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Hospitals Treating Wealthy Foreigners To Assure Cash Flows
International patients spending $3 billion a year on care in the United States are helping fund a gap for hospitals waiting with bated breath to see how health care reform will affect them, Marketplace reports.
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Reps. Ryan, DeLauro To Introduce Bill To Reduce Need For Abortion
Reps. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) on Thursday will be joined by leaders of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and NARAL Pro-Choice America in announcing the latest version of a bill that aims to reduce the need for abortion by preventing unintended pregnancies, among other measures, Time reports (Sullivan, Time, 7/23). Ryan and DeLauro first introduced a version of the bill in 2006 (Crary, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 7/22). However, this version "represents a dramatic break from nearly four decades" of political debate since Roe v. Wade, as both conservative antiabortion-rights groups and abortion-rights advocates have expressed support, according to Time (Time, 7/23).The bill would increase support for comprehensive sex education programs, improve access to contraception, expand Medicaid family planning coverage, increase programs for pregnant or parenting college students, and expand adoption assistance. The Congressional Budget Office has not yet conducted a cost-analysis of the bill, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 7/22). In developing the bill, Ryan sought the help of Rachel Laser, director of culture programs at the policy and strategy think-tank Third Way. According to Time, Laser worked with advocates on both sides and modified the bill to help gather their support, while preventing the measure from becoming "uselessly watered down or split into two."DeLauro noted, "We had to reach a level of trust" with people on both sides and allow them time to become more receptive to the bill"s goals, adding, "Because so often this issue has been one about which there was nothing other than trying to score political points." DeLauro said she hopes the Obama administration will look to the bill for guidance as it crafts its strategy for reducing the need for abortion and preventing unintended pregnancies. President Obama is expected to make an announcement about the plan next month, according to Time (Time, 7/23).DeLauro and Ryan also noted that Rahm Emanuel, Obama"s chief of staff, endorsed an earlier version of the bill when he served in the House, which they hope could mean that Obama would support their measure. DeLauro said, "This is a bill that seems to mesh with the president"s interests," adding, "I see no reason why the White House could not endorse it."Joshua DuBois, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, said the administration is still reviewing the information it has gathered in recent meetings with representatives on both sides of the abortion debate.Laurie Rubiner, director of Planned Parenthood"s Washington, D.C., office, said "This isn"t a radical bill," adding, "It only seems radical because it"s been so long that we could have a constructive conversation ... with both pro-choice and anti-choice groups around the table."The Rev. Joel Hunter -- an antiabortion-rights evangelical pastor in Orlando, Fla., who serves on the White House Faith-Based Advisory Council -- called the bill "a landmark bill for the culture wars -- a prototype for how we can approach things in the future." He said the bill"s strengths were in its appeals to both liberal and conservative beliefs, adding, "When you realize you need someone who"s been an adversary to help you advance your own projects, that"s a big deal" (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 7/22).
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Report On US Tobacco Control Policies And Use Finds Stark Contrasts In Progress Among States
The United States is becoming a nation of haves and have-nots when it comes to tobacco control, according to a comprehensive publication on cigarette smoking prevalence and policies in the U.S. which has just been released.
Sexual Health

HIV Transmission In Europe Occurs Primarily In Vacation Destinations, Study Finds

HIV in Europe is transmitted primarily in vacation destinations, according to a study published recently in the journal Retrovirology, the PA/Google.com reports. For the study, researchers led by Dimitrios Paraskevis of the University of Athens analyzed samples of HIV-1 subtype B virus, the most prevalent form of HIV in Europe, from 16 European countries and Israel (PA/Google.com, 5/20). The researchers created a family tree of the virus and examined its genetic characteristics to determine how it has evolved.The study found that tourists are more likely to contract HIV in Greece, Portugal, Serbia and Spain, which are popular vacation destinations. Meanwhile, HIV-positive people in Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Luxembourg are more likely to have contracted the virus outside of these countries. The study also found that HIV-positive people in Israel, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom contract the virus both within these countries and in other countries. In addition, the study found that in Poland the virus spread mainly among residents through injection drug use. "Viruses move around with travelers -- thus health programs within countries should not only target the national populations, prevention efforts must also be aimed at migrants, travelers and tourists -- who are both major s and targets of HIV," Paraskevis said (BBC News, 5/20). Lisa Power, head of policy at the Terrence Higgins Trust, said that the findings are not a "surprise," adding, "We"ve known for some time with high levels of mobility in the world these days that it"s very easy for viruses to move around. What it tells us is that you can"t limit HIV prevention and support just to permanent residents" (PA/Google.com, 5/20). The study is available online. 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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