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A more effective way to build plastic scaffolds on which new tissues and even whole organs might be grown in the laboratory is being developed by an international collaboration between teams in Portugal and the UK.
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Republicans Playing 'Abortion Card' On Health Reform, American Prospect Opinion Piece States
The "religious right and its Republican enablers" are "playing the abortion card" with health care reform legislation by contending that "federal government dollars will pay directly for abortions," according to an American Prospect opinion piece by Dana Goldstein, an associate editor for the magazine. It is "unlikely" that federal money would be used this way, but the groups "want grassroots conservatives to believe it will, hoping the resulting outcry will scuttle attempts to reform our expensive health care system," Goldstein continues. She writes, "This rhetoric is beyond hyperbolic -- it is downright deceptive."Goldstein quotes Adam Sonfield, a senior policy associate at the Guttmacher Institute, who said discussion of family planning in federal law ""never includes abortion."" She adds, "In actuality, "family planning" language refers exclusively to contraceptive services, in part because of the Hyde Amendment," which bars the use of federal Medicaid dollars for abortion. She also notes that reproductive health issues are "so politicized ... that even to offer birth control to poor women who do not meet Medicaid"s strict eligibility requirements, individual states must apply for a waiver from the federal government." About half of states have done so, she says. In "choosing what services to cover under any potential public insurance plan," the HHS secretary "will likely be bound by all of the existing laws that prevent the federal government from financing abortion," according to Goldstein. She adds, "None of these restrictions would be explicitly overturned by any of the health reform proposals currently being considered in Congress."Antiabortion-rights Senate Republicans have said they will oppose any health reform bill "that subsidizes abortion coverage or even includes, in the proposed health insurance exchanges, private insurers that cover abortion," Goldstein writes. She adds that 87% of existing health plans include some abortion coverage, meaning that most women would lose coverage under the Republicans" demands. "The result would be a near-blanket restriction on women"s access to insurance-subsidized abortion, one far more radical than the Hyde Amendment," Goldstein says. Meanwhile, women"s health advocates have said that overturning the Hyde Amendment is not currently their top priority because "they are simply too busy playing defense on health reform" and do not have the votes, Goldstein writes.According to Goldstein, by "playing the abortion card, the real goal of anti-choicers is not only to maintain existing restrictions on abortion access, but to use health reform as a vehicle to expand them to the majority of American women." She writes, "If such efforts lead to legislative impasse, many conservatives will be delighted." She concludes, "After all, they"ve never really put any political muscle behind fixing our inadequate health care system" (Goldstein, American Prospect, 7/14).
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Veterans Affairs Provides Underused Monthly Pension Benefit While Medicaid Receives Increased Attention

Medicaid receives increased attention while an underused, special monthly pension benefit called Aid and Attendance can help veterans, and spouses, with assisted living. Newsday reports that the "pension benefit may be available to wartime veterans and surviving spouses who have in-home care or who live in nursing homes or assisted-living facilities" and that "eligible veterans need not have served overseas or in combat; they must have served during the period of a war: World War II, Dec. 7, 1941-Dec. 31, 1946; Korea, June 27, 1950-Jan. 31, 1955; Vietnam, Aug. 5, 1964-May 7, 1975; Persian Gulf War, Aug. 2, 1990 to a date not yet determined." A 2006 press release about the program "got little notice, perhaps because Veterans Affairs wanted to save money... [but that] as word of the benefit got around, elder law firms throughout the country became active in pursuing the benefit for clients." The benefit is meant for veterans and surviving spouses with unreimbursed medical expenses, such as assisted-living charges that are not supported by Medicaid. The Philadelphia Inquirer also picked up the feature (Friedman, 6/27). Meanwhile, Kaiser Health News provides an overview of Medicaid which highlights the program"s role in nursing home care: "About three quarters of Medicaid spending is for the elderly and disabled, even though the two groups make up only about one quarter of the program"s enrollees. Medicare provides little coverage for long-term care, so many elderly, after depleting their savings, rely on Medicaid to pay their costly nursing home bills" (Galewitz, 7/1). In another article, Kaiser Health News reports on the hot-button health issue of whether Medicaid or private insurance is better for the uninsured poor. KHN reports: "Medicaid"s role in health reform is emerging as a flash point, exposing policy and political rifts not only between the two parties but also among Democrats themselves. As part of efforts to extend health coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, congressional Democrats are pressing for a major expansion in the state-federal program for the poor and disabled. As a result, Medicaid, which now covers 60 million people, could pick up more than one-third of the 46 million uninsured. Those numbers are far from final, given that overhaul legislation is still being written and negotiated. The disagreement centers on a critical issue: What"s the best way to cover impoverished Americans? .... Most Democrats come down squarely on the side of Medicaid, saying it"s the most efficient and least expensive way to cover the poor.... Most Republicans, leery about expanding a big government program like Medicaid, argue that private insurance is a better way to go. Some moderate Democrats agree." KHN notes: "In the end, though, Medicaid"s role in health reform may be bolstered by simple math: Studies suggest that enrolling people in the program would be substantially cheaper than giving them subsidies for private insurance. That could have a big impact on lawmakers trying to figure out how to pay for a health overhaul" (Carey, 7/1). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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