GOP presidential hopeful Rick Perry's record on women's health scrutinized

As the GOP presidential primary campaign continues to heat up, news outlets focus on Texas Gov. Rick Perry's state policy record: An NPR report today examines his funding for women's health. Meanwhile, Michele Bachmann offers her take on employer-sponsored health insurance.

NPR: Gov. Perry Cut Funds For Women In Texas
Only 48 percent of Texans have private health insurance and more than a quarter of the state's population has no insurance at all, more than any other state. To fill this gap, the state's hospital emergency rooms and dozens of women's health clinics have stepped in to serve the uninsured across Texas. To understand the health care landscape in Texas it helps to start with context, and perhaps nobody is better suited to explain it than Tom Banning. He is the CEO of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians, a group of about 6,000 doctors and whose members reach into every part of the state (Goodwyn, 9/20).

CBS: Michele Bachmann Says Tax Breaks Should Replace Employer Health Plans
Back in her hometown Monday, Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann waxed nostalgic for an era when people were responsible for purchasing their own insurance, rather than being tethered to an employer for coverage. "When I grew up here in Iowa, we owned our own health insurance. We didn't necessarily have it from our employer," she said. Asked in a round-table with workers at OMJC Signal, a family-owned public-safety equipment manufacturer, how small businesses can afford health care for their employees, the Minnesota congresswoman said they shouldn't have to buy it. "I think you should be able to own your plan, so your employer doesn't own it -; you get to own it, and you buy it with your own tax-free money," Bachmann responded. She added, "You should be able to set aside whatever amount of your income you need to purchase the kind of health care you need for yourself, for your family," (Huisenga, 9/19).

Finally, the HPV controversy continues -;

The Associated Press: Bachmann Says Vaccine Retardation Claim Not Hers
Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann said Monday she was not arguing that a vaccine intended to prevent cervical cancer caused mental retardation when she repeated the scientifically unfounded claim last week. The Minnesota congresswoman said she was relaying what a distraught woman told her after a GOP presidential debate in Florida in which Bachmann criticized rival Rick Perry for ordering the vaccine in Texas (Beaumont, 9/19).

NPR: HPV Vaccine: The Science Behind The Controversy
Many find the public health case for HPV vaccination compelling. Cervical cancer strikes about 12,000 U.S. women a year and kills around 4,000. Strong backers of the vaccine include the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The vaccine requires three shots over six months and costs upwards of $400, which is not always covered by insurers or government agencies (Knox, 9/19).