Hooray for the House! Health reform passes!

They say the first step is always the hardest, and when it comes to health reform, that first step is almost like trying to walk through quicksand. But in the wee hours of last night in the U.S. House of Representatives, lawmakers managed to wrangle the votes to pass H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, in a squeaker vote of 220 to 215.

While the health reform process is far from over — next it’s up to the Senate to vote on their version of a bill — the House bill would expand coverage to 96 percent of all Americans, bar insurance companies from discriminating based on pre-existing medical conditions, create a public option insurance program and provide billions of dollars in prevention and wellness funds. Hooray for the House!

(Although there is a bit of a “boo” in the House bill: An amendment passed that would restrict access to reproductive health services both in the private insurance market and in the proposed public option. According to advocates such as Planned Parenthood, the amendment is an “unacceptable addition to the health care reform bill that, if enacted, would result in women losing health benefits they have today.”)

Wanna find out more and take some action? Read APHA’s news release and visit our health reform page.

Students speak out

Even though this blogger considers herself entrenched in public health and policy, I still haven’t quite figured out where I stand on the current health reform bill passed by the House of Representatives last night. Of course, I favor increased access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans, but will this bill do that? I just don’t know. So, I asked attendees at the APHA Student Assembly meeting in Philly what they think.

Veronyca Washington, a second-year MSPH candidate at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, said she’s skeptical this bill can change the whole structure of the health care system.

“The health care industry is profit-driven, and it’s hard to change that dynamic,” she said.

Washington’s interest is in prevention — something that too often gets lost in the medical side of the health system. After all, hospitals get paid when a cardiologist performs a triple bypass, not when heart disease is prevented in the first place. It’s more complicated to orient the system toward one that promotes health over economics.

Arlene Burns, of the DuPage County, Ill., Health Department, agreed.

“The health care system has been in place for years, and they are trying to rush it through too quickly,” she said.

Even though the current system is dysfunctional, Burns said opposition to the bill is to be expected.

The latest political hostage in the reform debate is coverage of abortion under a proposed public option insurance program. An amendment, which passed last night, would block people receiving federal subsidies for health insurance from buying policies that cover abortion services.
Tahra Johnson, an MPH student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., said she understands the opposition to public funding of abortions. She identifies herself as pro-choice, and feels that abortions should be available as an option on private insurance plans or for people willing to pay out of pocket, but she said it shouldn’t be paid for with taxpayer money.

What about you, reader? What do you think about the health reform bill that passed last night on Capitol Hill? C’mon, we know you have an opinion — show it off in the comments sections below.

— P.T.

Above, a student takes to the mic during Saturday's Student Assembly meeting. Photo courtesy Jim Ezell/EZ Event Photography

Reunited and it feels so good

During Saturday night's Committee on Affiliates annual reception, members from APHA's 53 affiliated state and regional public health associations partied the night away, honoring the achievements of some of the nation's best and brightest public health advocates and workers.

Photos courtesy Jim Ezell/EZ Event Photography

Sunday's Have You Heard

Launch!: Join your fellow public health fans in Hall C of the Pennsylvania Convention Center for the Opening Session of APHA’s 137th Annual Meeting. Plus, we’ve got some new speakers for ya. In addition to famed ocean explorer Celine Cousteau and Pan American Health Organization Director Mirta Roses Periago, we’ve got newly confirmed U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson. And immediately following what is sure to be an inspirational kick-off, will be the opening of the Public Health Expo (read: free goodies!).

Expo-licious: Because who’s not interested in free goodies? Pile on into the Public Health Expo, which opens after the Opening Session in Exhibit Hall A/B of the convention center, and peruse hundreds of booths, from schools of public health to federal and state health agencies to public health-related vendors and non-profits. And don’t miss Everything APHA, located in the center of the expo (I know — shameless self-promotion, right? But it’s a fabulous resource, offering all the information you ever wanted about APHA, a chance to meet APHA staff, opportunities to meet potential employers via APHA’s Public Health CareerMart, and of course, the place to go for APHA merchandise, publications, books, and much more. Trust me — it’s definitely worth a swing-by.)

