29-06-2012 15:48 The health care issue was supposed to be televised. But the people have gotten wise and Obama has realized that he can't socialize with the eyes of the people on 'em. You've been duped and cut from the loop. Health care reform will not be televised. Zo speaks truth to power here: See more at
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The health policy of India, in keeping with the WHO declaration at the Alma Ata conference of 1978, is to provide affordable, accessible and sustainable high-quality health care for all.
Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to come anywhere near the cherished goal and there is a sense of disillusionment and dissatisfaction amongst the public regarding the present state of affairs in the medical sector.
The time has now come for us to overcome this inertia and prepare a road map on a short, medium and long-term basis so that we can regain public faith in both the private and public sectors.
The basic infrastructure of the Indian health care delivery system was based on the recommendations of the Bhore Committee, which was formed before Independence under the chairmanship of Sir Joseph Bhore.
The committee, which had Dr B.C. Roy as a member, published its report in 1946. The committee recommended a three-tier health care delivery system (primary, secondary and tertiary). The emphasis was on primary care, the base of the infrastructure, providing both preventive and curative care.
The committee also recommended the ideal number of health centres, doctors, nurses and health assistants that would be needed to cater to a particular number of people.
After Independence, the recommendations were implemented in successive five-year plans although we are still struggling to make up the numbers, particularly if we consider the provisional census report of 2011.
In Bengal, according to the latest statistics, there are 269 rural hospitals, 79 block primary health centres, 909 primary health centres and 10,356 sub centres. And these numbers are well below the target level.
The lack of other infrastructure manpower, equipment and medicine is a perennial problem, particularly in the rural sector.
Moreover, there is a sharp urban-rural division in the health sector. A good example of this is that rural areas have only 31 per cent of the countrys hospital beds and only 26 per cent medical graduates practice there although 70 per cent of Indias population lives in villages.
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If the political rhetoric that accompanied last week's Supreme Court ruling on health care reform was any indication, Texans can expect a raucous few months ahead as politicians consider whether to accept billions of federal dollars to expand Medicaid coverage to as many as 2 million low-income Texans.
The stakes are high, both politically and for the people who could gain coverage.
Gov. Rick Perry and other Texas leaders have shown little interest in participating, although that may change as the federal government dangles the money as bait.
Perry "has no interest in fast-tracking any portion of this bankrupting and overreaching legislation," deputy press secretary Josh Havens said.
The court's 5-4 decision upheld most of the controversial 2010 health care law, but gave opponents a minor victory when it ruled that states could decide whether to participate in the Medicaid expansion without jeopardizing the money they receive for the traditional Medicaid program.
The traditional program in Texas covers 3.4 million children, pregnant women, disabled adults and poor, elderly people; under the Affordable Care Act, it would be extended to everyone whose income falls below 133 percent of the federal poverty level, about $25,300 for a family of three.
GOP 'still in denial'
The Legislature could take up the issue when it meets in January.
"I'm not holding my breath," said Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, a San Antonio Democrat who is head of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. "It almost seems to me the Republican leaders are still in denial about what happened at the Supreme Court."
At the least, they are waiting for the results of the upcoming election between President Barack Obama and presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney.
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The Supreme Courts long-awaited ruling on the Affordable Care Act known to both admirers and critics as Obamacare has been characterized as a compromise, meaning it made almost everyone a little bit happy and a little bit sad.
Looks like they split the baby on this one, said one political activist in Denver.
Even CNN and Fox News were confused, announcing originally that the law had been struck down, based on partial information saying that the Court had ruled that the attempt to justify the Act on the grounds of interstate commerce was unfounded. But Chief Justice John Roberts, a staunch conservative, found a way to uphold the law on the basis of the governments right to levy taxes.
Compromises have been few and far between in this increasingly polarized political landscape, and so perhaps we should all welcome this rare event.
But judging by the level of anger surrounding the ruling, matched by the almost total ignorance of its provisions and effects among the general population, nothing has been solved by Thursdays decision. Instead, the battle will continue right up until Nov. 6, when voters can finally have their say.
