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Shanghai To Relax One-Child Policy As China Faces Aging Population, Shrinking Work Force
Nearly three decades after China implemented its one-child policy, the city of Shanghai is planning to encourage young couples to have a second child in an effort to address the country"s aging population and shrinking work force, the New York Times reports. The city"s plan is the most public effort made by the government to counteract a program that is "considered both a tremendous success and a terrible failure," the Times reports. The policy has managed to keep population growth under control but also has led to forced abortions, according to the Times.The country is not abandoning the one-child policy, which applies mostly to residents in urban areas. Rather, the government is allowing more exceptions to the rule, with Shanghai -- where about 22% of its 20 million residents are older than age 60 -- leading the effort. China as a whole faces a similar problem seen in Shanghai, the Times reports. About 8% of the country"s population was older than age 65 in 2006. That figure is expected to increase threefold by 2050 to about 322 million people, or nearly 25% of the population, according to the United Nations.In Friday"s issue of China Daily, Xie Lingli, director of the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission, was quoted as saying, "We advocate eligible couples to have two kids because it can help reduce the proportion of the aging people and alleviate a work force shortage in the future." City officials plan to visit homes, pass out leaflets, and offer counseling and financial incentives, the Times reports. Current exceptions to the one-child policy are in place for ethnic minorities and rural residents, who can have a second child if the first child is a girl. Couples made up of two parents who have no siblings have always been allowed to have a second child and are now being encouraged to do so (Barboza, New York Times, 7/24).
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Medical Study Establishes First-Ever Long-Term Benefits For Macular Degeneration Sufferers Using Macular Health Vitamin Supplement
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), age-related macular degeneration (AMD) ranks third as a cause of visual impairment. It is the primary cause of visual impairment in industrial countries with a blindness prevalence of 8.7 percent. A new medical study indicates, however, that with the use of the Macular Health vitamin supplement there is a way to preserve the vision of millions of aging adults suffering from AMD.
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Opinion Pieces Comment On Obama's Notre Dame Speech, Abortion Debate
Several newspapers recently published opinion pieces regarding President Obama"s commencement address at the University of Notre Dame. Summaries appear below.~ Cal Thomas, Washington Times: "Put aside the question of whether" Notre Dame should have invited President Obama to speak at its commencement ceremony on Sunday and "[f]ocus, instead, on [his] remarks and whether he is serious, or can be made so, about actually reducing the number of abortions in America," syndicated columnist Thomas writes in a Washington Times opinion piece. "Don"t put aside, however, the argument that there is only one reason to even want to reduce the number of abortions and that is that what is being killed, terminated, evacuated (choose your term) is, in fact, human life," Thomas adds. "In speaking of "original sin," the president hit upon why abortion has been so easily tolerated for so long," he writes, adding that Obama "spoke of "self-interest" and "crass materialism" but did so in the context of economics, not abortion." Thomas reports that Obama called for making adoption ""more available"" and providing ""care and support for women who do carry their children to term."" Thomas notes that Obama"s speech also included "an appeal for discussion and respect for people with different views," which was "a good beginning, but the ending is what counts, and the initial actions of this president when it comes to abortion and stem cell research have not been pro-life" (Thomas, Washington Times, 5/19).~ Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times: After his commencement address at Notre Dame, "it"s now clear that the president is the rhetorical equivalent of a "money player,"" which is the "kind of competitor who steps up and delivers in the big games," Rutten writes in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece. Notre Dame"s invitation for Obama to speak at commencement and receive an honorary degree "bec[a]me an engine of controversy" because of protests from "reductionists," or conservative Catholics "who insist on bringing the broad sweep of Catholic social morality down to a single issue -- abortion," Rutten writes. However, Obama "negotiated the situation with remarkable ease," Rutten continues, adding that Obama was "speaking … to three audiences far from South Bend on Sunday." The first audience was the "crucial bloc of Catholic voters who seem to be looking for ways to remain in the Democratic Party," he writes. In addition, Obama was speaking to "those Catholic Democrats in public office ... who are under intense pressure from the reductionist bishops in their home dioceses" and to the U.S. Senate, which will likely ask Obama"s Supreme Court nominee about his or her views on abortion during confirmation hearings, Rutten continues. He concludes, "Even in Washington"s charged partisan atmosphere, it will be hard to ignore the president"s call for civility at Notre Dame" (Rutten, Los Angeles Times, 5/20).~ Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune: Obama "appropriately promoted" the "ability of adversaries to work together on mutual interests" in his commencement address, Page writes in a Tribune opinion piece. Page adds that the speech was "classic Obama the pragmatist: Look past ideology, try to ignore disagreements and work together on mutual interests." Obama said that "at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable," Page writes, adding that it is "because Americans hold no values more dear than "life" and "choice."" Page adds that "[i]n the abortion debate, those values clash head-on." However, Obama"s "eloquent come-together oratory enabled him to leave the university like a hero, even though he glossed over the thorny specifics that drive wedges between people of goodwill when words are hammered into law," Page continues. "For now, by focusing on civility, the president apparently hopes to defuse the abortion powder keg long enough to address his higher priorities," Page writes, concluding, "The economy, national security and health care are going to be tough fight
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New Democrat Coalition Proposes Independent Panel To Oversee Comparative Effectiveness Research

Members of the moderate New Democrat Coalition on Tuesday proposed legislation (HR 2502) that would establish a non-governmental, independent office to oversee research efforts to compare the effectiveness of medical treatments, CQ HealthBeat reports. The bill would create the Health Care Comparative Effectiveness Research Institute, which would use money remaining from the $1.1 billion included in the economic stimulus package for comparative effectiveness research and additional funding from fees on Medicare and private insurers. HCCERI would be overseen by a 21-member board -- appointed by the U.S. Comptroller General -- that would include HHS officials, patients, physicians, private insurers and others (Norman, CQ HealthBeat, 5/19). In contrast, a panel to oversee comparative effectiveness research established by a provision in the stimulus bill would be made up of government health experts (Mundy, "Washington Wire," Wall Street Journal, 5/19). According to CQ HealthBeat, some people have raised concerns that comparative effectiveness research funded by the stimulus bill would result in research that could be used to deny coverage for certain treatments and that cost would factor disproportionately in such decisions. Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.), who introduced the bill, said HCCERI"s goal would be to ensure that medical decisions remain between physicians and patients and that both doctors and patients have the most understandable information possible to make such decisions. HCCERI also would make public its methods for deciding which research projects to approve, as well as any links the institute has to industry, its research protocols and the names of researchers. HCCERI would accept public comment before creating new research guidelines, and all research would be subject to peer review. In addition, HCCERI in commissioning studies would take steps to account for differences in patients" gender, race, age and ethnicity (CQ HealthBeat, 5/19).Schrader said that the bill "will bring patients, along with health care providers, physicians and industry, to the decision-making process," adding, "By having a seat at the table, the American people will help drive the direction of research based on what is most important to them" ("Washington Wire," Wall Street Journal, 5/19). Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) said that New Democrats seek to lower costs and improve quality of care, so "the most important thing we can do is to incentivize innovation and to provide that information on the best practices and best interventions and get that information out to providers." Industry Reaction Tony Coelho -- chair of the Partnership To Improve Patient Care, which represents patients, physicians, advocacy groups and industry members such as the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America -- endorsed the legislation but said that comparative effectiveness research could potentially restrict patients" ability to choose between different treatments. He added, "My concern as a patient is that cost containment will become the main goal" (CQ HealthBeat, 5/19). Merck also released a statement in support of the bill. However, Voices for Physicians, a group affiliated with the Center for American Progress, said physicians must be able to access comparative effectiveness information that has not been influenced by the drug, hospital or insurance industries ("Washington Wire," Wall Street Journal, 5/19). Schrader said that HCCERI would employ strict guidelines to curb conflicts of interest and industry bias (CQ HealthBeat, 5/19). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. © 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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