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Pitt's Dr. Lewis Kuller Named 2009 Distinguished Scientist By American Heart Association
Lewis Kuller, M.D., Dr.P.H., distinguished professor of public health and professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, has been designated a 2009 American Heart Association Distinguished Scientist for major contributions to cardiovascular disease and stroke research.
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Bacteria Are First Sensed By Cells Lining Blood Vessels, Not Immune Cells
Paul Kubes and colleagues, at the University of Calgary, Canada, have provided evidence in mice to refute the paradigm that the initial phase of the immune response to infection with Gram-negative bacteria (the recruitment of immune cells known as neutrophils to the site of infection) is triggered following immune sentinel-cell recognition of the bacterial molecule LPS via the protein TLR4. Rather, the researchers found that LPS recognition by TLR4 on the cells that line blood vessels (endothelial cells) is the crucial event that initiates neutrophil recruitment and bacterial clearance in mice.
News of the day
This Time Around, Debate Much Different
Insurance companies, "the industry that gets credit for helping to kill the Clinton administration"s health care overhaul 15 years ago," are now "striking a conciliatory tone as it faces the most serious attempt to overhaul the system since that effort collapsed," CQ Politics reports. With low favorability ratings and Democrats in control of the federal government, "insurers know they aren"t in a good bargaining position" this time around. They have already offered concessions, including providing "insurance in the individual markets to everyone, without regard to who is sick," and not "charging people who are ill higher rates and cut health care costs." But they"ve also been ""careful to structure their offers in such a way that appears significant but does not overpromise." An individual mandate for all Americans and an end to health screening for applicants could offer "a win-win outcome, one that will benefit not just patients but potentially the profits of the industry as well." But "perhaps the biggest motivation for insurers to deal now is that they fear what might happen if they don"t" - the "creation of a government-run plan that would be more attractive to the public and siphon off customers" (Adams, 6/1).
Public Health

Sen. Kennedy Circulates Draft Of Health Reform Legislation

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) is circulating an outline of health care overhaul legislation that includes a requirement that all individuals obtain coverage and requires contributions from employers, the Washington Post reports. According to the Post, the legislation "closely resembles" the Massachusetts health insurance law enacted in 2006, the Post reports. According to the draft summary, the bill calls for a public, government-sponsored health insurance option that would compete with private insurers. The measure also would expand Medicaid eligibility, according to the Post. Kennedy spokesperson Anthony Coley said that the outline is not yet finalized. He said, "We are still actively negotiating with members" of the Senate HELP Committee. According to a top White House official, Kennedy is expected to introduce his measure on Monday. A timetable released by Kennedy"s office calls for Senate HELP Committee Democrats to meet June 2 (Connolly, Washington Post, 5/29). A bipartisan walk-through of Kennedy"s bill is scheduled for June 5 and June 9. Hearings on the bill would then take place on June 10 or June 11. The mark up of the bill is scheduled from June 16 through June 25 (Bogardus, The Hill, 5/28). If Kennedy holds to the schedule, he will be ahead of other congressional Democrats, including Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.), on proposing overhaul legislation (Washington Post, 5/29). Coley said, "These are target dates that are not set in stone." Although Senate Democrats are hoping to pass health care reform legislation before the August recess, several senators have questioned whether that timeline is feasible (The Hill, 5/28). Reform Supporters Call For Removal of Ad In related health reform news, Democracy for America and the Service Employees International Union on Thursday demanded that Washington, D.C."s NBC television affiliate refuse to air a 30-minute infomercial funded by Conservatives for Patients" Rights, Politico reports. According to a letter from SEIU to NBC4, the ad, scheduled to run after "Meet the Press" on Sunday, "will be false, deceitful and a distortion." The union added that the station has a responsibility to pull the ad because it has a duty to protect the public from misleading advertising. In the letter, the union wrote that the conservative group has a history of running "demonstrably false" ads. According to Levana Layendecker, the online campaigns director for Health Care for America Now, CPR could face fines from the Federal Communications Commission if the ad is run, adding that it contains false statements. CPR spokesperson Keith Appell said, "It"s no surprise that they would try to block the public from seeing any information about the dangers of government-run health care," adding, "This program is full of compelling first-person accounts that every American should hear." He said that CPR stands by its ad. An NBC network spokesperson would not comment on the infomercial or the request, deferring questions to NBC4. The affiliate"s general manger, Michael Jack, did not return a request for comment (Frates, Politico, 5/28). 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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