Get a grip: Feeling a tad overwhelmed as you were handed a meeting program the size of a small phonebook? Eyes glazing over as you try to focus in on one of hundreds of scientific sessions? Disappointed that you may not get to indulge in all of your public health passions in just four days? Take a breather and get organized at the APHA Member Orientation for the Annual Meeting, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in 111B of the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Peace be with you: Need a remedy for first-day weariness? Carve out a moment of personal reflection at the Celebrating the Spirit of APHA Interfaith Celebration, sponsored by APHA’s Caucus on Public Health and the Faith Community, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Franklin 1 of the Marriott Hotel. The event features moments of reflections from a variety of faiths, including Wicca, Bahai and Rastafarianism.

To market, to market

Craving homemade pumpkin cookies with cream cheese icing, a gargantuan dill pickle, a famous Philly cheesesteak or coffee chocolate chip granola? How about salmon and tilapia with tomatoes, capers and spinach, a pulled pork sandwich or an Asian pear? If you’re hungry, head over to the Reading Terminal Market just across the street from the Philadelphia Convention Center at the corner of 12th and Arch streets. Be prepared, though, to have a tough time deciding what to eat.

I recommend taking a walk around to survey the place before making any hasty decisions. But knowing more than 10,000 of us are in town, expect a crush of people, especially around the candy shops, cheesesteak stands, bakeries and produce marts.

Start healthy at Iovine’s Produce or Fair Food Farmstand, where all the produce is organic or grown with minimum pesticide use on farms no farther than 25 miles from downtown Philly. They also offer fresh local cheeses, yogurts and apple cider, raw milk, eggs, poultry and meats. You can pick up a bunch of organic rainbow carrots for $4 (they’re orange, white and purple, but all taste like a traditional orange carrot), choose from 15 different types of apples or experiment with a head of cheddar cauliflower (it’s the color of cheddar cheese, but still tastes like cauliflower).

Saturday’s $7 meal special at Pearl’s Oyster Bar was cod on a roll, a cup of chowder and a medium soda. Beker’s Bakery is like many of the Amish-run establishments that are only open Monday-Saturday, but if you have time, walk by for the heavenly smell of fresh-baked sticky buns and dinner rolls. Metropolitan Bakery will be open tomorrow and sells a satisfying and vegan French lentil walnut salad. Their rustic wood shelves are also stocked with flour-dusted rolls of fresh bread, everything from cracked wheat to pumpkin pecan cranberry, walnut, chocolate cherry and New York rye.

I’m a candy fan, so I had to stop at Chocolate by Mueller, where there are more than 20 varieties of licorice (soft and sweet, hard and salty, you name it), jaw breakers the size of a softball alongside white rock candy, Swedish fish, and chocolate noses (the sign says, “I thought you said a dozen noses!”).

Beck’s Cajun Café offers vegetarian black-eyed pea soup and also gator gumbo (made with alligator sausage!) and crawfish etouffee. You can find authentic Japanese fare at Tokyo Sushi, southern cuisine and everyday soul at Delilah’s, Indian and Pakistani cuisine at Nanee’s Kitchen and two scoops of world-famous ice cream for $3.23 at Basetts, where they also sell dry ice so you can bring some pistachio, pralines and cream or cinnamon ice cream back to your hotel for a late-night snack.

And, sure, the food’s the big draw, but the market also features the “Best Shoe Shine in Philly” at the Shoe Doctor, a new/used bookstore and vendors selling hand-made pottery, jewelry and crafts. Philbert, the metal pig statue in the middle of the market, has an open mouth for donations “to provide affordable and nutritious food for children in needy communities” if you’re looking for a spot to drop your spare change.

Market hours are 8 a.m.–6 p.m. Monday–Saturday and 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Sundays.

What about you, fair reader? Got any good suggestions for quick bites during the meeting?

— D.C.

Top photo: Philbert the pig beckons donations from Reading Market Terminal customers. Middle photo: A young man entertains the market crowds. Bottom photo: An APHA Annual Meeting blogger shows off her colorful market carrots.

