The News Review:
- Liberia: Health Accounts Targets Govt Spending
- Health Tip: Help Your Child’s Cognitive Development
- Kids’ Health Insurance Plan Moves Forward
- Vaccines’ benefits outweigh dangers
- Canada can do more for kids’ health: report
- Must you buy health insurance?
Liberia: Health Accounts Targets Govt Spending
AllAfrica.com – Mar 26, 2008
He said spending on trained traditional midwives, emergency obstetric services and expenditures on contraceptive commodities would also be considered by the NHA. Harris said some of the key policy issues that would be addressed by the NHA include child health delivery which should be freed and malaria controlled. He said the collection of data for the formulation of a unique health policy would be drawn from existing information, government executed budget and health information system (HIS) data. Upon completion, the implementation of the NHA plan would be led by the Department of Planning and Research of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare while the Ministries of Finance and Planning as well as the World Health Organization and Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services would serve on the technical committee to ensure smooth implementation of the plan. Health and Social Welfare Minister Dr. Walter Gweningale expressed thanks and appreciation to his staff, UNICEF, World Bank including other ministries for their technical and financial supports toward the formulation of the NHA.
Health Tip: Help Your Child’s Cognitive Development
Forbes – Mar 26, 2008
08, 8:00 PM ET(HealthDay News) — Cognitive development refers to fostering aperson’s ability to think and reason. In a child’s case,it’s an important part of his or her emotional and mentalgrowth. The Lucile-Packard Children's Hospital offers thesesuggestions to encourage your adolescent child's cognitivedevelopment: Talk to your child about adult, complex topics such aspolitics, world issues and current events. Encourage discussions where the child can express thoughts,ideas and opinions. Encourage the child to develop personal goals, opinions andideas. Recognize and praise the child for making good, well-planneddecisions, and help the child learn from mistakes. Teach the child to think about and plan for the future, thepossibilities that lie ahead, and how to best reach personalgoals… In a child’s case,it’s an important part of his or her emotional and mentalgrowth. The Lucile-Packard Children's Hospital offers thesesuggestions to encourage your adolescent child's cognitivedevelopment: Talk to your child about adult, complex topics such aspolitics, world issues and current events. Encourage discussions where the child can express thoughts,ideas and opinions. Encourage the child to develop personal goals, opinions andideas. Recognize and praise the child for making good, well-planneddecisions, and help the child learn from mistakes. Teach the child to think about and plan for the future, thepossibilities that lie ahead, and how to best reach personalgoals.
Kids’ Health Insurance Plan Moves Forward
Washington Post – Mar 26, 2008
"Maryland ranks 31st in the nation in the number of uninsured children, at 10 percent, Mizeur said. The Kids First Act leaves open the possibility of a mandate. If more than 3 percent of children remain uninsured in Maryland by 2010, state health officials will study a program that disqualifies parents for the child tax exemption. The measure also calls for another study of how to make health coverage more affordable for children whose parents earn too much for subsidized insurance but too little to afford premiums, particularly if they are self-employed.
Vaccines’ benefits outweigh dangers
Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscripti… – Mar 26, 2008
Furthermore, our efforts in vaccines, developmental disabilities and the health of children go far beyond our professional interests, as many of the dedicated professionals involved are also parents and grandparents. Kirby’s column included many inaccuracies related to childhood vaccines. As such, it illustrates that when it comes to immunizations, child development and specific medical conditions, the best source of guidance is the child’s health care provider. Parents should not be reluctant to ask their child’s doctors or nurses about any health concerns, including immunizations. Vaccines are often given early in life in order to protect against diseases that can seriously harm infants and young children. The joint immunization recommendations of CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Family Physicians do recognize there are instances when a child should not receive a recommended vaccine or when a recommended vaccination should be delayed. Those decisions, however, are best made in consultation with the child’s doctor… Furthermore, our efforts in vaccines, developmental disabilities and the health of children go far beyond our professional interests, as many of the dedicated professionals involved are also parents and grandparents. Kirby’s column included many inaccuracies related to childhood vaccines. As such, it illustrates that when it comes to immunizations, child development and specific medical conditions, the best source of guidance is the child’s health care provider. Parents should not be reluctant to ask their child’s doctors or nurses about any health concerns, including immunizations. Vaccines are often given early in life in order to protect against diseases that can seriously harm infants and young children. The joint immunization recommendations of CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Family Physicians do recognize there are instances when a child should not receive a recommended vaccine or when a recommended vaccination should be delayed. Those decisions, however, are best made in consultation with the child’s doctor.
Canada can do more for kids’ health: report
CTV.ca – Mar 26, 2008
Leitch was appointed last March, and spent the first part of her mandate travelling across the country and meeting with parents and people in organizations that are related to children and youth health. She reviewed about 500 documents, and had responses from more than 7,200 parents to an online questionnaire. “It’s really a bringing together of what Canadian parents, children and people in the child health field believe is the direction that the government of Canada should be going,” said Leitch, who is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon in London, Ont. Leitch recommends a longitudinal cohort study to provide data to help understand environmental factors that have an impact on health. This would involve repeated observations of the same children over a period of about 10 years. The recommendations to counter obesity encourage after-school programs and call for a ban on junk food advertising on programming aimed at children under 12 by 2010. In the area of incentives and supports for parents, she said the new children’s fitness tax credit aimed at parents with kids in certain recreational programs, such as soccer and hockey, is a move in the right direction.
Must you buy health insurance?
Christian Science Monitor – Mar 26, 2008
Accordingly, neither federal nor state governments can require you to purchase health insurance as a “condition” for residency. The Supreme Court has drawn a distinction between requirements that are flat-out imposed by government and those imposed as a condition for discretionary benefits. The health insurance mandate proposed by Clinton is similar to the one enacted in Massachusetts under former Gov. Mitt Romney and the plan proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for California. These “unfunded mandates” are unlike any form of government regulation we’ve seen. In making the case for her plan to mandate private health insurance, Clinton said in a recent Democratic debate that not doing so “would be as though Franklin Roosevelt said, ‘Let’s make Social Security voluntary,’ or if President [Lyndon] Johnson said, ‘Let’s make Medicare voluntary… These constitutional rights aren’t absolute. Given a compelling enough reason, government can interfere with your person and property. It can require, for instance, that your child be vaccinated before attending public school. But there is usually an opt-out, such as private or home schooling. We are not aware of any opt-outs for most people in the mandatory health insurance plans being discussed. There are far more sensible and constitutional ways to provide health coverage. Government-funded insurance (such as Medicare or single-payer insurance) or regulation and tax subsidies to encourage voluntary participation (as in Obama’s plan) both contain costs more efficiently and avoid the slippery slope of unconstitutional mandates.
