| Michigan Congressmen Dingell, Kildee endorse Clinton for president
LANSING, Mich. - Hillary Rodham Clinton picked up endorsements Wednesday from two veteran Michigan congressmen, adding to her cache of potential superdelegates should Michigan and Florida prevail in their effort to be counted at the Democratic National Convention in August. Democrats John Dingell and Dale Kildee said Clinton has the experience and skills to become president. The lawmakers were uncommitted in Michigan's primary last month. Dingell, first elected in 1955, is longest serving member of either party in the House. As chairman of the House Energy and Committee, he was a key ally of the former first lady in her unsuccessful 1994 effort to pass health care reform legislation. In making his endorsement, Dingell said he's impressed by the energy and enthusiasm Illinois Sen.
Minnesotans could save billions in health care costs, task force says
Gov. Tim Pawlenty said there's much he likes in the wide-ranging recommendations he received Tuesday from a task force he appointed to find ways to improve health care in Minnesota. But he stopped short of endorsing some of the panel's recommendations, such as requiring Minnesotans to buy health insurance or raising the cigarette "health-impact fee" to discourage smoking. "I think we've done enough to smokers for now" by banning smoking in most bars and restaurants and adding the 75-cent fee, he said. And requiring everyone to have insurance might "criminalize poor people" who can't afford it, he added. Still, Pawlenty said the task force report "can be the framework for a significant health care reform initiative in Minnesota." The broad range of recommendations would link doctors, hospitals, employers, patients, insurers, schools, communities and policy makers in initiatives aimed at paring $12.3 billion from health care costs otherwise projected to soar from about $30 billion now to $57.4 billion by 2015.
19 deaths at VA traced to poor care
ST. LOUIS - Substandard care at a southern Illinois Veterans Affairs hospital may have contributed to 19 deaths over the past two years, a VA official said Monday as he apologized to affected families and pledged reform. The hospital in Marion, Ill., initially drew scrutiny over deaths connected to a single surgeon, but two federal reports found fault with five other doctors. The hospital undertook many surgeries that its staffing or lack of proper surgical expertise made it ill-equipped to handle, and hospital administrators were too slow to respond once problems surfaced, said Dr. Michael Kussman, U.S. veterans affairs undersecretary for health. .
Massachusetts Group Launches Campaign To Regulate Drug Maker Marketing
The newly formed Massachusetts Prescription Reform Coalition on Thursday announced an effort to curb pharmaceutical industry marketing in an attempt to bring down drug costs and health spending, the Boston Globe reports. The group contends that rapid drug spending growth is putting Massachusetts' health care law in jeopardy and hindering other initiatives to expand health insurance in the state.
The coalition has three objectives:
Prohibit gifts from drug makers to health care professionals who prescribe drugs;
Ban data-mining; and
Create a drug education program to provide unbiased information to physicians.The coalition was created by Health Care for All, and its members include AARP, the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, the American Heart Association, the American Stroke Association, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Neighborhood Health Plan.
Service award for Cherokee businesses Email this page Print this page
CNE's 3,200 employees donated more than 2,600 pounds of canned food to needy families during the winter holidays and countless toys to children in the Cherokee Nation Angel Tree program and the Hope House Crisis Center of Adair County. Cherokee Casino Resort has also hosted external fundraising drives benefiting CancerSucks.com and Therapetics Service Dogs of Oklahoma.
Other events include: biking in the MS150 Bike Ride benefiting the Multiple Sclerosis Society; walking in Relay for Life benefiting the American Cancer Society; cleaning up the vandalized Kansas, Okla., American Legion Hall; and taking part in cleanup efforts for two casino Adopt-A-Highway sponsorships and a citywide cleanup day for Catoosa. Cherokee Casinos also hold numerous blood drives throughout the year collecting vital blood supplies for the American Red Cross.
|
