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Finance Committee Senators May Drop Employer Mandate, Public Plan
Senate Finance Committee members negotiating a sweeping health care reform package are close to dropping a requirement that employers provide health insurance for employees as well as a government-run public insurance plan to forge a compromise, The Associated Press reports. "After weeks of secretive talks, three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee were edging closer to a compromise that excludes a requirement many congressional Democrats seek for large businesses to offer coverage to their workers. Nor would there be a provision for a government insurance option, despite Obama"s support for such a plan, officials said."
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International Conference On Reproductive Science To Be Held In Pittsburgh July 18 To 22
Many of the diseases that we develop as adults likely began in our mothers" wombs. This provocative idea and others-including the causes of infertility, the impact of the environment on maternal and fetal health, and new approaches to unraveling the molecular pathways that guide reproduction-will be among the topics discussed at the 42nd annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR), which runs from July 18 to 22 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, downtown Pittsburgh.
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Connecticut House Approves Two Health Insurance Pooling Bills
The Connecticut House on Wednesday approved two separate measures to expand health insurance pooling in the state, the Hartford Courant reports. The first measure would create a public health insurance pool open to all residents. The pool, intended to compete with rather than replace private insurance, would be based on the existing pool for state workers (Keating, Hartford Courant, 5/21). The bill will create a nine-member board of directors to investigate and recommend a plan to guarantee every resident health insurance. The bill also creates four committees that will work with the board and provide advice on electronic health records, medical homes, clinical care guidelines and preventive care. In addition, three task forces will examine obesity, tobacco use and care provider shortages (Stuart, CT News Junkie, 5/20).The cost of plan, known as SustiNet, could be a "sticking point" given the state"s $8.7 billion budget deficit over the next two years, the Courant reports The state Senate and Gov. Jodi Rell (R) will consider the plan next.The second measure would allow local governments, small businesses and not-for-profit groups join the state employee insurance plan. The bill would increase the current pool"s membership from 200,000 to an estimated 300,000. Juan Figueroa, a former state legislator and president of the Universal Health Care Foundation of Connecticut, said, "Both of these plans reduce costs and increase choice. The partnership (pooling) bill has features that SustiNet can build on. The two bills fit hand in glove." Democrats said the second bill would utilize economies of scale to lower costs. Steve Fontana (D), co-chair of the State House Insurance and Real Estate Committee, said, "The larger the pool you have, ... you reduce the volatility and the risk associated with that pool."Opponents say the pooling measure would affect only those who already have coverage. According to House Republican Leader Larry Cafero, "This bill does not solve that problem. If you don"t have it now, you"re not going to have it because of this" (Keating, Hartford Courant, 5/21).
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Research On Cocaine-related Renal Disease To Benefit From NIH Stimulus Funding

A Medical College of Georgia nurse researcher is among the first in the nation to receive National Institutes of Health stimulus funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The two-year, $147,000 grant will support at least three jobs and the research of African-Americans in the Augusta community who may suffer from cocaine-related renal disease. The recovery act seeks to create or save more than 3.5 million jobs over the next two years. "It"s the realization of a long-time dream to launch my research career and help medically underserved communities," says Dr. Beth NeSmith, assistant professor of physiological and technological nursing in the MCG School of Nursing and the grant"s principal investigator. The National Institute on Drug Abuse funding also will support Stacey Crawford, a research assistant and study coordinator whose previous funding was withdrawn following the relocation of a research faculty member, and Dr. Rosalind Jones, an assistant professor of health environments and systems, who will serve as a grant sub-investigator. The multidisciplinary research team also includes three MCG School of Medicine faculty members: Dr. Peter Buckley, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior, Dr. Harold Szerlip, professor in the Sections of Nephrology, Hypertension and Transplantation Medicine and Pulmonary Disease, and Dr. John Catravas, director of the MCG Vascular Biology Center and senior associate dean for basic science research. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, cocaine is the most frequently reported illicit drug associated with drug-related deaths, and African-Americans are disproportionately affected. Dr. NeSmith hypothesizes that cocaine use, which can cause increased inflammation and lead to heart and lung disease, might contribute to renal disease in African-Americans, a group that is already at a disproportionately high risk for the disease. "Studies have shown that cocaine can affect organ function, but the specific effect on renal function has not been well-established," Dr. NeSmith says. She will compare urine levels of microalbuminuria, a biomarker for early renal disease, in a group of cocaine-dependent African-Americans to a control group who don"t use the drug. "If cocaine-dependent African-Americans have occult renal disease that not been clinically identified yet, that would make a difference when deciding a treatment plan," Dr. NeSmith says. Some drugs used to treat cocaine addiction have adverse effects on the kidneys, so it"s important to know if a patient suffers from asymptomatic renal disease. If that"s the case, alternative drug doses or treatments could be used. The study also will examine the relationship between microalbuminuria levels with blood levels of several inflammation biomarkers. Inflammation is linked to chronic stress, which poses another setback for this patient population by making them increasingly susceptible to organ failure, especially after trauma. "Many people who are involved in trauma are also substance abusers," Dr. NeSmith says. "If we"re able to identify a population with sub-clinical renal problems before potentially life-threatening trauma occurs, treatment can be tailored to the patient"s physiology by keeping all existing comorbidities in mind." The findings of this pilot study will be used to develop further studies focused on early diagnosis and treatment of cocaine-related complications to reduce morbidity, Dr. NeSmith says Paula Hinely Medical College of Georgia


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