Americans' opinion of the healthcare proposals now before Congress is similar to public sentiment about the Clinton health reform initiatives in 1994, according to an analysis published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Americans believe the healthcare system needs to be fixed and they like many of the ideas Democrats are proposing, the report found. But they believe the specific proposals taking shape would not benefit them personally, and they fear they could result in more expensive and lower-quality care.
Two state and city public health officials briefing Congress said they don't expect to have enough pandemic-flu vaccine to meet the needs of their high-priority population groups until well into December, and possibly not until January. The officials said that their predictions are a result of vaccine shortages throughout the fall but that they amount to little more than guesses. Federal health officials at the briefing refused to endorse the timetable, although they acknowledged that the current wave of H1N1 influenza may be mostly over by the time the vaccine is abundant, the Washington Post reports.
Chicago-based Rush University Medical Center is declaring the end of the first phase of a $1 billion campus renovation with the opening this month of its orthopedic building. The $75 million, 220,000-square-foot building is one of the largest orthopedics facilities in the Midwest and is a key component of the renovation project, according to the hospital. The five-story structure, slated to open Nov. 16, will offer comprehensive outpatient care.
Texas House members are mounting an effort to delay new limits on physician-owned hospitals. The House's healthcare legislation would ban new physician-owned hospitals and prevent existing ones from growing. But Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, is pushing two amendments to soften the restrictions, including a grandfather clause for more than 100 doctor-owned hospitals under development. The restriction is championed by Rep. Pete Stark, a California Democrat who says physician-owned hospitals cherry-pick wealthy patients to the detriment of nonprofit, acute care hospitals.
The American Academy of Family Physicians has prompted outcry and lost members over its new six-figure alliance with the Coca-Cola Co. The deal will fund educational materials about soft drinks for the academy's consumer health and wellness Web site. Academy CEO Dr. Douglas Henley said that the deal won't influence the group's public health messages, and that the company will have no control over editorial content. He said the new online information will include research linking soft drinks with obesity and will focus on sugar-free alternatives, the Associated Press reports.
AARP will endorse sweeping healthcare overhaul legislation headed for a vote, officials said. An endorsement from the seniors lobby was critical when then-President George W. Bush pushed the Medicare prescription drug benefit through a divided Congress in 2003. House Democratic leaders are hoping it will work the same political magic for them as they strive to deliver on the health reform issue, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.