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Police Work Undermines Cardiovascular Health, Comparison To General Population Shows
It is well documented that police officers have a higher risk of developing heart disease: The question is why.
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Obama Leaves Door Open To Tax On Health Benefits
"President Barack Obama on Wednesday rejected the idea of fully taxing Americans" employer-provided health insurance benefits, but suggested he might be persuaded to tax so-called Cadillac coverage ... in the interest of a compromise with Congress," McClatchy/The Star-Telegram reports. The President, speaking at a "town hall-style event" taped at the White House and aired on ABC News, "said he would prefer to pay for expanded coverage by eliminating some deductions for higher-earning taxpayers but that "there"s going to have to be some compromise." The President "said he understands Americans" trepidation about changing the system: "They know that they"re living with the devil, but the devil they know they think may be better than the devil they don"t." He said any reform would be phased in, not happen overnight" (Talev and Lightman, 6/24).
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GAO Report Finds Veterans Affairs Facilities Do Not Comply With Privacy Standards For Women
All Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinics and hospitals are failing to fully comply with federal privacy standards for women, according to a Government Accountability Office report, the AP/Boston Globe reports. The report comes as thousands of female veterans are entering the VA health system after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.GAO auditors said that many VA facilities had gynecological tables that faced the door. In one instance, a gynecological table faced a door opening to a waiting room. The investigation also found cases where women had to walk through waiting rooms to use the restroom -- a violation of VA policy requiring adjoining restrooms. Four VA hospitals did not guarantee women access to private bathing facilities. In two of those cases, the facilities did not have locks.Nearly 20% of female veterans have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and many of them have experienced sexual trauma while serving, according to the report. The report also said that most female veterans at VA facilities are ages 20 to 29. On average, female veterans using VA facilities are much younger than male VA patients, it noted.Randall Williamson, director of health care issues at GAO, said that although top VA officials are committed to improving care for female veterans, facilities are not always taking simple steps, such as repositioning exam tables. Patricia Hayes, chief consultant for VA"s veterans strategic health care group, said that the agency recognizes issues and is making changes to address disparities in care. She noted that VA is creating a long-term plan for construction improvements to address space and building layout challenges (AP/Boston Globe, 7/15).
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Opinion Pieces Discuss Whether Current Efforts To Fix Health Costs Will Produce Sufficient Savings

David Brooks, New York Times: Health care costs have become "the crucial issue of [President Obama"s] whole presidency," Times columnist Brooks writes. According to Brooks, Obama"s original plan was to fund his priorities, including education and energy, with debt that would be paid off with future savings resulting from health care reform. Brooks writes that Obama"s aides have been discussing "game-changers" -- such as health information technology, wellness programs, preventive medicine, comparative effective measures and altering reimbursement policies -- that would result in cost reductions. However, Brooks writes that most experts do not think such efforts would "produce much in the way of cost savings over the next 10 years" and that "nobody is sure" the efforts would "ever produce significant savings." Brooks writes that because "there are deep structural forces, both in Medicare and the private insurance market" that make it "nearly impossible to put together a majority coalition for a bill" challenging those structures, reform efforts this year likely will produce a "medium-size bill that expands coverage to some groups but does relatively little to control costs." Brooks concludes, "Without serious health cost cuts," Obama"s agenda "will hasten fiscal suicide" (Brooks, New York Times, 5/15). Peter Orszag, Wall Street Journal: There are "significant opportunities to reduce health care costs over time without impairing the quality of care or outcomes," Orszag, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, writes in a Journal opinion piece. Orszag continues that better quality in health care "seems to be associated with lower cost," unlike in other industries. According to Orszag, "If we can move our nation toward the proven and successful practices adopted by lower-cost areas and hospitals, some economists believe health care costs could be reduced by 30% -- or about $700 billion a year -- without compromising the quality of care." Orszag writes that four "key" steps to lowering health care costs are expanding health IT, instituting comparative effectiveness research, enhancing prevention and wellness programs, and making changes in financial incentives for health providers so they are "incentivized rather than penalized for delivering high quality care." He concludes that by undertaking major health care reform this year, "we will put the nation on a sustainable fiscal path and build a new foundation for our economy for generations to come" (Orszag, Wall Street Journal, 5/15). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. © 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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