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Scientists Discover Possible Link Between Missing DNA And Neuroblastoma, A Deadly Childhood Cancer
Discovering for the first time that copy number variation or CNV, where a strip of DNA is duplicated or missing, may
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Planned Parenthood Of Alaska, Teacher File Suit To Block Parental Notification Initiative
Planned Parenthood of Alaska and an Anchorage high school teacher filed a lawsuit in Anchorage Superior Court on Friday to block a voter initiative that would make it illegal for minors younger than age 18 to obtain abortion services without parental notification, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Supporters of the initiative, which was certified on July 2, must gather nearly 33,000 signatures in order for it to be put on the ballot in August 2010.The lawsuit claims that the initiative should not have been certified because of what the newspaper termed "legal technicalities" and because the ballot description of its impact is misleading. According to legal documents filed by Planned Parenthood and teacher Susan Wingrove, the language of the initiative indicates that minor changes would be made to an existing law "rather than making clear that the initiative is abolishing rights currently afforded to the citizens of Alaska who are minors." They also claim that the initiative does not make it clear that violations of the law would be a felony and that it would be the responsibility of the physician to inform parents.Previous attempts to enact parental notification and consent laws have failed in Alaska. The Alaska Parental Consent Act, which was approved in 1997, said that parental notification or approval from a judge was necessary before a minor could obtain an abortion. Legal challenges prevented the act from going into effect, and the Alaska Supreme Court in 2007 ruled that the law was unconstitutional. In addition, a bill that would have required girls younger than age 17 to notify a parent failed to make it through the state Legislature this year.Former Lt. Gov. Loren Leman (R), a supporter of the new initiative, called Planned Parenthood of Alaska and the teacher "desperate," adding that they "would deny the people of Alaska the opportunity to participate in the initiative process" (Holland, Anchorage Daily News, 7/31).
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Physician Practices' Interactions With Plans Cost $31 Billion Annually
As policymakers consider ways to cut health costs as a part of health reform, a new national survey of physician practices finds that physicians on average are spending the equivalent of three work weeks annually on administrative tasks required by health plans. According to the study published May 14 on the Health Affairs Web site by Lawrence P. Casalino of Weill Cornell Medical College and colleagues, physician practices report that overall the costs of interacting with insurance plans is $31 billion annually and 6.9 percent of all U.S. expenditures for physician and clinical services.
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Today's Selection Of Opinions And Editorials

The Health-Care Sacrifice The Washington Post Mr. Obama"s soothing bedside manner masks the reality that getting health costs under control will require making difficult choices about what procedures and medications to cover. It will require saying no, or having the patient pay more, at times when the extra expense is not justified by the marginal improvement in care (7/26). We Need A Personal Health Reformation Politico I am glad to see investments in health information infrastructure, but this is not sufficient to deal with the global age wave that will overwhelm our waiting rooms, work force and economy. We are mired in the past and need to innovate beyond a centralized, expert-driven medical model to distributed, personal health at home (Otellini, 7/27). Obama"s Detailed Dilemma On Health Care National Public Radio When President Obama held a prime time news conference last week, he hoped to push along the revision of the nation"s health care system. He wanted it passed in the House before it left for the August recess and to the brink of passage in the Senate (Elving, 7/27). Medicaid Reform: Changes Needed To Improve Cost, Quality The Sun Sentinel Given traditional Medicaid"s unsustainable fiscal trend and substandard care, critics of reform would do well to offer a viable alternative that slows the spending increases and improves the quality of care. Yet when it comes to offering alternatives to Florida"s ambitious reform, the critics have been silent because they have nothing much to offer except more of the same (Bond, 7/26). Our New Medical Judges? The Washington Post Obama"s proposal almost certainly would accelerate change in the way health care is delivered -- and it might actually save money in the long run. But Congress will have to decide if it is willing to yield that degree of control to five unelected IMAC commissioners. And Americans will have to decide if they are comfortable having those commissioners determine how they will be treated when they are ill (Broder). Would God Back Universal Health Care? USA Today Religious texts give us a good idea. The common theme: Don"t turn your back on the needy (Thomas, 7/27). Speed Isn"t The Enemy Of Reforms Sun Journal They say speed kills, but nothing will kill America faster than foot-dragging on health reform. The country is traveling head-long toward fiscal and systemic oblivion under current conditions, yet our leaders are bogged by endless discussions about which countermeasures to endorse (7/26). Public Plan Should Build On Medicare Network Politico A public plan is not perfect, as it isn"t single payer, but it will make a big difference in the lives of many (Woolsey, 7/27). Health Care Reform and You The New York Times Many crucial decisions on coverage and financing have yet to be made, but the general direction of the legislation is clear enough to make some educated guesses about the likely winners and losers (7/25). An Incoherent Truth The New York Times Right now the fate of health care reform seems to rest in the hands of relatively conservative Democrats - mainly members of the Blue Dog Coalition, created in 1995. And you might be tempted to say that President Obama needs to give those Democrats what they want. But he can"t - because the Blue Dogs aren"t making sense (Krugman, 7/26). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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