Obama invites Republicans to summit on health care
The president made the offer in an interview with CBS News anchor Katie
Couric hours before the network televised the Super Bowl.
President Obama moved to jump-start the stalled health-care debate Sunday, inviting Republicans in Congress to participate in a bipartisan, half-day televised summit on the subject this month. Obama challenged Republicans, who have been largely unified in opposing
his proposals, to bring their best ideas for how to cover more
Americans and fix the health insurance system to the public discussion.
Health Professionls Petition FTC For Relief From Red Flags Rule
January29, 2010
CHICAGO – In light of a recent federal court decision, four national organizations representing dentists, physicians, and veterinarians called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today to exclude health professionals from controversial new regulation intended to combat identity theft.
A letter sent to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz by leaders of the American Dental Association (ADA), American Medical Association (AMA), American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is the latest challenge to the so-called“red flags” rule. The FTC’s interpretation of the regulation imposes an unjustified, unfunded mandate on health professionals for detecting and responding to identity theft.
The organizations asked the FTC to make it clear that the rule will not apply to their members given the result of recent litigation brought by the American Bar Association against the FTC. In that case, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that lawyers should be excluded from the requirements imposed by the red flags rule.
The court decision follows wide criticism that the FTC’s overly broad interpretation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT) led the commission to create a rule that oversteps its authority. In response to these concerns, the FTC postponed the rule’s effective date to June 1, but it has never changed the position that the rule will apply to health professionals.
“Congress did not intend the original red flags legislation to apply to small businesses, but rather it was intended to encourage large businesses like banks, credit firms and national retailers to implement best practices to protect customers’ from identity theft,” said ADA President Ronald Tankersley, D.D.S.
In its ruling against the FTC, the court said that the application of this rule to attorneys “is both plainly erroneous and inconsistent with the purpose underlying enactment of the FACT Act.” The court also stated that the FTC “not only seeks to extend its regulatory power beyond that authorized by Congress,” but also “arbitrarily selects monthly invoice billing as the activity it seeks to regulate.”
“The court ruling sends a clear signal that the FTC needs to re-evaluate the broad application of the red flags rule,” said AMA President J. James Rohack, M.D. “Our four organizations firmly believe that applying the rule to health professionals, but not to lawyers,would be unfair.”
“Postponement of the rule’s effective date is inadequate,” said AOA President Larry A. Wickless, D.O. “Our four organizations need a commitment from the FTC that it will not apply the red flags rules to health professionals if it is not applied to lawyers.”
“The burdens of complying with this rule outweigh the benefits,” said AVMA President Larry R. Corry, D.V.M. “The FTC’s interpretation of the FACT Act should be redefined to exclude health professionals.”
House won't pass Senate bill to save health-care reform
by Shailagh Murray and Paul Kane
Washington Post
Friday, January 22, 2010
As Democrats continued to grapple with the consequences of their loss in Massachusetts, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
on Thursday eliminated the most obvious avenue for completing
health-care reform, saying the House will not embrace the version of
the legislation already approved by the Senate.
Pelosi described her members as vehemently opposed to a provision that
benefits only Nebraska's Medicaid system, language added to win the
vote of Sen. Ben Nelson
(D-Neb.). Also problematic are the federal subsidies the Senate would
offer to uninsured individuals, which some House liberals view as
insufficient, and the excise tax it would impose on high-value
policies, which could hit union households.
Physician Group Gives $20K to Northside Hospital Babies
Northside Hospital’s Special Care Nursery (SCN) recently received a generous donation of $20,000 from Neonatology Associates of Atlanta, PC, a subsidiary of Pediatrix Medical Group of Georgia. The donation, which is the fourth such donation in as many years, will be applied toward the purchase of educational materials for patients and staff and other needs that arise throughout the year.
The SCN at Northside provides acute care to babies, who need out-of-the-ordinary attention – babies with conditions ranging from heart problems to underdeveloped lungs. As many as 100 premature and special-needsbabies are cared for at one time, with more than 2,000 annually. Many families brought to the SCN spend days, weeks or even months at a time in the unit. Money donated to the unit helps to make these families more comfortable and allows staff to purchase tools and equipment to allow them to become better caregivers.
In 2009, through the financial support from Pediatrix, Northside purchased a training mannequin, named "Sim NewB," and developed by Laerdal in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics, which provides Neonatal Resuscitation Provider (NRP) training with realistic simulation experiences for staff and students. Students and staff must assess "NewB" for changes in heart rate, breathing, color and tone, which are all parameters of NRP training.
"Pediatrix was extremely generous in providing our unit with the funds to purchase this latest technology that will provide more realistic hands-on education opportunities for our staff," said Janet Casheba, RNC, BS, nurse clinician in Northside’s Special Care Nursery. "More realistic training encourages use of critical thinking skills and development of manual skills that are used on high-risk deliveries, as well as in the SCN, everyday."
Founded in 1979, Pediatrix Medical Group is the nation’s leading provider of maternal-fetal, newborn and pediatric subspecialty physician services. The company also is one of the nation's largest providers of newborn hearing screens. For more information, visit www.pediatrix.com
For additional information about Northside Hospital’ s maternity and newborn services, visit www.northside.com
Caption: (l-r) Janet Casheba, RNC, BS, nurse clinician, NorthsideHospital Special Care Nursery, and Kenneth Kupke, M.D., Pediatrix Medical Group and medical director, Northside Hospital Special Care Nursery, show off the hospital’s new "Sim NewB" training mannequin.
The Northside Hospital health care delivery system is a not-for-profit health care provider that has served north Metro Atlanta for nearly four decades. With more than 2,000 physicians on its medical staff, Northside sees nearly 700,000 patient visits a year. Physicians and staff provide afull range of health care services, including women’s services, cancer care,emergency services, surgery, specialty medicine and a wide array of outpatient services at many locations. Northside Hospital offers high-quality health care at Northside Hospital-Atlanta in Sandy Springs, at Northside Hospital-Cherokee in Canton and at Northside Hospital-Forsyth in Cumming.
Mayo Clinic publishes book detailing healthy diet and weight-loss program
By Emily Langer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Grapefruit, bacon, cabbage soup: They're impostors, staples of fad
diets billed as Mayo Clinic weight-loss plans but never endorsed by the
Mayo Clinic.
The real Mayo Clinic diet was released in book form last week after years of research, just in time for New Year's resolutions.
The Mayo Clinic diet is divided into two phases. "Lose It" is a
two-week jump-start phase that emphasizes quick changes in habits, and
we believe it is the healthiest way to lose weight quickly. The second
phase, "Live It," continues these new habits seamlessly into a healthy
and enjoyable lifestyle program.
Another unique feature is based on the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid.
This pyramid emphasizes foods that are low in calories and,
importantly, healthy. We recommend that people eat all of the fresh or
frozen fruits and vegetables they want.