Students tackle health reform

Inside the beltway, outside the beltway, on CNN, in town hall meetings and on the opinion pages, health reform has been front and center on the national stage in recent months.

The same was true at Saturday’s APHA Student Assembly meeting, “Looking Back, Moving Forward: Transforming the U.S. Health Care System.” Prior to the official kick-off of the APHA 137th Annual Meeting tomorrow here at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, about 150 students from public health programs across the country spent their afternoon engaging with expert speakers and networking with peers.

Glenna Krooks, PhD, a health care consultant who founded the Philadelphia-based Strategic Health Policy International Inc., told the student attendees that we should ditch the moniker “health care reform” and instead call it “health care reforming,” a term that better reflects the ongoing nature of improving such a complex system. She reminded listeners that with every problem solved in the field of public health, a new problem emerges.

Here’s an example: Infectious diseases used to be a leading cause of death, but as medicine and public health advanced, many diseases that were often serious or fatal became easily treatable. As a result, people lived long enough to develop chronic diseases — undoubtedly, one of today’s biggest public health problems. But does that “unintended consequence” of a rise in chronic disease rates mean that we’d want to give back penicillin or the polio vaccine? Of course not.

On the health care side, the ongoing challenge is to balance the competing interests of quality, cost and access. One important way to address quality and cost is the advancement of electronic health records, a priority funded to the tune of $10 billion in the federal American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, more commonly known as the stimulus bill. Kesa Bond, an assistant professor in health information management at Temple University, said during the student meeting that an integrated, sharable electronic health records system is essential to save serious time and money in the health care sector — not to mention to prevent dangerous mix-ups.

A main message from the Student Assembly meeting: Advancing health care records into the 21st century is one important way to contribute to the continual process of improving medical care and public health — a process that shouldn’t end, regardless of how Congress moves on health reform.

For more from Krooks, check out the fantastically named blog she contributes to: Disruptive Women in Health Care.

— P.T.

A little birdie told me so: Tweet of the Day

We're starting a new tradition here at the APHA Annual Meeting Blog: Everyday we'll be posting a "Tweet of the Day" picked from Twitterers using the #apha09 hashtag. (Us social media users gotta stick together, right?)

So, let's start this tradition off with something a little sweet. From Twitterer mgchuk5673:

"Heading to #apha09 in Philly tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing lots of old friends."

Check out APHA's Public Health Twitter and APHA Annual Meeting Twitter

A grand entrance

First and foremost: Condolences to all you Phillies fans. There’s always next year, right?

And since we’re on the topic of great, longtime American traditions, let me be the first to welcome you to the 137th APHA Annual Meeting. It’s the third Philadelphia meeting for this blogger, so walking through the doors of the Pennsylvania Convention Center felt like slipping on an old glove (though I’d almost rather be slipping on new gloves at the Lord & Taylor down the street. Did I say that?)

So what’s where in this giant convention center? Let’s start with a topic everyone cares about: food. There are a handful of places to grab a bite and a drink inside the convention center, such as the Overlook Café & Bar on the third level and the EcoGrounds coffee shop on the second level. Of course, there’s the enormous and historic Reading Terminal Market right across the street from the convention center, filled with every kind of yumminess you could imagine. (Check back later for a posting on the market’s aromatic attractions.)

If you’re looking for a place to take that lunch break, rest those weary feet or simply do a little public health people watching, grab a seat in the Mix & Mingle Lounge on the second level. There’s Wi-Fi in the lounge too. Adjacent to the Mix & Mingle Lounge is the Activity Posting Center, where you can view or post updates on scientific sessions and social events.

And if you’re feeling a little lost, look for the clearly marked information booths in the convention center’s Grand Hall (which is way cool looking), outside room 309 on the third floor of the Marriott Hotel, which is attached to the convention center, or outside Commonwealth Hall in the Loews Hotel, which is across from the convention center on Market Street.

Also, don’t forget to use the many recycling bins placed eco-strategically around the convention center. Let’s leave Philly as we phound it.

— K.K.

Above: The Grand Hall of the Pennsylvania Convention Center