A recent USA Today/Gallup poll indicated that Americans are evenly divided 46 percent to 46 percent on whether or not they favor the Affordable Care Act. The split reflects the deep chasm between Democrats and Republicans: 85 percent of Republicans want the Act repealed in its entirety, while 65 percent of Democrats want the bill maintained or expanded.
This is not a debate over health care, or even about the proper role of government in our society. It is politics, pure and simple. Republican challenger Mitt Romney himself the author of a similar health care bill in Massachusetts, lost no time in weighing in.
"If we want to get rid of Obamacare, we're going to have to replace President Obama," Romney told a news conference on Thursday.
Over the past several months, I have spoken to dozens of people about the health care act. Reactions are split fairly neatly along party lines, although neither side had a monopoly on logic.
This is not America, fumed Dr. Debra Russell, a self-described neuropsychotherapist in Beaufort, South Carolina. This is socialism, communism. I never thought I would see this sort of thing in my country. It is as bad as FDR.
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Big step forward
In regards to the Supreme Courts decision June 28 on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) [Defining Decision, page one, June 29], I lived in Prague for 12 years and learned firsthand what it is to live with national health care. It is very humanistic to care for others and to be cared for by others.
From direct experience I can say health care for all, supported by all, is excellent for body, mind, and family.
Today is a big step forward for every one of us, thanks to the ACA in the USA.
Michael Minard, Seattle
Republicans, dont be afraid of Obamacare
The sky is falling! We must repeal! Doom and gloom ... thats the response from Republicans to the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act.
Do Republicans find the prospect of providing more people with affordable health care so scary? Maybe the fact that an insurance company can no longer say no to a person with existing health conditions is horrifying to them? Or perhaps allowing young adults to remain covered under their parents insurance plan induces night terrors. Just what exactly to do they fear?
Republicans have been remarkably devoid of any substantive arguments backing their positions; their entire rant is based on clich, ad hominem attacks and diversions aimed at denying President Obama any sort of success in this election year. Their tactics fall short, especially considering that many of the provisions in Obamacare were, in fact, first proposed and implemented by Republicans.
Further, they offer no alternatives other than retreating to the flawed and unsustainable patchwork of health care that failed so many Americans.
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A television screen at a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange headlines the Supreme Court decision on health care, Thursday, June 28, 2012. Stocks dropped sharply Thursday after the Supreme Court upheld the central provision of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, a requirement that almost all Americans carry health insurance. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
The Supreme Court's decision to uphold the federal health law has raised new questions about exactly how -- and whether -- the state will further expand Medicaid health insurance coverage for low-income residents.
Meanwhile, a key Republican in the state Senate suggested there is no urgency to work with Democrats this summer to create a "health exchange" -- a new type of marketplace created by the law where Minnesotans can start buying coverage late next year. He is confident fall elections will create a Republican majority in Washington, D.C., able to repeal the law.
The partisan divide over how to implement the health law persists at the state Capitol even with the Supreme Court ruling Thursday, June 28, that the federal legislation is constitutional.
On Medicaid, the administration of Gov. Mark Dayton remains committed to a full expansion of the Medicaid program as was envisioned by the 2010 health law. But the court's ruling Thursday made the expansion optional for states -- and leading Republicans think Minnesota would be wise to put the brakes on a further expansion.
As for health exchange planning, some Republicans have called for engaging the Dayton administration in talks on the subject in hopes of promoting free-market elements in the plan. But Sen. David Hann, a leading Republican on health issues from Eden Prairie, said he and others in his party remain focused on what they see as fundamental flaws in the law -- not the need to try to make
On Friday, Hann said voters in November will clearly register opposition to the health law and put Republicans in a position to repeal it.
"People do not want this law," Hann said. Noting that the Legislature won't be back in session until next year, he added: "There's no possible way we can pass a health exchange between now and January."
Signed into law by President Barack Obama in March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act set a goal of significantly reducing the number of Americans who lack health insurance.
In Minnesota, there were about 500,000 uninsured residents last year. With implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the number of uninsured people in the state in 2016 should stand at just 210,000, according to an April analysis conducted for the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
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TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Rick Scott says Florida will not begin implementing the federal health care law because he believes it is bad policy and too costly.
