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A divided House approves sweeping health reform legislation, 220-215

After months of intense debate and negotiations, the House of Representatives approved the most ambitious effort ever to change the country's health care system, with 219 Democrats and one Republican voting for the bill and 39 Democrats voting against the bill. Democrats in the chamber cheered the final tally.

9 Nov 2009

Speaker Pelosi comments on Congressman Anthony Weiner's single payer alternative

While our bill contains unprecedented reforms, including an end to discrimination for pre-existing conditions and a prohibition on raising rates or dropping coverage if you become ill, our bill cannot include provisions some strongly advocated. The single payer alternative is one of those provisions that could not be included in H.R. 3962, but which has generated support within the Congress and throughout the country.

7 Nov 2009

Democrats still face roadblocks to health reform: Abortion, immigration

Though House leaders say they'd like a health reform bill vote by Friday, some Democrats are threatening to block its passage over the issue of abortion.

3 Nov 2009

House Democratic leaders pushing for vote on health reform

Speaker Nancy Pelosi could hold a vote on the final House of Representatives health care reform legislation this week.

2 Nov 2009

Taxes from Internet gambling to help fund health care reform

An increased focus on the benefits of Internet gambling regulation are expected as the Senate Finance Committee considers a proposal introduced on Saturday to use Internet gambling revenue to offset the costs of health care reform.

22 Sep 2009

Treatment is the best way for problem gamblers, says gambling addiction expert

A leading expert on gambling addictions, saying that "prohibition doesn't work," today praised the Illinois Video Gaming Act for addressing the issue head-on by providing funding for treatment programs.

18 Sep 2009

NAMI: Uniformity of insurance coverage for mental illness and addictive disorders

NAMI agrees with President Obama that the time for action on health care reform is now. It is time for both Democrats and Republicans to come together and deliver on what, for too many years, have only been promises.

11 Sep 2009

Simple steps to prevent outbreak of H1N1 flu

Dr. Will Sawyer, a Family Medicine physician in Cincinnati, Ohio, is VERY concerned that the American public is NOT getting adequate information on how to PREVENT local severe outbreaks of the Novel H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu)!

29 Aug 2009

What role for government in promoting wellness?

"Of the eight goals for health care reform laid out in President Obama's 2010 budget, just one has more to do with patients than with providers or insurers: 'Investing in prevention and wellness,'" the National Journal reports.

24 Aug 2009

Baucus/Grassley relationship challenged, other Senators weigh in on Rreform

The old reliable relationship between Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) continues to "bedevil" their Senate colleagues as the Finance Committee nears a deal on health care reform, Roll Call reports.

6 Aug 2009

HIV/AIDS advocates express concern about Obama's continuation of needle-exchange funding ban

Although President Obama previously has expressed support for needle-exchange programs as part of HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, advocates recently expressed concern that the administration's 2009-2010 budget proposal intends to continue a funding ban for such programs that dates back to the 1980s, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

12 May 2009

Canadian Court to determine constitutionality of law preventing supervised drug-injection sites

The British Columbia Court of Appeals this week is hearing a case to decide whether certain sections of Canada's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act that prevent injection drug users from accessing services at the supervised drug-injection facility Insite in Vancouver, British Columbia, are constitutional, Toronto's Globe and Mail reports (Stueck, Globe and Mail, 4/28).

30 Apr 2009

Northbridge violence - Police want more powers

According to senior police officers in Western Australia, the level of violence combined with alcohol abuse in the Northbridge area of Perth calls for a major change in liquor licensing.

6 Apr 2009

Mandatory obstructive sleep apnea screenings could reduce risk of truck crashes

Truck crashes are a significant public health hazard causing thousands of deaths and injuries each year, with driver fatigue and sleepiness being major causes.

11 Mar 2009

Selling cigarettes to children will cost retailers dearly

A warning has been issued to Tasmanian cigarette retailers that selling cigarettes to minors will cost them dearly.

17 Dec 2008

HIV/AIDS services agency sues New Hampshire town for restricting access to group home

A Keene, N.H., AIDS services agency -- AIDS Services for the Monadnock Region -- said it is suing Gilsum, N.H., town officials for overstepping their authority and violating the state constitution by restricting who is allowed to live at a group home run by ASMR, the Keene Sentinel reports.

29 Sep 2008

House Democrats send letter to President Bush urging 'swift action' on reversal of rule banning HIV-positive foreigners from entering U.S.

Lawmakers and HIV advocates are urging the Bush administration to take action on reversing the current ban HIV-positive foreigners from entering the U.S., the AP/Los Angeles Times reports (Abrams, AP/Los Angeles Times, 9/20).

22 Sep 2008

Toxic organophosphates appear to contribute to motor neuron disease

Motor neuron disease is a rare, devastating illness in which nerve cells that carry brain signals to muscles gradually deteriorate.

24 Mar 2008

Public smoking ban decreases acute coronary events in Italy

The number of acute coronary events such as heart attack in adults dropped significantly after a smoking ban in public places in Italy, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

12 Feb 2008

Skipping meals to lose weight

Foregoing food for a day each month stood out among other religious practices in members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS or Mormons), who have lower rates of heart disease than other Americans, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2007.

6 Nov 2007