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WellPoint Announces Decision To Cover H1N1 Vaccine Administration
WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) announced today that it will offer coverage for the administration of the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine when it becomes commercially available to the general public. The vaccine administration will be covered for members whose benefit plans provide coverage for vaccines.
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Burgess Response To President Obama's Answer To His Question On Medical Liability Reform
During today"s White House online town hall on health care, a question was submitted by Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-Texas), Chairman of the Congressional Health Care Caucus. Following President Obama"s response to the question on medical liability reform, Congressman Burgess issued the following statement:
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Kansas Becomes Central Battleground In Abortion-Rights Debate
Kansas has become "perhaps the fiercest battleground" in the abortion-rights debate with mass protests, prosecutions, lawsuits and the recent murder of abortion provider George Tiller, the AP/Washington Post reports. Kansas State University political scientist Joe Aistrup said, "There"s a very prominent vein in Kansas politics that tends toward moral righteousness." He said that this contributes to that unending debate and has produced extremists on both sides of the issue in the state.Peter Brownlie, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, said that the majority of those who maintain the intense debate on abortion rights are political leaders. "There is a very clear and growing gap between the general public and the political leaders who are committed to this being such a constant and volatile issue," he said. Brownlie added that on issues relating to abortion, sex education and family planning, "Kansans" views are not markedly different from most Americans, but there are political forces at work, some of them well beyond the state borders."The Post reports that Kansas is different than most states where either supporters or foes of abortion rights dominate. According to the AP/Post, Kansas often sways between having key lawmakers who support abortion rights and those who oppose them. For example, a Republican-dominated Legislature over the past six years passed several bills to restrict abortion access, but much of the legislation was vetoed by former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D). The result has triggered frustration in groups opposing abortion rights, and they continue to feed widespread opposition to abortion in the state, the AP/Post reports.According to Burdett Loomis, a University of Kansas political science professor, there even is a split among Kansas Republicans in regard to abortion rights, as some Republicans in the state are evangelical Christians who oppose abortion rights, while others are moderates who support such rights. He said the split "might pop out in gun laws, home schooling, evolution, but it starts and stops with abortion" (Crary/Hanna, AP/Washington Post, 6/3).Wall Street Journal Examines Abortions Later in PregnancyIn related news, the Wall Street Journal on Thursday examined how Tiller"s clinic in Kansas became a battleground in the abortion-rights debate particularly because some of his patients were in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. According to the Journal, even though the subject of abortion later in pregnancy is the of "a deep cultural divide," both sides agree that it is "anguishing." Fewer than 1% of all abortions in the U.S. are performed in the second or third trimesters, and most states prohibit abortions late in pregnancy but include exceptions for the woman"s life and health.The Journal reports that abortion procedures performed later in pregnancy often carry increased health risks, are more expensive and are emotional. The Guttmacher Institute reports that 8.9 maternal deaths occur during every 100,000 abortions performed later in pregnancy, compared with 7.1 deaths per 100,000 births. The article also profiled women who chose to undergo abortions later in pregnancy at Tiller"s clinic, as well as arguments from abortion-rights opponents (Simon, Wall Street Journal, 6/4).
Mental Health

Brian Andrew Tully Argues Physicians' Orders For Life-Sustaining Treatment Is Not A Good Model For End-Of-Life Care Planning

Brian Andrew Tully, Esq., an attorney specializing in elder law, argues against POLST (Physicians" Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment). In his article "A Counterview: Objections to the POLST Paradigm," which was published in the February 2009 issue ofThe Elder Law Report, Mr. Tully states that POLST gives physicians autonomy in the decision-making process, without having to consult with the patient or the health care proxy. "Technically, this form makes it more convenient and legal for a physician not to engage the health care proxy/surrogate in a discussion of the patient"s wishes and circumstances," Mr. Tully argues. "In the current health care climate of cost containment and stringent constraints on time spent with patients, a patient"s power and an agent"s authority can all too easily be undermined - amounting to a legalized process of exploitation." On July 8, 2008, New York State Governor David Paterson signed MOLST (Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) into law, which was based on the POLST paradigm model. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, one of the largest health and long-term care insurance companies in the Northeast, was responsible for crafting MOLST. Mr. Tully calls the health care provider"s involvement "suspicious" and financially motivated. "The goal of any business, including non-profit organizations, is to increase revenue while minimizing expenses," Mr. Tully says. "Since health care costs are highest in the last months of life, this area is ripe for cost-saving measures that are often determined by outside consultants and organizations that know the specific expenses to be trimmed." In his article, Mr. Tully argues that right-to-die organizations such as the Euthanasia Society of America and Compassion and Choices - the latter group being a merger of Compassion in Dying and End-of-Life Choices (formerly the Hemlock Society) - could use POLST for their own agenda of physician-assisted suicides, which would reduce costs for healthcare companies. "This background of the POLST paradigm"s supporters demonstrates their foundation in secular humanism, which presents as "ethically" acceptable many medical options that may be morally offensive to patients whose religion-based philosophy opposes concepts such as withholding ordinary care (for example, food and water)," Mr. Tully states. "The availability of these options may be coercive: because it is an offered option, these individuals may feel an obligation to minimize "burden" to others." He also argues that POLST is redundant since every state currently has health care advance directive legislation. He cites a recent study that the use of advance directives in the U.S. has increased to 70%. "The overwhelming consensus is that the most critical aspect of improving end-of-life care is communication, not a static written checklist," he says. The office of Brian Tully


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