Scott told Fox News he believes the law should be repealed, hopefully by a new president elected in November. But even if that doesnt happen, he said, Florida will not set up a health-insurance exchange or participate in an expansion of Medicaid.
Were not going to implement Obamacare in Florida, Scott told Fox News anchor Greta Van Susteren on Friday night. Were not going to expand Medicaid because were going to do the right thing. Were not going to do the exchange.
Scotts announcement came hours after he told media that he was still considering his options in the wake of Thursdays U.S. Supreme Court ruling to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
State Rep. Mark Pafford, the ranking Democrat on the Florida House committee that handles health care funding, said he was not surprised.
This is a guy who was in the private sector. He created an organization to fight the Affordable Care Act, said Pafford, of West Palm Beach. He then was so upset that he became governor using his own money. So it wouldnt make sense that he would do anything else.
Under the health care law, by 2014 states must implement a health insurance exchange, a Web-based marketplace where people can shop for insurance, or defer to a federal program. States need to submit plans to the federal government that demonstrate their readiness to launch health exchanges by Nov. 16.
States also must decide whether to move forward with an expansion of Medicaid to reduce the number of uninsured residents. In Florida about 3.8 million people, or 21 percent, are uninsured.
The Supreme Court ruling made it clear that states can stick with the status quo without being financially penalized. The federal government has promised to shoulder nearly all of the burden of the Medicaid expansion in the early years so it will cost states relatively little to participate. But Scott said Medicaid is already too expensive and the expansion would put further strain on the state budget.
We care about having a health care safety net for the vulnerable Floridians, Scott said on Fox. But this is an expansion that just doesnt make any sense.
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For state's uninsured, health-care ruling provides some relief
Affordable Care Act or not, Roosevelt General Hospital and Plains Regional Medical Center officials say they already serve the uninsured and underprivileged in Roosevelt and Curry counties.
If President Barack Obamas health care bill were to be fully enacted in 2014, officials noted the changes they would see wouldnt be in who they serve, but how they serve.
According to Hoyt Skabelund, administrator of Plains Regional in Clovis, about 10 percent of their patients do not have any form of insurance and that is not including those below 200 percent of the poverty limit.
Our belief is, we provide care regardless of (a patients) ability to pay, Skabelund said.
Under the individual mandate of the health care bill, their uninsured patients will be required to have some form of health care.
(The individual mandate) will increase the number of paying patients, relieving pressure off health care providers and increasing the reimbursements issued to (providers), Skabelund said.
He added that the bill has provided clarity for how they will operate come 2014.
Weve been waiting to find out whats our future and how to coordinate higher quality care, Skabelund said.
Skabelund highlighted other impacts Obamas health care bill will have on Plains Regional:
Having more insured patients will prevent cost-shifting.
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Indiana's role in the constitutional challenge Indiana was one of 25 states that joined Florida in challenging the law. Indiana Sens. Richard Lugar and Dan Coats signed onto a brief written by GOP senators backing Florida's challenge. They argued that allowing the law to stand would upset the balance of power between the federal government and states, placing unlimited power in the hands of ...
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Guitars have always been cool. The shape is as sexy as an hourglass figure and the sound has always felt dangerous.
But in the digital age, their futurism took second place to the synthesizer, an instrument that can literally sound like anything, so long as the knobs are turned right.
But Delicate Steve's performance at Visual Arts Collective June 29 was a reminder of why the guitar remains king.
The New Jersey band dropped instrumental shred-pop mastery by the score, including material from its debut album, Wondervisions, and its new release, Positive Force.
Despite the lack of lyrics, the band's songs rocked guitar leads with melodies so recognizable and catchy, Delicate Steve might well turn out to be The Ventures of the indie-rock era, if it puts out around a thousand more albums anyhow.
But as much as the melodies stood out, so did the tone. Though the beats were lagging and percussion heavy, many reminiscent of calypso, the guitars were bold and brassy, jacked up two octaves through a whammy pedal so every note screamed like it was straight from an '80s metal solo. Delicate Steve mixed in a few keyboards, especially on its signature track Wondervisions, a keyboard melody you may never excise from your head, but it put the guitars back in the spotlight, showing any doubters in the audience that there is absolutely no substitute.
