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Fanconi Anemia: Genetically Corrected Blood Cells Obtained From Patients' Skin Cells
Collaboration research carried out by the teams of Jordi Surrallés, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB); Juan Carlos IzpisÃôa-Belmonte and Angel Raya, Centre for Regenerative Medicine of Barcelona (CMRB); and Juan Antonio Bueren, Centre for Energetic, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT), has resulted in the generation of blood cells from skin cells of patients with a genetic disease known as Fanconi anemia. The process is based on gene therapy and cell reprogramming techniques in which cells similar to embryonic stem cells known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells can be generated. The research article was published in this week"s digital version of Nature.

Supreme Court Should Be 'Reined In' To Return Power To Legislative Branch, NYT Columnist Writes
Although Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor"s confirmation hearings are more than a month away, "it"s easy to predict how they will go," New York Times columnist Ross Douthat writes. Douthat predicts that Senate Judiciary Committee members "will attempt to divine Sotomayor"s position on a variety of controversial topics," such as abortion rights, and in "a series of polite, evasive answers, the nominee will feign a studious neutrality on almost every issue that could come before her during what"s likely to be decades as one of the most powerful women in the world." According to Douthat, the "deeper stakes" that likely will be ignored are that "Sotomayor will be joining a high court that"s gradually become a kind of extra legislative body." He cites research from Harvard Law School professor Jed Shugerman showing that the court over roughly the past 50 years has invalidated both state and federal statutes at an unprecedented rate. Douthat also points to data from Evan Caminker of the University of Michigan showing that in one eight-year period, the court invalidated 16 federal laws in 5-4 votes, something that occurred only 25 times in the previous two centuries. Douthat writes that "settling so many vexing controversies with 5-to-4 votes -- effectively making Anthony Kennedy the nation"s philosopher king -- is an awfully poor way to run a republic."Douthat continues that the "modern court"s most enduringly controversial power grabs -- with Roe v. Wade leading the way -- were usually the work of liberal justices" but that "in practice, the main divide between liberal and conservative judges tends to be over the responsibilities of the federal government, not judicial activism per se." He writes, "There are bipartisan ways that the Court could be reined in, and the legislative branch reinvigorated," including the idea of a supermajority rule that would require a 6-3 vote to overturn federal legislation. This idea "might spur the court toward greater consensus, and perhaps greater modesty as well," according to Douthat. Another possibility would be to implement 12-year term limits, he says. Douthat concludes that these suggestions would not "reduce the Supreme Court"s power directly, but it would help us see the court for what it has become -- a deeply political institution, as fallible as any other, and answerable, when all is said and done, to us" (Douthat, New York Times, 6/2).
News of the day
Home Oxygen Patients And Family Members Visit Capitol Hill To Ask Congress To Protect Medicare Home Oxygen Therapy Benefit
Asking members of Congress to support patient-focused reform of the Medicare home oxygen therapy benefit, patients and family members with the National Emphysema/COPD Association (NECA), a national advocacy organization representing patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other lung diseases, descended on Capitol Hill this week. Patients urged members of the U.S. House to support and pass the Medicare Home Oxygen Therapy Act of 2009 (H.R. 3220), which was recently introduced.
Health Insurance

Senate Dems Eye August Timeline, Search For Savings

Despite some roadblocks, Senate Democrats are trying to hold true to their pledge to pass health care reform legislation by the August recess, Roll Call reports. "Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) declined Monday evening to predict when his committee would begin marking up its health care reform bill, although he appeared to virtually guarantee legislation would hit the floor before the August recess. ò€¦ Baucus remains optimistic that a bipartisan deal is achievable, saying Senators "want to get to yes"ò€¦ Meanwhile, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is scheduled on Tuesday to continue the markup of its health care reform bill. The process in the Senate calls for the Finance and HELP bills to be merged into one vehicle for floor consideration" (Drucker, 7/6). A popular President Obama could help fill in the gaps Democrats leave behind, Roll Call reports in a separate story: "Republicans agreed that a hard sell from Obama would be difficult to compete with during August, but cautioned that Democrats still have to actually come up with something that is salable" (Pierce, 7/7). The GOP is focusing on malpractice reform, CongressNow/Roll Call reports. "Republicans are determined to have a say and are seizing opportunities to score political points - if not shape policy - whenever possible. The issue of medical malpractice is one area where they are hoping to shape the debate by arguing that one way to reduce the cost of health care is to rein in lawsuits against medical providers" (Langel, 7/6). Democrats in both chambers have their own ideas on how to finance a health overhual, and are trying to drive down the $1 trillion price tag, according to The Hill. "House Democrats are expected to offer their answers by the end of this week. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), whose panel has responsibility over the tax increases and many of the spending cuts, will address a House Democratic Caucus meeting Friday. House Democrats are considering numerous tax hikes ranging from a national "value-add tax" on consumer goods, higher income taxes on people making more than $250,000 a year, an increase in the Medicare payroll tax and new taxes on sugary soft drinks and alcohol. Any broad-based tax on consumer goods would apply to people below Obama"s $250,000 threshold." Roll Call continues: "The Senate Finance Committee is also thought to be close to unveiling its bill. Chairman Baucus is likely to include new taxes on some workers" health insurance benefits. This proposal not only angers unions but could affect people earning less than $250,000 a year, though it would raise a substantial amount of revenue" (Young 7/6). Meanwhile, Time examines an Illinois payment model called Prometheus that "has already caught the eye of the White House." Prometheus could change how doctors are paid: "Prometheus, funded by a $6 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, calculates compensation for hospitals and doctors based not on the specific treatments a patient receives but on the care a patient should receive "per episode"" (Pickert, 7/6). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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