Obama Health Care Fails
Posted by Staff (10/20/2011 @ 2:29 am)

The CLASS Obama health care program is not going forward.
Not enough young, healthy people are signing up to make the program financially viable.
The CLASS program was similar to long-term care plans available in the private sector in which workers sign up and pay a monthly premium. It was voluntary and was to be paid for entirely by the premiums from those who signed up. In return, subscribers would get a daily benefit.
HPV Vaccine Becomes the Center Of Republican Debate
Posted by Staff (09/14/2011 @ 11:43 pm)

HPV is extremely common—75 percent of all women will eventually come in contact with this virus. But the good news is that most of those cases will clear up by themselves in as little as two years. Plus, there’s the additional protection of vaccination.
Nearly 100 percent of cervical cancers are caused by high-risk HPV, says Mark Einstein, M.D., director of clinical research at Montefiore Medical Center and Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. If left untreated, cervical cancer may require chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a full hysterectomy, and may even result in infertility or death.
The vaccine Gardasil protects against four of the most common strains of HPV, 16 and 18 (which can cause cervical cancer) and 6 and 11 (which cause genital warts).
Another vaccine, Cervarix, has also been approved by the FDA and is highly effective in treating strains 16 and 18. The National Cancer Institute reports that there is evidence that Cervarix may also protect against other types of HPV that cause cancer.
The HPV Vaccine can be beneficial, however, a government mandate may not be popular.
Do we want government officials dictating medical policy?
Obama’s Health Care Reform Upheld in Court
Posted by Staff (09/10/2011 @ 12:12 am)

Obama’s health care bill is not overturned in a court ruling.
Obama wins this round and now has the Tea Party and Republican party with whom to do battle at the primaries.
A sluggish economy and poor jobs market may just be the momentum behind the president to make this law stick.
But does it help anyone to be required to buy into a broken health care system?
Standardizing costs and preventive health care should be the priority. Supporting big pharmaceutical companies with tax payer dollars will not help in the long run.
“Virginia, the sole plaintiff here, lacks standing to bring this action,” said the ruling from the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. “Accordingly, we vacate the judgment of the district court and remand with instructions to dismiss the case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.”
The Richmond-based court becomes the second such federal court to uphold the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, particularly the “individual mandate” provision requiring most Americans to purchase health insurance by 2014 or face a financial penalty. Another appeals court had ruled against the administration.
The U.S Appeals Court Rules Against Obama Healthcare Law
Posted by Staff (08/13/2011 @ 7:29 pm)

President Obama’s healthcare plan requiring every American to purchase healthcare insurance was ruled as unconstitutional.
It will be interesting to see how this affects the upcoming election considering that this was such a hot button topic and a cornerstone of his campaign promises.
It has been historically difficult and unpopular to promote national healthcare.
Follow the story here.
The U.S. Appeals Court for the 11th Circuit, based in Atlanta, ruled 2 to 1 that Congress exceeded its authority by requiring Americans to buy coverage, but it unanimously reversed a lower court decision that threw out the entire law.
The legality of the individual mandate, a cornerstone of the healthcare law, is widely expected to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Opponents have argued that without the mandate, which goes into effect in 2014, the entire law falls.
Military suicide and the importance of the national health care
Posted by Staff (04/01/2011 @ 1:10 am)

Army releases February satistics for military suicides.
The numbers are up from last year.
National healthcare is more important than ever as more soldiers return home and need care.
“Efforts to mitigate risk and improve the health of the force demand decisive engagement at every echelon. The complexity of suicide demands the need for a coordinated effort by every member across the Army to reduce the negative outcomes of high-risk behavior, risk-related deaths and suicides,” said Col. Chris Philbrick, deputy director, Army Health Promotion, Risk Reduction Task Force
Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army’s deputy chief of staff and its point person on suicide prevention, told reporters at the Pentagon among others that 101 Guardsmen took their lives last year, an increase of 53 from 2009, as did 44 reservists, an increase of 12.
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