The band may not carry itself with the 10-pound testicle swagger of the guitar hero, but it filled the audience with an urge to shred every bit as powerful as the finest of Iron Maiden or Steve Vai solos.
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CINCINNATI -
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is getting help with longstanding financial problems through a merger into the Cincinnati Museum Center's corporate structure and from a $1.8 million grant.
The Museum Center's board of trustees recently approved a resolution allowing it to become the Freedom Center's parent organization with financial oversight of the national center. The merging of the organizations' operations allows cost savings intended to provide financial stability for the Freedom Center and eliminate a $1.5 million annual budget shortfall, Museum Center spokeswoman Elizabeth Pierce said Friday.
Freedom Center officials said last year that the annual shortfall could force the center to close by the end of 2012 if the money wasn't found. The Freedom Center, which opened in 2004, also said that while attendance was up slightly in 2011 over the previous year, it has declined since a 2005 peak.
Museum Center officials have said the partnership offers financial strength and new opportunities for both organizations.
The Museum Center houses a history museum, a children's museum and a natural history and science museum. The Freedom Center, which is now its fourth wholly owned subsidiary, focuses on the 19th century Underground Railroad for escaping slaves and on freedom throughout the world.
The Freedom Center's board changed its bylaws earlier this year to allow for the merged operations, which will enable reduced administrative expenses in areas including human resources and finance, Pierce said.
The Freedom Center will remain responsible for its fundraising, programming and efforts to enhance its image.
Pierce said both organizations will retain their separate brands and missions and will remain separate legal entities for the purpose of charitable gifts and revenue.
"This collaboration also gives a level of operating efficiency that will allow both organizations to better deliver their education missions," Pierce said.
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Were not surprised Gov. Bev Perdue vetoed on Friday the budget the Republican-dominated N.C. legislature passed a week earlier. Many of the flaws she noted in rejecting the budget this editorial board noted when we gave a measured thumbs up to the $20 billion plan after it passed.
We found the plan flawed but good enough, given the circumstances. It begins to restore some of the unfortunate cuts made to K-12 education in recent years. Lawmakers gave back $251 million in K-12 funding for the coming year, a boost officials at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools welcomed. And that includes a 1.2 percent state pay raise for teachers and other state employees.
Still, like Perdue, we found plenty not to like about this budget. It is better than the draconian Senate version that was once on the table. But the compromise with the House came short of providing adequate resources for the states public schools and university system or its mental health and criminal justice services. And it continues the legislative bait-and-switch by giving schools more money with one hand, then requiring that they return millions back to the state with the other.
Most abominably, the budget provides no money to begin compensating victims of the state-sponsored sterilization program that ran from 1929 through 1974. That eugenics program was the longest running and the most aggressive in the nation. Victims were often coerced into the procedure or lied to about what was happening. Whites, blacks, American Indians were all victimized by the state through this needless and shameful practice.
Whether the legislature can successfully override Perdues veto, lawmakers still have a chance to do the right thing this year on the eugenics program. Both Perdues budget and the House budget had provided $10 million to finally make amends with $50,000 going to each living victim of the program. When the legislatures budget passed with no money set aside for compensation, Perdue suggested amending the budget with a lower amount, $5 million, to begin the program.
Legislators didnt budge, and Perdue stamped veto on the budget.
Before lawmakers start duking it out over the veto, they can and should include money for compensating sterilization victims. Perdue last week noted that an additional $117 million in revenues has been collected unexpectedly, leading to a combined $350 million in higher collections for the fiscal year that ended Saturday. She says some portion of the $117 million could fund needs left out from the budget.
Republicans counter that the money is one-time funding (an unexpected tax settlement) and is largely the result of a timing issue in which revenues arrived unexpectedly before the fiscal year ended. The unanticipated revenues will be canceled out by lower revenues next year and other obligations, they say.
Ironically, one of those obligations will be to refund business tax payments under a new tax break that begins July 1. That break, created to help small businesses, will also needlessly benefit wealthy businesses. As weve said before, a fix in that tax break, limiting it to small businesses that need it, could have funded the sterilization compensation program many times over.
