Peru's government doesn't provide adequate care for pregnant women in the impoverished highlands and jungle, according to the human rights group Amnesty International. The failure contributes to Peru having one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the hemisphere, said Amnesty International representatives.
Canadian residents have a longer life expectancy than Americans, which some attribute to the universal coverage that the country achieves by spending 10.1% of its gross domestic product on healthcare, far less than the 16% level of the United States. But healthcare accounts for 43%, or 42.6 billion Canadian dollars, of provincial government spending in Ontario, the most populous province, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Jordan is stepping up efforts to tap into the multibillion dollar medical tourism market with a campaign to lure U.S. citizens. The push includes a Web campaign and a visit by a group of U.S. healthcare specialists and insurers. Hospitals are also offering package deals, including air travel. Jordanian officials hope the medical tourism industry will give a boost to its struggling economy.
Despite President Obama's forceful urgings, congressional Democrats continued to struggle to finalize details of legislation aimed at overhauling the nation's healthcare system. House leaders wrangled with members over plans to pay for expanded insurance coverage by increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans. And at a White House session, Senate leaders came under fire for a slipping timetable that may make it difficult to meet Obama's deadline for floor action by the August recess.
Jobs in healthcare and those requiring postsecondary education will show the biggest gains by 2016, according to a report released by the president's Council of Economic Advisers. The report, titled "Preparing the Workers of Today for the Jobs of Tomorrow," stated that a subsector of healthcare called "other medical services and dentists," which includes home healthcare, outpatient care and medical laboratory positions, is projected to add the most jobs.
In his first full workday back at the White House after traveling last week, healthcare reform legislation was very much on the mind of President Barack Obama. Meeting later in the day with key congressional leaders, he is pushing to get legislation passed in each chamber before Congress recesses for the summer.
At noon, when he was introducing his U.S. surgeon general nominee, Regina Benjamin, MD, in a White House Rose Garden ceremony, Obama said: "I just want to put everybody on notice because there was a lot of chatter during the week that I was gone," he said. "We are going to get this done: Inaction is not an option. For naysayers and cynics who think that this is not going to happen, don't bet against us."
"Make no mistake: The status quo on healthcare is no longer an option for the United States of America," he said. "If we step back from this challenge right now, we will leave our children a legacy of debt and a future of crushing costs that bankrupt our families and our business. [It's] because we will have done nothing to bring down the costs of Medicare and Medicaid. [It] will crush our government."
Keeping on message, Obama met late Monday afternoon with key Democratic players involved with reform legislation on Capitol Hill: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D NV), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D CA), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D MD), and House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D NY). According to reports, he wants to see movement on reform measures, and he will assist where possible.
Obama also met Monday with representatives of the fiscally conservative Democratic group, the Blue Dog Coalition, which had expressed concerns last week about the ability of the House measure to contain costs and promote healthcare quality.
On the House side, a bill will be introduced on Tuesday for the three House committees—Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and Labor—for mark up. "It won't be the finished product," Pelosi said at a mid-afternoon Capitol Hill press conference Monday. "In order to be on schedule, we have to roll out our legislation."
In response to the Blue Dog concerns, Pelosi said: "We're trying to squeeze all the savings we can out of the system first . . . and many in our caucus and the Blue Dogs want us to do that, and we share that view."
In regard to adding a surcharge on family incomes above $350,000—as proposed by the House Ways and Means Committee last Friday, Pelosi said that it could assist middle-class families in not bearing high-cost burdens while expanding their coverage. However, she added that all provisions on the table will be up for discussion.
Regina M. Benjamin, an Alabama family physician, was nominated as U.S. surgeon general by President Obama. Obama used the announcement to stress his commitment to passing healthcare reform legislation, and he said Benjamin would be a crucial voice in the debate. "For nearly two decades, Dr. Regina Benjamin has seen in a very personal way what is broken about our healthcare system," he said. "She represents what's best about healthcare in America: doctors and nurses who give and care and sacrifice for the sake of their patients."
The effort to pass a healthcare overhaul is being frustrated by divisions among Democrats over a wide range of issues, including how to pay for the measure and its impacts on small business. A House bill is expected to be released July 14, but concerns voiced by moderate Democrats prompted party leaders to delay release of details and have spurred a round of high-level meetings on Capitol Hill.
Children's Hospital and Touro Infirmary have finalized an agreement that creates a two-hospital system called the Louisiana Children's Medical Center, with Children's top administator Steve Worley serving as chief executive officer. The parent corporation's governing board, which includes members from the existing Children's and Touro boards, also announced the hiring of former Tulane Medical Center executive James Montgomery to lead the Touro campus, which has struggled financially since Hurricane Katrina.
Most Americans say it's important to overhaul healthcare this year, a USA Today/Gallup Poll finds, but they are less enthusiastic about some of the proposals to pay for it. And while a majority say controlling costs should be the legislation's top goal, more than nine in 10 oppose limits on getting whatever tests or treatments they and their doctors think are necessary.
