People who donate a kidney, part of their liver, or bone marrow for transplant surgeries can receive tax breaks in 17 states; however, a new study finds that incentives did not increase the number of organ donations. That does not mean states should end the tax breaks, the report’s researchers said. Instead, states should focus on improving them, said Dr. Atheendar Venkataramani, a Massachusetts General Hospital resident who led the study. Increasing the amounts could be one change, according to NPR:

Typically states offer a deduction of up to $10,000 from taxable income. For a typical family that translates to less than $1,000 in reduced taxes. But the financial burden for a living kidney donor can range from $907 to $3,089, according to one study.

The tax incentives are intended to defray the organ donor’s cost in medical care, travel and lost wages. By federal statute, it’s illegal to pay someone for the organ itself.

Authors of the new study suggest increasing the value of the tax deductions or converting them into a tax credit, which would lower the donor’s tax bill on a dollar-for-dollar basis. So far only Iowa offers donors a tax credit.

There’s also reason to think that few people in states with tax credits know about them. Study authors found that even organ donation advocate groups were unaware. So were people being evaluated as living donors, including even the most educated and informed prospective donors.

“These tax incentives cost the states very little, so there is no real reason to do away with them,” Venkataramani said.

With more than 100,000 people on waiting lists, officials consider how to increase the number of donations from living donors. At the same time, rising obesity rates could lead to fewer organ donations. More than 60 percent of Americans support the idea of compensating donors with credits for health care needs, but this new report shows that tax breaks will not immediately lead to more organ transplants.

Tampa, Florida — As Republicans gathered for the final day of their national convention here in Tampa, a small but vocal group of doctors, medical students and patients marched in the heat to deliver thousands of petitions in support of the Affordable Care Act.

One of the marchers, Kenya Wheeler, was a grad student last year when he was diagnosed with CNS lymphoma, a form of blood cancer in his brain. Despite being covered through his university’s insurance plan, Wheeler quickly hit the lifetime cap on his coverage. On Thursday, he marched as a representative for thousands of other patients who stand to benefit when the lifetime cap provision of Obamacare goes into effect in 2014.

Another marcher, Dr. Donald Nguyen, is a pediatric urologist in Dayton, Ohio. For much of the march, he helped carry a banner reading “Patients Over Politics”, a mantra shouted out by the participants and plastered on signs, stickers, brochures and disposable paper fans handed out to combat the withering heat.

“I am sincerely sick and tired of the political fighting over patients’ health,” he said. “The Affordable Care Act passed in Congress. It was upheld by the Supreme Court. Now it’s time to focus on making sure patients receive proper care.”

Check out some photos from the rally:

Dr. Robert Luedecke, an anesthesiologist from San Antonio, Texas, spoke at the end of the parade. His 23-year-old son is not eligible for insurance at his current job, but thanks to provisions in Obamacare, he will be able to remain on his father’s plan for three more years.

Luedecke himself stands to benefit from Obamacare, too. A pre-existing condition (a problem with his neck) makes obtaining health insurance incredibly difficult for him. Even though he’s a doctor, he’s had to enroll in his wife’s plan.

“Do you really want to take these benefits away?” he asked. “It’s detestable.”

Hurricane Isaac tore through Louisiana this week, flooding sections of the state and leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without power. Isaac came right on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the storm that devastated New Orleans seven years ago, but fortunately did not impact the region with the same magnitude. As the Times-Picayune points out, though, Louisiana’s health care system is still struggling to recover from the damage wreaked by this week’s storm:

Overall, 21.5 percent of the state’s nursing homes were operating on generator power after losing electrical service, state officials said. Across the state on Thursday, at least 59 nursing homes housing 6,366 residents, along with 36 hospitals, were operating on generator power.Officials were planning to evacuate six more nursing homes across the state that were endangered by floodwaters. [...]

Another concern for health officials was what to do about residents who rely on home medical equipment, many of whom did not evacuate the city and lost power during the storm. A medical special needs shelter was set up in New Orleans on Thursday to provide electricity and support with the help of federal disaster medical teams.

City officials worked well into the night Wednesday for a third night to help bring back a range of healthcare assets that, [New Orleans' health commissioner] said, “often get forgotten.” Those included dialysis units, psychiatric hospitals, and substance abuse and mental health living programs.

The city’s emergency rooms saw an influx of patients over the past few days, and medical professionals had to pool their resources to cope with evacuations, blackouts, and compromised facilities. One hospital CEO noted that the public health sector in Louisiana is able to be resourceful partly because they are already accustomed to dealing with shortages and budget cuts.

While Isaac was hitting the Gulf Coast, Republicans were gathering at their national convention in Tampa, focusing most of their time on decrying government assistance’s role in bolstering the success of American individuals and programs. However, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) adopted somewhat of a different attitude after contending with the hurricane’s effect on his state — he reached out to President Obama for more federal aid to provide emergency disaster relief services for his constituents. His party has endorsed a budget that would slash these very funds.