Medical Professional Urges Doctors To Treat H1N1 Early

John DuBois, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

Dr. Nikki Shindo of the World Health Organization encouraged clinicians Friday not to delay treatment of patients who show symptoms of the H1N1 virus. According to Shindo, treatment at early stage can stop the spread of virus.

"Do not delay the treatment, because sometimes clinician’s tend to wait... and this causes [an] unfortunate delay," said Shindo during a press conference.

"The influenza virus is stable.That means this vaccine is matching the circulating virus," Shindo added. "We expect adequate prevention and protection by the use of influenza vaccine."

Lieberman, Akaka And Collins Make Bipartisan Call For Equal Federal Benefits For Same-Sex Couples

By John DuBois, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) established a bipartisan front Tuesday in favor of the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act .

“We must ensure that the Federal Government has the tools it needs to compete with the private sector and attract the best and the brightest to serve our country. Simply stated, providing domestic partner benefits to federal employees makes sound business sense,” Akaka said during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing with Rep. Tammy Baldwin and Director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management John Berry.

The federal government currently offers its employees and their dependents more than three hundred health insurance plans and subsidizes health insurance premiums, but does not cover same sex couples partners. Under the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, employees for the federal government who are in same-sex unions can receive the same benefits.

"[We] introduced this bill because we believe it is the fair and right thing to do, and also because it makes sense for the federal government as an employer,” said Lieberman.

House Republicans Say New Health Care Proposal Threatens Medicare Recipients

John DuBois, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

A number of House Republicans argued Wednesday that cutting medicare funding will put both the program and its recipients in danger.

Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said that the belief that the U.S. will be able to cut medicare funding without negative consequences is "the biggest fallacy in this new plan as we move forward."

Blunt said he was also concerned that the cuts would take money away from senior citizens who already have pre-paid into Medicare, a move Blunt says “will damage the system."

“It’s inappropriate to reduce the foundation of medicare in order to pay for a new government health plan,” Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) added.

Black Mayors Group Joins Forces With The House Majority Leader To Call For Health Care Reform

John DuBois, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Representatives from the organiztion Maryland Black Mayors appeared on Capitol Hill Tuesday to show their support for health care reform, citing the need for cancer screenings, increased diabetes testing and funding for health care outcome research that takes race into account.

"The impact of not having an affordable health care option negatively impacts the community, and threatens the economic recovery of the municipalities in our state," said Seat Pleasant Mayor Eugene Grant.

The mayors were joined by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

"Health care is a necessity.....we need health care that’s affordable and accessible," said Hoyer. "That’s what this legislation is about and that’s why these Mayors are here today.”

Gehpardt: U.S. Innovators In Dire Need Of Investors.

John DuBois, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Although the U.S. is a leader in medical science and technology, it is being outpaced by competing countries like India and China. That is the opinion of former Democratic house leader Richard Gehpardt who led a paneled discussion today in Washington, D.C. on medical innovation, venture capitalism and patient treatment.

Gephardt is the chairman of the council for medical innovation. “The future of medical innovation in the U.S. is directly tied to our ability to encourage American Businesses to invest in science and technology and take important risks,” he said.

Gephardt said CAMI is working toward a national policy agenda for preserving U.S. leader status in medical innovation. The agenda includes increasing incentives for investment in research development, increasing investment in the life sciences and ensuring that the U.S. maintains a highly skilled and trained workforce.

American innovators face significant barriers to success, Gehpardt said. Those barriers include: "A lack of adequate capital to see their ideas through from start to finish; a prolonged and expensive regulatory pathway for new medicines, bilogics and devices (and a lack of adequate incentives to enter the market and compete," he said. " The key to U.S. economic recovery and jobs, as well as promoting the health of our citizens, is innovation and we must not only invest more resources here, but also create a legal and regulatory environment that includes strong incentives and allows medical innovation to thrive."