House Speaker Paul Ryan has confirmed that this administration is bound to continue funding the benefits to those under the ACA (Affordable Care Act) and is likely to do so through 2018. Tom Price, Secretary of HHS ( Health and Human Services) echoed this sentiment saying he would uphold it as long as it was the law of the land. However, at the same time the GOP will continue it’s lawsuit against the ACA on the grounds that they believe the ACA is unconstitutional since it was not approved by Congress.
Meanwhile States are acting of their accord to tailor heath care to their particular needs. California is considering a single payor system. Kansas’ Governor just vetoed a bill to expand Medicaid that had bipartisan support in its House and Senate.
Did you now the NIH, the National Institute of Health, is facing a 20 % budget cut ? The National Institute of Health is the nation’s premier research institution. And yet, Representative Tom Cole ( R- OK) chair of the subcommittee that oversees HHS says the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and the NIH are just s important as national defense. What do you think ? Tell your members of Congress.
Tanning beds. They cause cancer. Many children under 16 use them. Guess who brings them there ? Their mothers. A new study was published in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) Dermatology. The researchers were surprised at this appalling finding.
Older people are more sensitive to alcohol than others. Women are more sensitive to alcohol than men. These are some of the reasons why it is so alarming that older women are drinking more than ever. Binge drinking is increasing at a rate of 4% per year for women.
Are you flossing ? Gum disease in women 55 and older is associated with a 12% increased risk of dying from any cause. Stay up to date with your dental care. It will make you smile.
In the not surprising department, smokers who undergo radiation treatment for breast cancer have more complications than nonsmokers. Was do they mean by complications ? They mean lung cancer and heart disease. Ask your doctor how you can quit. You can, you know.
In the good news department, yet another study has shown that oral contraceptive pills are protective against three major cancers: ovarian, colorectal, and endometrial ( cancer of the uterine lining).That protection lasts at least 30 years.
Stay tuned for more news from the amazing world of Obstetrics and Gynecology, here, next week, on Medical Mondays.