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Finance Committee Senators: Reform Bill Trimmed To Less Than $1 Trillion
Some senators on the Finance Committee said Thursday they"ve moved closer to cutting their health reform bill"s cost to under $1 trillion.
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DoH Confirms First Cases Of NOVEL H1N1 Influenza A On The Island Of Kaua'i, Hawai'i
The Hawai"i State Department of Health (DOH) confirmed 83 additional cases of novel H1N1 Influenza A of swine origin this week. Two of the individuals live on the island of Kaua"i, one individual lives on the island of Maui, two individuals live on the island of Hawai"i, and 78 are O"ahu residents. It is important to note that all of the individuals have recovered or are recovering at home with no complications. The next weekly update will be posted at http://www.hawaii.gov/health on Wednesday, June 17 at 11:00 a.m.
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Washington Times Examines Proposed Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative In Obama Budget Plan
The Washington Times recently included a two-part series examining President Obama"s proposed reallocation of abstinence-only sex education funding in his 2010 budget plan. The proposal would redirect funding toward a new Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative that uses comprehensive sex education curriculums. Summaries of the series appear below.~ Part 1: Obama"s budget proposal states that funds for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative should go to programs that are proven to help delay first sex, increase contraceptive use or reduce teen pregnancy, though a few advocates of comprehensive sex education say such goals are laudable but too narrow, the Times reports. William Smith -- vice president for public policy for the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States -- and James Wagoner -- president of Advocates for Youth -- wrote in a June 17 blog entry that preventing unintended pregnancy among teens is "incredibly important" but that it is "not the only sexual and reproductive health issue facing our nation"s youth." They continued that it would be more beneficial to "expand the scope" of the initiative so it can serve "all young people in all communities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, whose needs fall wholly outside of the narrow teen-pregnancy-prevention framework." According to the Times, Smith said in an interview that money allotted for the initiative would be best used if it went to programs focused on "good outcomes" for youth, "not these disaster-aversion silos that don"t serve us well." Wagoner said that advocates have been "very clear in giving the president credit for shifting tracks here in a big way" by ending funding for abstinence-only sex education. However, he added that it is "our job to press for the right destination" and to see the changes implemented into law (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 6/28).~ Part 2: Some supporters of Obama"s proposal argue that it is "exactly the right idea, at the right time," as the U.S. teen birth rate has increased in the last two years after 14 years of decline, the Times reports. Sarah Brown, CEO of the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, said that Obama"s proposal is the "first really focused expenditure on effective teen pregnancy prevention programs." Brown noted that the U.S. has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and birth in the industrialized world. She said that the best programs will address one or more of the three goals of the initiative -- delaying first sex, increasing contraceptive use or reducing teen pregnancy. Last month, about 175 organizations sent a letter to Obama and members of Congress calling for an expanded initiative that would include subjects such as sexually transmitted infections and abusive relationships. However, Brown said that many teen pregnancy prevention programs include discussion of STIs and other areas, "[s]o we really don"t see much tension here" (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 7/5).
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MDVIP Launches Preventive Medicine Pilot Program For Uninsured In Northern Virginia

On the heels of a successful partnership between MDVIP and Project Access in Palm Beach County, Florida, MDVIP will now roll out their second initiative to support the uninsured community in Northern Virginia. In collaboration with The INOVA Health Systems and Project Access of Northern Virginia (PANV), four of the local MDVIP-affiliated physicians will participate in a pilot program to provide services to uninsured patients who have diabetes, cardiovascular disease or may be considered a high-risk patient for either chronic condition. Without comprehensive primary care, these patients would be treated episodically either at a county clinic or an ER for services considered under the umbrella of primary care management. Project Access is a program designed to provide medical care for uninsured people in Northern Virginia and reduce emergency care requirements. "We wondered what happened to uninsured patients once they were treated and stabilized after emergency episodes, and we discovered that many are virtually discharged with no follow-up care. Typically, patients in the Project Access of Northern Virginia program require a good deal of follow-up, and without ongoing medical treatment, many emergency treatments will become chronic events," says Dr. Edward Goldman, co-founder of the MDVIP nationwide network of doctors specializing in preventive medicine. "Since the program was launched in Florida eighteen months ago, our participants have dramatically reduced ER visits. We"re excited to duplicate these results in Northern Virginia." The goals of the program are to: - Best manage the chronic disease of these patients - Offer early detection and wellness to the at-risk patient - Prevent or slow the progression of the disease over the long-term offering the best level of health to these patients - Free up the res for true medical emergencies at the INOVA Health Systems While most primary care doctors have 2,000-3,000 patients, MDVIP-affiliated physicians limit their practices to about 600 patients in order to offer more personalized and preventive healthcare. MDVIP patients pay a membership fee of typically $1,500 annually for MDVIP"s personalized healthcare, including a comprehensive annual evaluation which includes the identification of risk factors that predict the diseases a person are most likely to develop, based upon personal and family history, genetics, lifestyle, habits and occupation. It includes laboratory testing, an EKG and screenings related to mental status, exercise, nutrition and sleep; vision, hearing and pulmonary function testing; and a review of all medication, with a subsequent coordinated wellness plan. The participants in the MDVIP Project Access pilot group will receive these services at no charge. "Project Access of Northern Virginia is very excited about our partnership with MDVIP, as it will provide additional primary care access points for the most vulnerable in our community," said Claudia Tellez, Director, Project Access of Northern Virginia. The preventive medicine pilot program will initially serve about 50 Northern Virginia low-income, uninsured patients in Alexandria and Fairfax Counties. Additionally, MDVIP plans to develop essential data that shows how this model can reduce costs to the system and improve healthcare for the uninsured, as it has in MDVIP-affiliated practices nationally. Project Access of Northern Virginia


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