Guest guest Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 I finally got a chance to have a long conversation with my sister about this medscape article. She said this open letter and it's timing is a politically motivated action. As for the facts, she told me that federal public health funding has actually dramatically increased in the last four years. The programs sited in the article as decreasing are mostly State funded programs. Remember Medicaid is a state funded program. The White house doesn't have control over what programs individual states choose to cut or their eligibility requirements. Many states cut funding as a way to balance their own budgets. She also said the article is wrong in saying that SHLIP funding has been cut. It has actually increased. Also, the number of public health care clinics has actually increased by 44% in the last four years. This means many rural areas who were not served by their own states are now being served by the federal government. Many kids access to health insurance has declined because their parent's employers can no longer afford to insure the families. I'm a small business owner and I still insure my employee's families. It cost me $1,100 per month per employee. Health care is now my largest overhead expense. But it's not the fault of the White House. Prescription drug advertising, medical malpractice suits and overregulation by the individual states have caused the health care costs to rise. In my state, Washington, our lawmakers have put 48 mandates on insurers. Most states have 8-12 mandates. This caused all but a few insurers to leave our state and our health insurance costs to soar. The only programs we can buy have to cover acupuncturists, massage therapy, etc, as well as traditional medical doctors. Ironically, now my MD gets less per visit than a massage therapist does. It's ridiculous. But that's what happens when government tries to regulate the health care industry. My sister did not have any knowledge of IDEA funding because she only deals with the public health issues. > > I forwarded this on to my sister, who is a Public Health Care Advocate for > the State of Alaska. One of the groups she used to lobby for is the AAP. She > was just at a conference in DC that centered around this issue. I'm waiting > to hear her input on this before I form an opinion or take this for the > gospel truth. > > There is so much partisan disinformation floating around on the web that I > think we would all be wise to research these things before we use them to > form opinions. > > Therese > > > >> >> Children's Health Eroding During Bush Tenure, Pediatricians Charge >> >> >> Tokarski >> >> >> Sept. 30, 2004 ‹ Access to health insurance, preventive care, and medical >> treatment for children have sharply declined during the Bush Administration, >> reversing " decades of hard-won progress " in improving pediatric health, a >> leading >> group of pediatricians has charged. >> In an open letter to the Bush Administration released at a Sept. 29 press >> conference, 36 pediatricians, including six past presidents of the American >> Academy of Pediatrics and child health author T. Berry Brazelton, MD, took >> aim >> at >> what the authors described as an erosion of federal support for child health >> and welfare programs. Programs that have seen funding drop or eligibility >> requirements tightened in the past four years include Head Start, the >> Individuals >> With Disabilities Education Act, and the State Children's Health Insurance >> Program (SCHIP), as well as Medicaid, immunization programs, and child and >> maternal >> health services, the group said. >> SCHIP, enacted during the Clinton administration, has been credited with >> lowering the number of uninsured children whose families are ineligible for >> Medicaid. But in 2004, for the first time since the program was created in >> 1997, the >> number of children covered by SCHIP declined by an estimated 163,000, said >> Berman, MD, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado in >> Boulder. Six states, including Colorado, have capped their enrollment levels >> in >> the program, he said. >> " Given [President Bush's] campaign promise to expand SCHIP, he should support >> legislation that allows $1.1 billion to remain allocated to the program, " and >> not allow those funds to revert to the Treasury, Dr. Berman said. >> But a press statement from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) >> disputed charges about Bush's commitment to the SCHIP program and to >> children's health in general. >> " Under President Bush's leadership, childhood vaccinations are at an all-time >> high, more children than ever have health insurance through SCHIP, and we >> have moved aggressively to expand prenatal care for poor women, " said HHS >> Secretary Tommy . He said President Bush is proposing a $1.1 billion >> initiative that partners with community groups, faith-based organizations, >> and >> schools >> to get more children enrolled in the program. >> Support for the estimated 10 million children with disabilities has weakened >> during the Bush Administration, according to