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Obesity Threshold Is Lowered For People In India
The threshold for being overweight or obese has been lowered in India, as people of South Asian origin are more likely than white people to develop obesity-related conditions such as Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
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Debate Surrounds Federal System That Rates Nursing Homes
A new federal rating system to track quality gives nursing homes mixed reviews. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) developed the Nursing Home Compare Web site, which compares the nation"s 15,600 homes. There were complaints that the old site was unmanageable.
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GOP Leader McConnell Says 'Too Early To Know' About Sotomayor Filibuster
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Friday said it is "way too early to know" whether Senate Republicans will attempt to filibuster the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama"s nominee for the Supreme Court, the AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Although other Senate Republicans have said that they do not plan to filibuster a vote on Sotomayor, McConnell said that Senate Democrats established a precedent of filibustering former President George W. Bush"s nominees. However, he added that he believes blocking votes on judges is generally a "bad idea." Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) has said a filibuster is unlikely, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has said that Republicans do not have the votes or the desire to mount a filibuster against Sotomayor. Senate Democrats hope to have confirmation hearings for Sotomayor in July, followed by a full Senate vote before the August recess. Senate Republicans are hoping to push back the hearings until September to give them more time to review her judicial record.Antiabortion Groups Circulate 1998 Legal Brief Abortion-rights opponents on Friday circulated a 1998 legal brief supporting abortion rights that the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund joined while Sotomayor was on the fund"s board. The brief -- which was submitted to the Supreme Court to support a challenge to a Missouri law that made it illegal to use public facilities for abortion services -- warned of "the danger of tampering with the core framework of Roe v. Wade." The brief added that the law would disproportionately affect poor women of color. According to the AP/Star Tribune, there is nothing to indicate that Sotomayor had any role in drafting the brief.PRLDEF President Cesar Perales said that although its board helps determine which legal issues the organization should focus on, it is not involved with deciding which cases to take on. Charmaine Yoest of Americans United for Life said, "That specific case makes it very difficult for [Sotomayor] to say that she doesn"t have a position" on abortion rights (Hirschfeld Davis, AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune, 6/5).Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Two Federal Judges In related news, the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted to approve two of Obama"s federal judge nominees, Roll Call reports. The committee voted 12-7 to approve David Hamilton to fill a vacancy in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and voted 16-3 to approve Andre Davis to fill a vacancy on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. The votes were delayed two weeks because of requests from panel Republicans. This week, the committee will consider the nomination of Judge Gerard Lynch to fill a vacancy on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (Brady, Roll Call, 6/4).
Cardiovascular

California's Struggle With Insurance Exchanges Offers Lesson For National Reform

California"s experience with insurance exchanges could prove a valuable lesson for the nation"s flirtation with such pools for covering large numbers of people, The Wall Street Journal reports. For 13 years in California, small businesses could buy insurance through an exchange, but after it was bypassed by lower insurer rates forcing exchange coverage rates higher, rates went up forcing managers to shut the program in 2006. The lessons: "Employers and individuals who qualify must be required to obtain health insurance through the exchange. Failing that, John Grgurina, who ran California"s exchange from 2002 until it ended, said government must impose rules governing rates and eligibility to protect the exchange from attracting a disproportionate share of high-risk people. An exchange aims to get better prices for coverage by banding together businesses and individuals. Insurers would have an incentive to join an exchange because they would gain access to more potential customers. Individuals and employees of businesses that participate in an exchange would be able to chose from the available plans and pay the same rate." "Each of the three major bills -- one in the House and two in the Senate -- would create one or more exchanges. The specifics vary, but most of the proposals would impose more regulations than the failed California program, which analysts say would help the exchanges compete." Californians familiar with the effort said crucial details have not yet emerged. Exchanges in other states, including failed ones in Texas, Florida and North Carolina each lost because they covered too many high-risk participants. But in Connecticut and Massachusetts, exchanges have had more success because government set rules on how insurers set rates, The Journal reports (Sanserino, 8/3). 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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