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Internists Note 'Close Alignment' With Policies In America's Affordable Health Choices Act Of 2009 -ACP Urges Approval By House Committees
The president of the American College of Physicians (ACP) today told the chairmen of the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees that America"s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, H.R. 3200, is "closely aligned" with ACP policies on coverage, workforce, and payment and delivery system reform.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids Appear To Impact AMD Progression
Omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish such as tuna and salmon may protect against progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), but the benefits appear to depend on the stage of disease and whether certain supplements are taken, report researchers at the Laboratory for Nutrition and Vision Research (LNVR), Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University.
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NPR Program Features Discussions On Several Topics Related To Abortion Rights
NPR"s "Talk of the Nation" on Tuesday included a discussion with NPR health policy correspondent Julie Rovner regarding abortion-rights policies and other reproductive health-related issues under the Obama administration. Rovner also discussed a recent Gallup poll that found more U.S. residents described themselves as "pro-life" rather than "pro-choice" for the first time. Rovner noted that public opinion on abortion "tends to be countercyclical to who"s in charge." For example, when the president and the majority in Congress both oppose abortion rights, supporters of those rights "tend to get kind of riled up," she said. Similarly, abortion-rights opponents often are more vocal when abortion-rights supporters occupy the White House and control the majority in Congress, "[s]o it wouldn"t be surprising that you would see ... more of a pro-life push in opinion polls." Rovner noted that the percentage of people who believe abortion should be always illegal or always legal has not changed significantly since 1975. The discussion included Obama"s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, and his administration"s proposal to repeal the Bush administration"s HHS "conscience" rule, which expanded the ability health care workers now have to refuse to provide services they find morally or religiously objectionable. Rovner said that a finalization of the Obama administration"s proposal on the refusal rule is expected in July, although she added that repealing the rule would "likely have little practical effect" because existing statutes already protect workers with moral and religious objections. When asked about whether Obama has lived up to the expectations of abortion-rights supporters who endorsed him as a candidate, Rovner said that the president has "tried very hard to steer middle ground on this issue, to say, really, there should be a way to find peace" (Conan [1], "Talk of the Nation," NPR, 6/9).Tuesday"s program also included a discussion on how some physicians decide whether they will perform abortions and how that decision affects their lives. Guests included Suzanne Poppema, board chair of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, and John Kelly, a retired surgeon who opposes abortion rights (Conan [2], "Talk of the Nation," NPR, 6/9).
Endocrinology

Lobbyists Elbow For Attention As Health Reform Votes Loom

The conservative message on health care is that President Obama"s revamp of the health care system in America will produce a costly government-run program that limits patient choice, The Associated Press reports. "It"s selling that view to the public that"s tough. As the right drums up opposition to the plan, it is competing against an aggressive White House, a still-brawny Obama political operation and well-funded progressive groups that are using the Internet, television and other techniques to mobilize grass-roots support." "Even as Congress holds initial votes on competing health care bills and special interests spend millions lobbying, liberals and conservatives are waging a less visible struggle for public support. The goal is motivating enough voters to express their views to sway wavering legislators. In many ways it"s David and Goliath, with Goliath played by the still-popular Obama and his allies. They include Organizing for America, the Obama campaign organization now melded into the national Democratic Party, which has an e-mail list of reputedly up to 13 million names. ò€¦ The Republican National Committee is the closest thing conservatives have to the giant Organizing for America. But the GOP has yet to match the Democrats" reach or clout and has been distracted by earlier, unrelated dustups between party Chairman Michael Steele and conservatives including talk show host Rush Limbaugh" (Fram, 7/16). But conservative groups are busy in their own camps trying to influence decisions on reform, The (Eureka, Calif.) Times Standard reports: " Humboldt Tea Party Patriots, the same group that staged a tax day protest, is hoping to get a group of opponents to government run health care to gather in front of North Coast (Calif.) Congressman Mike Thompson"s office Friday to air their feelings of displeasure with the proposed legislation, which would cover tens of millions of uninsured Americans" (Greenson, 7/16). In the meantime, a new poll finds Americans torn over health care, McClatchy/The Detroit Free Press reports. "On one key question, the poll found Americans split over the benefits of being able to buy insurance from a new government program. While 40% said they thought it would lower the quality of their care, 21% said it would improve the quality and 36% said it wouldn"t make any difference. The rest had no opinion. The survey also found 38% saying the availability of government insurance would bring down their family"s costs, 27% said it would raise their costs and 31% said it wouldn"t make any difference. The poll found Americans almost evenly divided when they were asked to choose the primary goal for health care legislation, with 46% saying it should expand coverage and 44% saying it should control costs" (Thomma, 7/16). The poll also found 91 percent of Americans support tax breaks for small business to help them provide insurance, while a majority oppose a national sales tax, a tax on soft drinks and a tax on employer-provided health insurance, The Dallas Morning News reports (7/16). 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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