Here’s one simple way to keep your children healthy: Ban the bedroom TV.

By some estimates, half of American children have a television in their bedroom; one study of third-graders put the number at 70 percent. And a growing body of research shows strong associations between TV in the bedroom and numerous health and educational problems.

Children with bedroom TVs score lower on school tests and are more likely to have sleep problems. Having a television in the bedroom is strongly associated with being overweight and a higher risk for smoking.

for full story, copy and paste the following link:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-tv-children-healthmar04,1,3791149.story

While the Democratic-majority Congress is considering an expanded Children’s Health Insurance Program bill - possibly for after the Nov. 4 election - it was good to have Republican Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour speak up for kids’ health.

Barbour testified Tuesday before the House Health Subcommittee that poor states are suffering under the current federal formula, which has left Mississippi $50 million short this budget year.

CHIP generally is a good deal for the state, in that for every 17 cents Mississippi allocates, the federal government gives 83 cents toward the state-federal program.

About $5 billion has been spent on CHIP annually since it started in 1997 as a 10-year venture. But Bush vetoed it when it first came up for reauthorization last year.

copy and paste this link for full story:
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080228/OPINION01/802280336/1008/OPINION

Democrats cited the nation’s economic problems as a reason to expand a popular health insurance program for children on Wednesday, but their effort failed as the House sustained President Bush’s veto of a bill to provide coverage to nearly four million uninsured children.

The vote for the bill was 260 to 152. Supporters were 15 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the measure over the president’s objections.

“Amid this economic downturn, with skyrocketing energy costs, a record number of mortgage foreclosures and fewer new jobs, the rate of unemployment has jumped dramatically,” said Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz, Democrat of Pennsylvania. “Two-thirds of unemployed individuals lose health care coverage for their families when they lose their jobs. In times like these, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program is needed most.”

Republicans said the vote was a political stunt, intended to embarrass Mr. Bush before his State of the Union address next week.

for full article, copy and paste this link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/washington/24override.html?_r=1&ref=us&oref=slogin

The House on Wednesday is scheduled to vote on whether to override President Bush’s second veto of a bill (HR 3963) that would have expanded SCHIP, but supporters of the legislation are about a dozen votes short of the two-thirds majority needed, CongressDaily reports (Johnson, CongressDaily, 1/22). The legislation would have expanded the program to cover 10 million children and increased spending on the program by $35 billion over five years, funded with a 61-cent-per-pack increase of the federal cigarette tax. It also would have limited coverage to children in families with annual incomes below 300% of the federal poverty level.

copy and paste this link for story:
www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49973

After six years of research, the Center for Community Health Studies at the University of Southern California released the data showing that Healthy Kids, a locally funded health insurance program for children, saves the State of California and the federal government up to $7.3 million annually in health care costs by preventing more than 1,000 unnecessary child hospitalizations per year.

The study, which was funded by The California Endowment and First Five California, focused on children enrolled in Healthy Kids through Children’s Health Initiatives in nine counties: Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz.

copy and paste this link for full story:
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/news/ci_8034219

A study released Monday proves what Solano County has known for ages: Spending money on children’s health insurance actually saves money in the long run.
After six years of research, the Center for Community Health Studies at the University of Southern California released the data showing that Healthy Kids, a locally funded health insurance program for children, saves California and the federal government up to $7.3 million a year in health care costs.

In fact, the research, which looked at Healthy Kids programs in nine counties, found instances where insurance prevented more than 1,000 unnecessary child hospitalizations per year.

copy and paste the following link for the full story:
http://www.thereporter.com/editorials/ci_7976155

The Bush administration in a letter to state officials on Aug. 17, 2007, outlined new standards for SCHIP enrollment that aim to limit coverage to the lowest-income children. The guidelines state that before expanding SCHIP eligibility to children in families with incomes greater than 250% of the federal poverty level, states must demonstrate that they have “enrolled at least 95% of children in the state below 200% of the federal poverty level” who are eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP, according to the letter sent by Dennis Smith, director of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 8/21/07).

for full story, go to this link:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=49660

President Bush on Saturday signed legislation that extends a popular children’s health insurance program after twice beating back attempts to expand it.

Politically, the move was a victory for Bush, although Democrats say it will come back to hurt Republicans at the polls. Two times, Bush vetoed bills that would have broadened coverage to more children.

The extension of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program is expected to provide states with enough money to cover those enrolled through March 2009. Bush and some Republican lawmakers say the program will still serve those that it should: children from families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance.

for full story, click here:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/5410895.html

The modest spending increase that Congress approved for a popular children’s health insurance program will maintain coverage for those already enrolled. But many lacking insurance will have to look elsewhere.Few expected such a result when 2007 began. Democrats proposed a huge spending increase on the federal-state partnership known as the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Many Republicans embraced the idea. Meanwhile, states all over the country were drawing up plans to expand health coverage.

for full story, click here

Senate negotiators have put the final touches on a bill that would temporarily shield physicians from a 10 percent cut in their Medicare payments while extending funding for a children’s health insurance program through March 2009.

A spokesman for Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., said Senate Democratic leaders would seek to move the measure by unanimous consent.

Physicians would receive a 0.5 percent increase in their Medicare rates for six months, instead of the 10.1 percent cut they otherwise would face on Jan. 1 under Medicare’s cost containment formulas. But the legislation would not stop doctor payment cuts in future years or, presumably, after the six-month payment package expires.

The legislation would extend several programs designed to help rural health providers by giving doctors in rural areas a slightly higher Medicare reimbursement rate. Hospital laboratories in rural areas receive similar treatment.

for full story, click here