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Washington Post Details Six Senators To Watch On Health Care; Politics Of Fear Gain Prominence
The battle over health care reform will happen in the Senate, even though President Obama keeps getting all the attention, The Washington Post"s The Fix reports.

Shedding Light On Preserving Fertility Among Cancer Patients
Cancer treatment has come a long way, leading to a multitude of therapy options and improved survival rates. These successes, however, have created a challenge for young cancer patients since chemotherapy and radiation treatments that often save lives threaten fertility. Techniques available to safeguard fertility, such as freezing eggs for later embryo development, have poor odds of success, leaving patients with very limited options for the future. But that is beginning to change as researchers improve current techniques, mature human eggs in the laboratory, and discover cellular mechanisms that could help preserve and even restore fertility. Researchers will report on these and other findings at the 42nd annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR), July 18 to 22, at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.
News of the day
HIV/AIDS Education Project Targeting Pennsylvania Black Women Examined
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiled the Girlfriends Project, a domestic violence and HIV/AIDS education program implemented by the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force that targets at-risk black women in three Allegheny County, Pa., cities. Blacks "comprise just 7 percent of the total population in southwestern Pennsylvania but 41 percent of those living with HIV/AIDS, according to Allegheny County Health Department statistics provided by the task force," the Post-Gazette reports. "The Girlfriends Project was designed for Braddock, Clairton and Duquesne "because we knew nobody was doing outreach there," project coordinator, Lisa Dukes, said. As part of the project, Dukes hosts Tupperware party-style gatherings in homes of residents where she provides HIV testing and education, sexual health information, safe sex products and cash gift cards. The project is an outgrowth of the CDC"s prevention program Sisters Informing Sisters About Topics on AIDS, or SISTA, and has been so successful that CDC "has asked the task force to introduce it at the CDC"s 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta Aug. 23," the article states (Smith, 7/29).
Oncology

Grassley Strikes Back At Obama, Other Strong Personalities Emerging In Health Debate

Several newspapers had articles about major congressional players in the health care debate. The Associated Press reports that Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, says President Barack Barack Obama has ""got nerve" to go sightseeing in Paris while telling lawmakers it"s time to deliver on a health care overhaul." Grassley, "the top Republican on the Finance Committee," used Twitter to send "two angry "tweets" Sunday morning as the president wrapped up an oversees tour." Obama has "inserted himself firmly" into the health care debate recently, including in his weekly radio address on Sunday. "Grassley"s attitude is significant because any hope for bipartisan consensus on health care rests on an alliance between Grassley and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont." (Werner, 6/7). Roll Call reports that Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the ranking member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, "said now is not the time to do a massive health care plan." During an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," Shelby "said he remained skeptical that a reform plan will work given all the recent government spending and looming deficits." Shelby also "warned Americans that more government involvement and, in particular, competition with private enterprise, in the nation"s health care system could end up hurting Americans" medical care" (Ackley, 6/7). CQ adds that Shelby told Fox that a health care overhaul "will be the first steps in destroying the best health care system the world has ever known" (CQ staff, 6/7). The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel profiles Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. Obey is a passionate supporter of a health care overhaul, stemming from family health experiences. At one time, Obey said he would not retire until Congress passed universal coverage. "Because of the influence that he wields over the federal budget, Obey is one of several lawmakers likely to play key roles in determining whether Democratic attempts to revamp health care succeed or suffer the same fate they did a decade and a half ago" (Marrero, 6/6). The Quad-City Times has an article on Sen. Tom Harkin, D- Iowa, "who was present for the ill-fated attempt to reform health care in the 1990s," but who has "confidently predicted that Congress will get the job done this year." Harkin is "leaning toward an individual mandate" and "guaranteed there will be a public option," although he "conceded later there is little consensus on what it will be" (Lynch, 6/6). The Wall Street Journal reports that "the future shape of the U.S. health-care system could hang on the uncertain health of one very prominent American" - Sen. Edward Kennedy, D- Mass, chairman of the Health Education, Labor and Pensions committee. "If the liberal Mr. Kennedy takes a lesser role, that could make it easier for the more-conservative Mr. Baucus to push the health-care legislation in a centrist direction." The first draft of Kennedy"s proposal last week, circulated by his committee last week, "calls for guaranteed access to health insurance for all Americans and would require employers to help provide coverage or pay a penalty if they don"t. It would end the practice among insurers of denying coverage to people on the basis of pre-existing health conditions, and it would set up new state-run exchanges through which people could comparison shop for coverage. The draft doesn"t say precisely how the government would pay for the changes" (Bendavid and Adamy, 6/8). The Washington Post adds that Kennedy"s approach to ensuring universal coverage is "modeled after a Massachusetts reform implemented three years ago" and also notes that the draft that is circulating of his committee"s bill "is by far the most liberal approach to health-care reform being discussed in Washington and potentially is quite expensive" (Connolly, 6/7). 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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