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This Woman Is Dying Because She's Been Denied A Life-Saving Abortion

Here We Go Again: Cantor Schedules Obamacare Repeal Vote

NEWS FLASH

Montana Court Strikes Down Ban On Birth Control Funding For Low-Income Teens | A state trial court in Montana struck down that state’s ban on prescription birth control coverage for teenage women covered by the state’s health insurance program for low-income young people. In his opinion striking down the law under “the right of privacy and the rights of persons not adults set forth in the Montana Constitution,” Judge James Reynolds explained that “[t]he state has failed to provide a compelling state reason for this exclusion . . . as the court determined and as the state itself declared: reducing teenage pregnancy (is) a compelling state interest.” This interest, however, is harmed, not helped, by a law hindering sexually active individuals’ access to birth control.

NEWS FLASH

Chris Christie Vetos Health Care Exchanges | New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill today that would have established a state-wide health insurance exchange that could have extended health insurance to the roughly 1.3 million New Jersey residents that are either uninsured or underinsured. Christie, who has been short-listed as a possible VP choice for the “all-but-certain” Republican Party nominee Mitt Romney, maintains that his decision to block passage of the bill rested solely on the uncertainty of the Affordable Care Act, notwithstanding the preliminary steps Christie has already taken to form an exchange in the effect of “successfully applying for $8.7 million in planning and research grants from the Obama administration.” In the event that the U.S. Supreme Court should rule in favor of the ACA, New Jersey will not be in the most favorable position to set up its health-care exchange, and the federal government will be forced to step in to create and operate the new insurance marketplace. — Fatima Najiy

By Guest Blogger on May 10, 2012 at 4:22 pm

Study: No Reason To Restrict Medication Abortion Services Via Telemedicine

By Amanda Peterson Beadle on May 10, 2012 at 1:30 pm

In continuing attacks on women’s access to abortion services, states have considered banning “tele-med” abortions by requiring a doctor to be present when a woman takes abortion-inducing medication or requiring women to meet their doctors face to face. Planned Parenthood clinics in Wisconsin even have stopped providing abortions via medication entirely after lawmakers approved a restrictive law that makes incredibly difficult to continue the practice.

But a new study shows that the extra in-person face time Wisconsin law now requires doctors to spend with their patients is unnecessary. The research found that there was no difference between patients who called the clinic for their follow-up and those who went to the clinic, according to MedPage Today:

“Women choosing phone follow-up are not more likely to experience complications or be lost to follow-up,” she said in her oral presentation. “Phone follow-up is feasible for medical abortion and can assess the need for further in-person follow-up.”

Samberg said medical abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol has been shown to be safe and effective up to 63 days of gestation. The typical management requires a transvaginal ultrasound one week later and two to three office visits. A pilot study in 2010 showed that a phone follow-up of women undergoing medical abortion was feasible, and that 64% of the women did not require follow-up visits, she noted.

These findings follow a 2011 study proving that telemedicine is a safe and effective way to provide medication abortion services, particularly in rural areas. But despite scientific proof backing up the practice, Republican state legislators have pushed to stop the practice and limit women’s access to abortion care.

Planned Parenthood Claims Victory After Helping To Oust NC Legislator Who Voted For Anti-Abortion Bill

By Amanda Peterson Beadle on May 10, 2012 at 12:10 pm

Planned Parenthood helped knock a 28-year incumbent out of the North Carolina General Assembly after the conservative Democrat sided with Republicans to vote in favor of a controversial anti-abortion bill last year. State Rep. Jim Crawford (D) joined four other Democrats who helped Republicans override Gov. Bev Perdue’s (D) veto to pass legislation that requires women get ultrasound exams, receive counseling, and wait 24 hours before having an abortion.

Planned Parenthood responded by supporting Rep. W.A. “Winkie” Wilkins’ (D) campaign against Crawford in a redrawn district that favored Wilkins. The women’s health organization claimed victory in statements released after Tuesday’s election:

“There is no question,” says Melissa Reed, vice president of public policy for Planned Parenthood Health Systems Action Fund. “Women were watching as Jim Crawford cast the deciding vote in support of legislation to undermine a woman’s right to make personal health decisions without government intrusion.” [...]

