, the Report says we must ask and answer the following questions:
Alzheimer's already has a huge toll, which is growing. Proper levels of public research funding are required. How do we go about making sure this happens?
How can we lower the financial impact of AD on society and families?
There are millions of women torn between having to work and looking after a person with AD. How can they be helped?
72% of Americans say that have not looked into AD care options. How can people prepare for this possible eventuality?
How can the public sector, the private sector, not-for-profits organizations and the media call attention to the threat of AD and implement solutions?
Skelton and Geiger conclude:
"In short, as a society we need to do a much better job of keeping pace with the stark realities of Alzheimer's, especially the reality of the besieged American woman who is raising our next generation while caring for our last."
Source: Alzheimer's Association, The Shriver Report
"The Shriver Report"
A study by Mary Shriver and the Alzheimer's Association
By the year 2050 approximately 8 million women will have AD in the USA. Co-authors Karen Skelton and Angela Timashenka Geiger write:
A huge Alzheimer tsunami is coming at this nation's women.
Below are some of the highlights of the report:
Over 10 million American females either have AD or look after a patient with the disease
65% of Alzheimer's patients are female
60% of caregivers of Alzheimer's patients are female
40% of caregivers who are female say they have no choice
One third of all female caregivers are caring for somebody with AD around the clock, seven days a week
The impact of AD on business, families and government is estimated to be $300 billion annually
Nearly two-thirds of caregivers who also have a job say they have no choice but to get to work late, clock off early and sometimes take time off to care for somebody with AD.
The Report reveals that as of 2009, women comprised approximately 50% of all workers in the USA; they have emerged as major primary breadwinners. The colossal emotional and physical impacts of being a major breadwinner, bringing up children, driving consumer decisions and caring for an elderly relative are steadily growing.
The current $300 billion impact of AD is set to triple within a few decades, the authors write. 78 million baby boomers are rapidly reaching the age of Alzheimer's onset, Mary Shriver points out; this will soon push up the economic and social costs for America as a whole. In America, 60% of the estimated $56,800 costs related to caring for an Alzheimer's patients are borne by families.
Despite hundreds of clinical trials and millions spent on research, Alzheimer's disease is still incurable. Researchers and experts continue to hope, and say we are making progress. Even so, there is a feeling among most Americans that scientific progress is too slow. When compared to innovative breakthroughs that have occurred in diabetes, stroke, cancer and heart disease, Americans rank Alzheimer's at the bottom of the list.
The Report states that not enough is being done to change the trajectory of AD into a "true national priority", despite current research and media broadcasting.
As the sheer dimensions of the Alzheimer's impending impact become more evident, the Report says we must ask and answer the following questions:
Alzheimer's already has a huge toll, which is growing. Proper levels of public research funding are required. How do we go about making sure this happens?
How can we lower the financial impact of AD on society and families?
There are millions of women torn between having to work and looking after a person with AD. How can they be helped?
72% of Americans say that have not looked into AD care options. How can people prepare for this possible eventuality?
How can the public sector, the private sector, not-for-profits organizations and the media call attention to the threat of AD and implement solutions?
Skelton and Geiger conclude:
"In short, as a society we need to do a much better job of keeping pace with the stark realities of Alzheimer's, especially the reality of the besieged American woman who is raising our next generation while caring for our last."
Source: Alzheimer's Association, The Shriver Report
"The Shriver Report"
A study by Mary Shriver and the Alzheimer's Association
вторник, 3 апреля 2012 г.
Forty Percent Of North Carolina Community Pharmacies Not Stocking EC, Survey Says
About 40% of community pharmacies in North Carolina contacted in a recent survey said they do not stock emergency contraception, and 24.2% of pharmacists said EC is the same as mifepristone, according to a report released Monday by NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, the Winston-Salem Journal reports. EC, which contains high doses of progestin, can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse, while mifepristone is taken in combination with the drug misoprostol to induce a medical abortion (Giovanelli, Winston-Salem Journal, 6/19).
FDA approved Barr Laboratories' application for nonprescription sales of its emergency contraceptive Plan B to women ages 18 and older in August 2006. Major pharmacy chains -- such as CVS, Rite-Aid and Walgreen -- are carrying Plan B in all their stores and have pledged to ensure that customers can buy it at each store even if a certain employee declines to sell the pill because of moral objections (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/23). For the survey, researchers contacted 583 community pharmacies -- those not located in hospitals and rehabilitation centers -- statewide and tried to include at least one pharmacy from each ZIP code, NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina Executive Director Melissa Reed said.
According to the survey, 57% of pharmacies in rural areas stocked EC, compared with 64.3% of pharmacies in urban areas. Eleven percent of pharmacies said they still require clients to have a prescription for Plan B, the survey found (Winston-Salem Journal, 6/19). In addition, researchers found that nearly two-thirds of the pharmacists surveyed said they did not know EC was effective up to 72 hours after intercourse, and quoted pharmacy prices for EC ranged from $20 to $500, the Charlotte Observer reports.
FDA approved Barr Laboratories' application for nonprescription sales of its emergency contraceptive Plan B to women ages 18 and older in August 2006. Major pharmacy chains -- such as CVS, Rite-Aid and Walgreen -- are carrying Plan B in all their stores and have pledged to ensure that customers can buy it at each store even if a certain employee declines to sell the pill because of moral objections (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/23). For the survey, researchers contacted 583 community pharmacies -- those not located in hospitals and rehabilitation centers -- statewide and tried to include at least one pharmacy from each ZIP code, NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina Executive Director Melissa Reed said.
According to the survey, 57% of pharmacies in rural areas stocked EC, compared with 64.3% of pharmacies in urban areas. Eleven percent of pharmacies said they still require clients to have a prescription for Plan B, the survey found (Winston-Salem Journal, 6/19). In addition, researchers found that nearly two-thirds of the pharmacists surveyed said they did not know EC was effective up to 72 hours after intercourse, and quoted pharmacy prices for EC ranged from $20 to $500, the Charlotte Observer reports.
Reaction
"Availability of emergency contraception is critical to reducing unintended pregnancy," Reed said. Amy Woodell, a statewide organizer for NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, said, "Our survey found that a lot of the pharmacists had a lot of misinformation," adding, "I think it was surprising." She said the group plans to use the results to inform pharmacists and the general public about EC.
Jay Campbell, executive director of the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy, said the board's policy states that while pharmacists have the right to avoid moral or ethical conflicts, "they do not have a right to obstruct otherwise legitimate prescription dispensing or delivery solely on the basis of conscientious objection." He added that as a "practical matter, I don't know why [pharmacies] would not carry a product that customers need" (Hartsoe, Charlotte Observer, 6/18).
Fred Eckel, executive director of the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists, said, "The owner of the store decides what they are going to stock. There's an inventory investment and a space investment, and I think people should be able to make business choices." Eckel said that the pharmacists' association has held informational sessions about EC at annual meetings, which included a clear distinction between EC and mifepristone. He said that the pharmacists contacted in the survey might have been confused by the questions or might need more information (Winston-Salem Journal, 6/19).
The report is available online.
"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
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