Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Tuesday Two to One Edition

That's two judges to one in favor of health reform's constitutionality.

As one would expect, the big news in health today is the judge's ruling saying the requirement that everybody buy insurance is unconstitutional. The NY Times says this is the beginning of years of wrangling among judges until we have a final ruling from the Supreme Court, and that's where the cases are headed, says WaPo. But however things turn out, there's no question that this ruling bolsters the GOP opposition to the law, so Republicans cheered the ruling, saying this is a great advance for liberty, some taking credit for forecasting the law's demise. Then again, the court didn't stop implementation of the law from going forward, which some see as a really positive step for health reform advocates. A good overview from the LA Times is here. USA Today thinks the law will be upheld in the long run, as do some bloggers. The Wall St. Journal explains how this ruling differs from the two upholding the law. And some criticized the judge, while the White House insisted that the law will be upheld.

Meanwhile, as Democrats try to tweak one part of the health law that everybody agrees should go -- the requirement that small businesses file 1099's for any vendor to whom they paid $600 or more -- Republicans stand in the way. Hate the law, but refuse to let it be fixed? They want to use this and other provisions for a piecemeal repeal of various parts of the law, so they don't want this fixed before they take power in the House, says Politico.

And there's more harm due to cuts in Medicaid due to state budgets.

In other news, we learned some more about Alzheimer's disease; and some more about ADHD. And why do we yawn? C'mon -- I know you always wanted to know the answer to that question! And did you know your senses of smell and taste would dull over time?

On a more serious note, have you thought about buying long-term care insurance? Are there better ways to plan ahead? WaPo discusses the options.

Doctors and nurses' weight biases harm overweight patients, says the LA Times. I could have told you that.

The President signed the child nutrition bill, expanding school lunches to more hungry kids, and making sure the menus are more nutritious.

Here are some exercises to help you maintain cognitive function as you creep into your 50s (ouch!).

Family in disagreement about how to handle aging parents? Try mediation.

And that's the way it is! Jennifer

No comments:

Post a Comment