“Nowhere has the attack on women’s health been waged more viciously than in North Carolina” added Paige Johnson, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood Action Fund of Central North Carolina. “Yesterday’s defeat of Jim Crawford by Winkie Wilkins shows clearly that women have had enough. We are mobilizing to help elect candidates like Winkie Wilkins, who will stand strong for women’s health in 2012 and beyond.”

Planned Parenthood also got involved in a Pennsylvania election, spending $100,000 on an ad attacking Republican Ryan Mackenzie for his support of an invasive ultrasound bill. And as state legislatures have approved another round of restrictive abortion regulations so far this year, it’s likely that women will continue to target Republicans who voted to limit their health care options.

NEWS FLASH

Study: Children With Private Insurance More Likely To Receive Treatment In ERs | A study published in the most recent edition of the Journal of Pediatrics found that children who had public insurance, like Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or no insurance at all, did not receive the same level of treatment in emergency rooms as children with private insurance. The study found that those children were 22 percent less likely to have testing when they visited a hospital’s emergency department, while children without insurance were less likely to receive medication than their insured counterparts. However, there was no difference in admittance rates based on insurance status for children with serious illnesses. While the reasons for this discrepancy are unclear, one possibility is that ERs are overtreating children with private insurance, which pays hospitals more. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly half of all children do not have private insurance.

-Zachary Bernstein

By Guest Blogger on May 10, 2012 at 10:10 am

NEWS FLASH

Health Insurers Owe Millions In Rebates To Floridians Thanks To Obamacare Regulations | Health insurance companies owe tens of millions to Florida policy holders after they failed to meet an Affordable Care Act provision that limits the amount of premium dollars that insurers can spend on overhead. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation report, Floridians could receive up to $149 million in rebates this summer, even though political officials in the state oppose the law as a whole and had asked the federal government for less stringent requirements that would have likely reduced the rebate amounts. In January, the federal government denied the state’s request.

By Amanda Peterson Beadle on May 10, 2012 at 8:30 am

Morning CheckUp: May 10, 2012

By Igor Volsky on May 10, 2012 at 7:00 am

Millions of employers fail to claim healthcare tax credit: “Millions of small businesses failed to claim tax credits they could have received under President Obama’s healthcare law, according to a new report from the advocacy group Families USA.” [The Hill]

Lawmakers propose a permanent ‘doc fix’: “Reps. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) and Joe Heck (R-NV) introduced a bill Wednesday to reform how Medicare pays healthcare providers and to avoid a cut to reimbursement rates on Jan. 1.” [The Hill]

If individual mandate is overturned, states still have lots of options: “No individual mandate? No problem. That’s the attitude of some state health care officials who are bracing for a Supreme Court decision expected in June, a ruling that could overturn some components of the Affordable Care Act and national health care reform, including the individual mandate.” [California Healthline]

Birth control coverage ban ruled unconstitutional: “A Montana judge has struck down the state’s ban on prescription birth control coverage for teenage girls enrolled in its low-income health insurance program.” [AP]

Republicans find lots to love in PhRMA: “Even though the pharmaceutical trade group was the first industry group to make a deal with the Obama administration to support health reform, Republicans are working hard to fast-track the passage of the industry’s top legislative priority — the reauthorization of the Food and Drug Administration “user fee” bill that regulates drug approvals.” [Politico]

Senate Democrats urge protection of public-health fund: “Six Senate Democrats are urging the chamber’s leaders to make a stand against a Republican measure that would eliminate the healthcare reform law’s public health and prevention fund in order to freeze student loan rates. The Democrats’ pleas came in a letter to Senate leaders after their party failed on a procedural vote to advance an approach to a student loan fix that relies on raising payroll taxes for some higher-income earners.” [Modern Healthcare]

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