President Barack Obama made more children from middle-class families eligible for government health insurance by lifting a directive imposed by President Bush. In 2007, the Bush administration said it would strictly adhere to guidelines that limited the scope of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. In a memorandum, Obama completely lifted the restrictions, which many governors and Democratic lawmakers said were nearly impossible to meet.
The worst economy in decades is crippling Michigan hospitals, causing large financial losses, layoffs, and cuts in programs and construction, according to the Michigan Health and Hospital Association. The Association went to the unusual step of releasing information about hospital losses from last year's third's quarter to alert the state Legislature that hospitals need help. One possible source could be new federal Medicaid money the state expects to get through President Barack Obama's economic stimulus legislation.
Moral distress is defined as knowing what is ethically appropriate but being unable to act on it because of obstacles inherent in a situation. Researchers focused primarily on the experiences of nurses have found that those who suffered from moral distress often became reluctant to interact with patients and other providers. In one recent study, 15% of nurses left their jobs because of moral distress. It now appears that doctors—caught between obligations to patients and the demands of insurance companies, administrators and even, occasionally, patients' families—are feeling increasingly "trapped" and unable to do what they believe is ethically right, according to this column from Pauline W. Chen, MD, in the New York Times.
The Washington Post asked several political observers for their thoughts on who should be secretary of Health and Human Services now that tax troubles have aborted the nomination of Thomas A. Daschle for that position and as White House health czar.
A group of doctors has sued the state of North Carolina in an effort to apply ethics rules on a council that recommends where and when hospitals, clinics, and others can expand. The lawsuit is the latest attack against the North Carolina Certificate of Need law. At issue is the oversight of a 27-member State Health Coordinating Council, which drafts an annual blueprint that determines when and where hospitals can add operating rooms, clinics can buy expensive new diagnostic tools, and doctors' offices can establish one-day surgery centers.
Two key congressional players on healthcare vowed their commitment to moving forward with reform legislation in a letter to President Barack Obama. "We are writing to affirm our continuing commitment to enacting comprehensive healthcare reform this year, and to express our confidence that you will swiftly choose an exceptionally qualified and dedicated alternate nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services to assist in our efforts. As you have emphasized, we must act now," wrote Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus of Montana and Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee Secretary Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.