Health Care

Only one day after the high court decided to hear the case, there is political pressure from both sides of the aisle calling for both Justice Elena Kagan and Clarence Thomas to recuse themselves from a Supreme Court decision on the Obama administration’s health reform law.

Conservatives are calling for Kagan, a more liberal voter, to recuse herself because of her work as a solicitor general in the Obama administration in which she had to push in favor of the healthcare reform. Among those calling for her to recuse herself is Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch (R), a longtime staple of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Hatch told The Hill that “it would be most appropriate for Kagan to decline participation in cases on healthcare reform,” because of her role as solicitor general.

Right-leaning groups such as the Media Research Center and Judicial Watch pushed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release an email exchange between Kagan and Supreme Court litigator Professor Laurence Tribe who was then serving in the DOJ. more >>

The United States Supreme Court announced Monday that it would hear a challenge to the controversial health care law pushed through Congress by the Obama administration in March 2010. The ruling would most likely come in 2012 and could play a pivotal role in the presidential election.

The National Association of Independent Business and two individuals and 25 states filed the case that will be heard by the court. The challenge involves the constitutionality of certain provisions and the part requiring individuals to purchase healthcare insurance by 2014, or face a financial penalty.

Paul Clement, an attorney for the 26 states contesting the law, had urged the Supreme Court to step in and resolve the “grace constitutional questions surrounding the Affordable Care Act.” more >>

Christian health care providers were given the opportunity to express their concerns to Congress on Wednesday regarding a mandate that forces them to provide their insurers with contraception coverage.

The rule was passed last year as part of President Obama’s controversial health care overhaul. It is scheduled to go into effect next August. The overhaul package includes numerous components designed to improve women’s health. However, religious health care providers say that by mandating they provide contraception coverage, Congress is infringing on their religious rights.

“I think some members (of Congress) were generally receptive to our message. However, others were very opposed to it. The opposition believes that government should provide contraceptives and sterilization methods to citizens. This violates our religious beliefs,” William Cox, CEO of Alliance of Catholic Health Care, told The Christian Post. more >>

Thousands of Americans affected by Alzheimer's disease are expected to march through Washington D.C. next month for the "Walk to End Alzheimer's." Organized by the Alzheimer's Association, the event will converge on the National Mall Nov. 5 and raise awareness and funds for combating the neurological malady.

"There has never been a greater need for the citizens of the metro Washington region to join in the fight against Alzheimer's disease by participating in the 'Walk to End Alzheimer's,'" said Susan Kudla Finn, president and CEO of the Association's National Capital Area chapter. "Funds raised will provide care and support services to the 80,000 local residents living with Alzheimer's and their families and caregivers, while also contributing to advancing critically-needed research."

Cindy Schelhorn, the Association's director of communications and marketing for its National Capital Area chapter, said Alzheimer's remains the nation's sixth largest cause of death given it lacks a cure. It causes dementia and memory loss in its victims, eventually resulting in death. Some 5.4 million Americans are currently diagnosed with the sickness, Schelhorn added, a number that could become some 16 million by 2050 without a cure. more >>

The Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program, part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (2010), also known as “Obamacare,” was intended to provide for the cost of long-term care for the elderly. In a letter to Congress on Friday, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the program is fiscally unsustainable and will have to be abandoned.

Affordable Care Act opponents argue that Sebelius' action signals the unraveling of the health care law. Proponents argue that the failure of CLASS is due to the lack of a mandate, which is present in the main part of the Affordable Care Act.

CLASS would have provided for nursing home care, home health care and rehabilitation for serious injuries. Medicare will only pay for these services for a short period. Medicaid will pay for the services, but only the poor are eligible for Medicaid. Since long-term care can be expensive, many families will exhaust all their savings before becoming eligible for Medicaid coverage. more >>

The outbreak of listeria stemming from tainted cantaloupes has claimed two more lives, making it the deadliest outbreak of foodborne illness in the United States in more than 25 years.

The two additional deaths from the outbreak were reported in Louisiana and raise the total of deaths from the contaminated cantaloupes up to 23.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that 116 people have been sickened in the outbreak, including those who have died, according to the Associated Press. more >>