Lawmakers can still fix that tax break. Or they could use the one-time funds that are part of the higher revenue collections this year to tackle the one-time issue of making amends for the states egregious sterilizations. This budget fix is doable, and worth one more try.
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MADISON, CT (WFSB) -
State parks and beaches are expected to reach maximum capacity over the weekend, as temperatures are forecasted to reach 90 degrees and higher.
With the Independence Day holiday next week, many travelers are already heading to beaches like Hammonnasset State Park in Madison.
"We do this every year," said David Rodriguez of East Hartford. "It's a family tradition."
This year, however, more are flocking toConnecticut beaches as temperatures are hitting record numbers. Connecticut has already had a heat wave in June, and a second one may be in progress.
"It's hot, but it's summertime, so it kind of comes with the territory," said Chris Randall, of New Haven, who was first in line at Hammonnasset State Park, early Saturday morning. "Anything we can do for a little relief is good."
Officials from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said theyare expectinghigh turnout at beaches along the Connecticut coast and at parks around the state. If this happens, officials said they would have to start turning people away.
D.E.E.P. officials also expressed concern about high ozone levels, especially in coastal areas of Connecticut. People with asthma or other respiratory issues are being urged to avoid these areas until the risk isn't so high.
In addition to health concerns relating to the high ozone levels, environmental officials are continuing to be cautious of high bacteria levels in the waters at state beaches in Connecticut. Several beaches were closed earlier in the week, as tests deemed the water unsafe for swimmers.
Beachesat Rocky Neck in Niantic, Sherwood Island's East End in Westport, as well as Silver Sands in Milford and Kettletown in Southbury were closed for several days, before environmental tests returned on Thursday proved that water at theparkswas safe. The swimming area at Chatfield Hollow State Park in Killingworth was also closed because of bacteria, but didn't open again until Friday.
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State beaches expected to reach maximum capacity this weekend
AUGUSTA, MaineState officials say the water quality at Maine's 61 public access beaches, comprising more than 30 miles of the state's coastline, is the best it's been since 2008.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection says the good news for beachgoers follows a 2011 season in which more than two-thirds of Maine's 61 coastal public-access beaches had no water quality issues that led to an advisory or closure. Beaches were open and safe for swimming 98.2 percent of the time last year.
Beaches are monitored weekly by volunteers, municipal staff and state park employees from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Water samples are analyzed for bacteria that suggest the presence of fecal contamination from humans and animals, including dogs and waterfowl.
Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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ScienceDaily (June 29, 2012) Accelerated whole breast irradiation after lumpectomy is an effective treatment for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a very common early stage and noninvasive form of breast cancer, meaning many more breast cancer patients could see their treatment times reduced by half, according to a study in the June issue of the International Journal of Radiation OncologyBiologyPhysics, the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
The widespread use of mammography beginning in the early 1980s has led to a dramatic increase in the number of DCIS instances detected, making this one of the most common forms of breast cancer. Multiple studies have proven that lumpectomy plus radiation significantly reduces the risk of recurrence in both noninvasive and invasive breast cancers and for DCIS, the current standard of treatment is lumpectomy followed by five to six weeks of whole breast radiation.
However, for invasive cancers, the use of an accelerated form of radiation that increases the strength of the dose per treatment and uses fewer treatment sessions overall has been well-established as effective, providing patients with a shorter treatment time with similar positive results. The effectiveness of an accelerated treatment time has not been established for DCIS.
Researchers in the study followed 145 DCIS patients who were treated with lumpectomy and accelerated whole breast irradiation or lumpectomy with accelerated whole breast irradiation plus an additional daily boost. At five years post-treatment, only 4.1 percent of patients experienced a recurrence, which is comparable to the five to 10 percent recurrence rate demonstrated in randomized trials for patients receiving standard radiation.
"The results of our study suggest that DCIS patients can be safely treated with a shorter regimen of radiotherapy," Silvia Formenti, MD, senior author of the study and a radiation oncologist at New York University School of Medicine, said. "This is good news for many breast cancer patients who would prefer to receive their treatments in a shorter period of time, but also want the peace of mind that they are receiving the most effective treatment available."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
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