Judith Palfrey, MD, a professor >> of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. " The >> uncaring >> policies of the current administration are systematically shattering that >> promise " offered by screening, treatment, and education programs. >> Specifically, Dr. Palfrey cited the Individuals With Disabilities Education >> Act, which provides equal educational opportunities for children with >> developmental disabilities. President Bush has agreed only to " modest >> increases " in the >> program, which has put municipal governments in a financial bind trying to >> make up the shortfall, she added. >> The pediatricians endorsed the child health programs offered by Democratic >> challenger Sen. Kerry (Mass.), who has advocated health insurance >> coverage >> for all children by picking up the full cost of coverage for Medicaid, the >> insurance program for low-income families, and full funding for SCHIP. >> Reviewed by D. Vogin, MD >> >> >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 23, 2004 Report Share Posted November 23, 2004 Hi, Everyone....Has anyone heard of this drug? D-Cycloserine Reduces Social Withdrawal in Patients With Autism NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Nov 17 - Results of a study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry suggest that D-cycloserine significantly improves social withdrawal scores in autistic patients. In a prospective, single-blind study, Dr. J. Posey, of the Riley Hospital for Children, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and colleagues examined the effect of D-cycloserine on social impairment in autistic subjects. After a 2-week placebo lead-in phase, 12 drug-free autistic subjects were administered three different doses of D-cycloserine, each for 2 weeks. Main outcome measures included the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) scale and Aberrant Behavior Checklist. Ten subjects completed the 8-week study. The mean daily doses of D-cycloserine were 30 mg/day (low), 50 mg/day (medium), and 85 mg/day (high). A significant improvement in the CGI scale was seen with D-cycloserine. A post hoc analysis showed that both medium and high doses significantly improved CGI severity ratings from baseline. There was no response with placebo. The response rate with the low dose was 30% and for both the medium and high doses, it was 40%. D-cycloserine was also associated with significant improvement on the Aberrant Behavior Checklist social withdrawal subscale. A post hoc analysis indicated that the ratings following treatment with the highest dose of D-cycloserine were significantly different from baseline. Symptom severity decreased by 60% at this dose. Given these findings, the researchers conclude that " further controlled studies of D-cycloserine in autism appear warranted. " Am J Psychiatry 2004;161:2115-2117. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 24, 2004 Report Share Posted November 24, 2004 sounds very interesting, but have never heard of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 2005 Report Share Posted June 14, 2005 Hey, Margaret...>Tori has slept like that forever...folded in half. She hasn't yet been diagnosed with GERD, but I know alot of kids with Ds that sleep like that. Liz Medscape article > Hi, Everyone....Here's an interesting article on GERD. It makes me wonder > if > that is why I would find Gareth sleeping bent over in half in the middle > of > the night. Maybe it was his way of keeping the acid/burn out of his > throat. > That was in the non-verbal days. > > _http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/505223_3_ > (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/505223_3) > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 2005 Report Share Posted June 14, 2005 GERD or sleep apnea (though perhaps not detectable during a sleeps tudy) are the most common reasons for it. I haven'ta ccessed the article yet, but sleeping folded in half is REALLY frequently reported! j --- Liz D wrote: > Hey, Margaret...>Tori has slept like that > forever...folded in half. She > hasn't yet been diagnosed with GERD, but I know alot > of kids with Ds that > sleep like that. > > Liz > Medscape article > > > > Hi, Everyone....Here's an interesting article on > GERD. It makes me wonder > > if > > that is why I would find Gareth sleeping bent over > in half in the middle > > of > > the night. Maybe it was his way of keeping the > acid/burn out of his > > throat. > > That was in the non-verbal days. > > > > _http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/505223_3_ > > (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/505223_3) > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > Checkout our homepage for information, > bookmarks, and photos > > of our kids. Share favorite bookmarks, ideas, and > other information by > > including them. Don't forget, messages are a > permanent record of the > > archives for our list. > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ > > -------------------------------------------- > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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