This page features links to the best independent, progressive reporting about health care reform from members of The Media Consortium. For the best progressive reporting on critical economy, environment and immigration-related issues, check out The Audit, The Mulch and The Diaspora.
featured post
Weekly Pulse: DIY Abortions on the Border, Pawlenty Screws MN on Sex Ed
by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
Women on along U.S.-Mexico border are buying black market misoprostol to induce abortions, according to a new report by Laura Tillman in the Nation. The drug is easily available over the counter in Mexico.
DIY abortion is cheaper—a bottle of misoprostol costs can cost as little as $70, a fraction of the price of a medical abortion. The DIY approach can also be more convenient and private. One abortion provider told Tillman that about 20% of his patients tried misoprostol before coming to see him.
He estimates that many others took the drug successfully. Misoprostol is about 80%-85% effective when used as directed, but if it doesn’t work the woman needs immediate medical help. Potential complications include severe bleeding and uterine rupture. For more information on misoprostol abortions, see last week’s edition of the Weekly Pulse. READ MORE…
from our members
- Who Should Pay for Illegal Immigrants' Health Care?
MOTHER JONES: Advocates for tighter immigration restrictions frequently rail against illegal immigrants for availing themselves of social services like education and publicly supported health care, arguing that they are overburdening taxpayers and utilizing scarce resources. They've succeeded in maintaining a ban on government health coverage for illegal immigrants, for instance, and have tried to implement more draconian measures on the state level. - White House touts benefits of health care reform in Michigan
MICHIGAN MESSENGER: The Obama administration released a series of reports Wednesday touting the immediate benefits to every state as a result of the passage of the health care reform bill. Though many provisions of the bill are not in effect yet, the administration points to several provisions that are in effect or soon will be that will make health care more accessible and affordable. - State now offering insurance to high-risk individuals
MICHIGAN MESSENGER: After receiving $140 million in federal funds for the program, the state of Michigan is now accepting applications for health insurance from high-risk applicants with pre-existing conditions. But it won’t be cheap. - The irony of health care subsidies
MICHIGAN MESSENGER: Troy Reimink of the Grand Rapids Press notes a bit of irony, the fact that the state of Michigan is receiving subsidies to pay for the health care of early retirees — money authorized by the health care reform bill that Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox is suing to have struck down in federal court. - Social Security cuts threaten low-income Americans more
IOWA INDEPENDENT: This summer, Social Security – the government program that provides a steady check for seniors – turned 75. In Washington, lawmakers celebrated its platinum anniversary not with champagne, but with a heated argument over whether to reform the costly entitlement program by slashing benefits or raising the retirement age. - The Cost of Delayed Reform
THE AMERICAN PROSPECT: Several million Americans without insurance face the challenges of cancer, heart failure, or other serious illnesses. As of 2014, they'll receive coverage through a new and inclusive system of health-insurance exchanges, affordability credits, and other measures, but what happens to them in the interim? - Feedback Sought on New OR Health Reform Plan
PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE: Oregon had been working on a plan to improve its health care system even before the new federal health care reform law was passed, and this month residents can get an update on the progress. Wednesday, Sept. 1, in Corvallis is the first of six Oregon Health Policy Board meetings around the state to gather opinions about how the system should work.
earlier from the consortium report
Weekly Pulse: Stem Cell Hell, Bad Eggs, and DIY Abortions
by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that all federally funded human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research is illegal, thereby throwing the scientific community into turmoil. The judge decided that any experiments on these cells is research “in which a human embryo is to be harmed or destroyed,” and... Read More
Weekly Pulse: Insurance, Dispersants, and Teen Botox
by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
Is the IV Bag half-empty or half-full? Theda Skocpol, the author of a forthcoming book on President Barack Obama’s health care reforms, argues in the Nation that progressives are underrating reform.
Skocpal urges progressives to get over their disappointment over the lack of a public health insurance option and rally... Read More
Weekly Pulse: Killer Summer Heatwaves, Air Pollution and Winger Docs
by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
“The average death rate in the city during normal times is between 360 to 380 people a day. Today, we have around 700. This is no secret. Everyone thinks we are trying to keep it secret. Look, it is 40 degrees Celsius on the street,” Andrei Seltsovsky,... Read More
Weekly Pulse: GOP Kills Health Care for 9/11 Workers, Rails at “Ground Zero Mosque”
by Lindsay Beyerstein, Media Consortium blogger
Last Thursday, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) launched into a righteous tirade against the GOP’s attempts to derail a health care package for 9/11 first responders. His House floor antics became an instant viral video classic. Weiner and the House Dems were trying to pass a $7 billion health care assistance... Read More