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House Ways And Means Panel Rejects Amendments To Exclude Abortion Coverage From Health Reform
The House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday voted 23-18 to approve its health care reform bill (HR 3200) after rejecting dozens of Republican amendments, including attempts to exclude abortion coverage from the essential benefit package created in the legislation, CQ Today reports. An amendment offered by Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) was rejected in an 18-23 vote; Reps. Bill Pascrell (N.J.), Earl Pomeroy (N.D.) and John Tanner (Tenn.) were the only Democrats to support the amendment. The amendment included exceptions for abortion to save the woman"s life or in cases of rape or incest. Committee members voted 19-22 to reject a similar amendment by House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.).The House health reform bill would establish a panel to set a minimum benefits package that health insurers must offer. The bill aims to expand health insurance coverage by mandating that individuals obtain insurance, requiring employers to offer workers coverage or pay a fine, and establishing a health insurance exchange where people could compare and purchase plans. The exchange would include a government-run health insurance option that would compete with private plans (Rubin, CQ Today, 7/17).

Minimal Important Differences In Melanoma-Related Quality Of Life
Quantitative assessments of patient quality of life are becoming increasingly important in the context of clinical trials. In addition to establishing benchmark score differences that are useful when interpreting study results, Minimal Important Differences (MIDs) inform discussions of clinically meaningful change in patient status.
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Medical Devices

COAG Should Maintain Focus On Improving Indigenous Health, Australia

Tomorrow"s Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting is a crucial opportunity to focus on achieving concrete long-term health improvements for Indigenous people, the AMA said. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) will meet in Darwin tomorrow (Thursday) to discuss a strategic national plan for closing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. AMA Federal President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said it is important that governments develop a national plan for Indigenous health in genuine partnership with Indigenous people and health organisations that know what is needed and what will work. "The Prime Minister has acknowledged that closing the 17-year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians is one of the most significant challenges facing Australia," Dr Pesce said. "The recent commitment of $1.6 billion through COAG to Indigenous health is a very promising start to tackling this challenge. "COAG has a responsibility to ensure that this money is used to achieve real and concrete health outcomes for Indigenous people, and isn"t simply soaked up by Commonwealth and State bureaucracies at the expense of services on the ground." Dr Pesce said a priority for a strategic national plan for Indigenous health should be to improve workforce capacity by training more Indigenous doctors and health care workers. "It should also strengthen the capacity of mainstream health services to provide culturally appropriate primary care for Indigenous people. "COAG"s strategic national plan should contain clear targets and benchmarks for concrete action and health outcomes, and all governments should make a commitment to achieving them," he said. Australian Medical Association


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