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 The cast of characters spearheading the health care debate in Congress doesn"t contain all of the usual suspects. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C, arrived in the spotlight last week after comparing "the president"s health-care fight to Napoleon Bonaparte"s final defeat," the Washington Post reports. Since then, he has been "sharpening his opposition to President Obama"s attempt to overhaul the health-care industry. The Republican has used fiery rhetoric to create a sense of urgency on the matter, making himself a champion of conservatives in the process." Though Republican leaders in Congress have distanced themselves from DeMint, conservatives, like those at the Heritage Foundation, have warmed to his protests (Rucker, 7/28). Meanwhile on the other side of the aisle, Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., has taken a central role in the health care debate as the acting chairman of the Senate health committee (Sen. Ted Kennedy, the chairman, is fighting brain cancer). The Vibra Pro Slim vibration machine
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AMSA President Tiffany Fulde said, "It is unfortunate that the Commission has been unable to highlight specific strategies to recruit and retain more doctors into the bush. We currently have a health workforce in Australia that is grossly maldistributed, with large shortages of doctors and other health professionals in rural and remote Australia." "Large increases in medical student numbers alone will not address rural workforce shortages in Australia," said the President. AMSA applauds the Commission"s recommendation to provide increased access to multidisciplinary teaching in rural and remote areas, however, believes that more incentive-based initiatives are needed to entice these students into taking rural and remote placements in the first place. AMSA cautions against the Commission"s suggestion to expand bonded medical placements and adapt them to other health degrees, as this is a quick-fix approach to a long-term problem, and reinforces the stigma around rural medicine.
The Washington Post tells the story of Danny Watt, who drowned in April 2008 after a lifelong struggle with mental health. Watt had a dual diagnosis: a serious mental illness along with abuse of drugs or alcohol. "Danny Watt was a walking symbol of a phenomenon called co-occurring disorders, or dual diagnosis, which is estimated to affect 7 million adults in the United States. ò€¦ About half of all adults who are seriously mentally ill are also thought to be addicted. The mental health community calls this "self-medication." The federal government estimates that 90 percent of people with co-occurring disorders do not get the treatment they need." According to officials interviewed by the Post, ""He is responsible for his care, and he has decisions and choices to make," said William H. Williams Jr., the agency"s director of alcohol and drug services. "When you look at the number of challenges that faced this particular case, I think we did an exceptional job in trying to resolve this young man"s issues."
A new report finds nearly 10 percent of health care costs are due to obesity and per capita medical spending is significantly higher for obese people. The Wall Street Journal/AP report: "New research shows medical spending averages $1,400 more a year for an obese person than for someone who"s normal weight. Overall obesity-related health spending reaches $147 billion, double what it was nearly a decade ago, says the study published Monday by the journal Health Affairs. The higher expense reflects the costs of treating diabetes, heart disease and other ailments far more common for the overweight, concluded the study by government scientists and the nonprofit research group RTI International. RTI health economist Eric Finkelstein offers a blunt message for lawmakers trying to revamp the health-care system: "Unless you address obesity, you"re never going to address rising health-care costs."