|
 |
|
 |
|
 New
York Assemblyman Felix Ortiz was quoted in
an article titled “The Fat Tax: A
Controversial Tool in War Against Obesity,”
which was published in the January 11 issue
of Forbes Magazine. As written in Forbes: the concept of the “fat tax” or the “Twinkie
tax,” first gained widespread attention in
1994 when Yale University psychology
professor Kelly D. Brownell outlined the
idea in an op-ed piece in The New York
Times. Brownell proposed two food-tax
options: A big tax, in the range of 7
percent to 10 percent, to discourage the
purchase of unhealthy processed foods while
subsidizing healthier choices; or a much
smaller tax to fund long-term public health
nutrition programs.
Assemblyman Ortiz has long championed a bill
that would tax fatty foods. This is what he
said about the “fat tax” in Forbes:
“We have a very chronic epidemic regarding
obesity,” said Ortiz. “And we think the food
tax is part of the solution. This will be a
vehicle to fund the Childhood Obesity
Prevention Program that can provide the
services needed to assure that our children
and the working families of the state of New
York would get the proper information on
healthy lifestyles. It will save lives and
the next generation.”
The Childhood Obesity Prevention Program was
established in 2001 to promote healthy
eating habits among children and adults
through family physician interventions and
after-school dietary and physical activity
workshops. |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
 In
September 2005, the National Hispanic Caucus
of State Legislators (NHCSL) and National
Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL)
reconvened for its Third Annual Health
Disparities Conference. The conference gave
legislators the opportunity to share
progress and insights from the past years
and renew their commitment to easing the
burden of health disparities in their
respective communities. To view a webcast
from the conference, go to
www.healthdisparities2005.com. |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
The American Public Health Association (APHA)
is issuing a “CALL FOR ABSTRACTS” for its
134th Annual Meeting, which will be held in
Boston, Massachusetts on November 4-8, 2006.
You can submit your abstract and assist APHA
in continuing to provide the highest quality
public health educational programming.
Abstracts are welcome in any area of public
health, including those that incorporate the
meeting theme of “Public Health and Human
Rights.”
Abstracts will be accepted through the APHA
web site at
http://apha.org/meetings. You do not
have to be a member of the Association to
submit an abstract, however, if your
abstract is accepted you must become an
individual member and register for the
meeting.
The deadline for abstract submission is
between February 13-17 depending on which
Section, Special Interest Group (SPIG) or
Caucus you submit to. A complete list of
deadlines is available on the APHA web site.
The submission deadline is at MIDNIGHT (PST)
on the due date as listed on the Call for
Abstracts. Submitters will be notified via
email on or about June 1, 2006 whether their
abstract was selected. |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 The
quality of health care for Americans has
continued to improve at a modest pace, and
health care disparities are narrowing
overall for many minority Americans. But for
Hispanics, disparities have widened in both
quality of care and access to care,
according to reports by the Department of
Health and Human Services’ Agency for
Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The
findings are contained in the 2005
National Healthcare Quality Report
and its companion document, the 2005
National Healthcare Disparities Report.
The
2005
National Healthcare Quality Report
finds that overall quality of care for all
Americans improved at a rate of 2.8 percent,
the same increase shown in last year's
report.
The
2005
National Healthcare Disparities Report
finds that many of the largest disparities
in measures of quality and access are
observed for low-income people regardless of
race or ethnicity, with some signs of
improvement. Overall, more racial
disparities in quality of care were
narrowing than were widening, and most
racial disparities in access to care were
narrowing (affecting blacks, Asians and
American Indians/Alaska Natives). But for
Hispanics, the majority of disparities for
both quality and access were growing wider.
Some of the findings include:
-
Rates of late-stage breast cancer
decreased more rapidly from 1992 to 2002
among black women (169 to 161 per
100,000 women) than among white women
(152 to 151 per 100,000), resulting in a
narrowing disparity.
-
Treatment of heart failure improved more
rapidly from 2002 to 2003 among American
Indian Medicare beneficiaries (69
percent to 74 percent) than among white
Medicare beneficiaries (73 percent to 74
percent), resulting in an elimination of
this disparity.
-
The quality of diabetes care declined
from 2000 to 2002 among Hispanic adults
(44 percent to 38 percent) as it
improved among white adults (50 percent
to 55 percent).
-
The quality of patient-provider
communication (as reported by patients
themselves) declined from 2000 to 2002
among Hispanic adults (87 percent to 84
percent) as it improved among white
adults (93 percent to 94 percent).
The
reports were issued in January 2006 at the National
Leadership Summit on Eliminating Racial and
Ethnic Disparities in Health which was
sponsored by the HHS Office of Minority
Health.
The
AHRQ reports are available online at
www.qualitytools.ahrq.gov, by calling
1-800-358-9295 or by sending an e-mail to
ahrqpubs@ahrq.gov. For more information
call AHRQ Public Affairs at (301) 427-1922
or (301) 427-1855. |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Representative Dora Olivo
(D-Rosenberg) is spearheading a new
initiative to better equip the community in
Fort Bend County, Texas to address the
problem of HIV/AIDS. The newly formed Fort
Bend HIV/AIDS Coalition seeks to pool
together existing resources in the community
in an effort to spread awareness about how
to prevent HIV/AIDS and the services
available to those affected by the disease.
The coalition is comprised of a diverse
array of community leaders, service
providers, and experts on the HIV/AIDS
pandemic.
Many residents of Fort
Bend County have been traveling to other
counties because they were unaware of the
HIV/AIDS related services that are available
in the area. Representative Olivo's
Coalition aims to make information on
HIV/AIDS more accessible to those that are
disproportionately affected by the disease;
including Latinos and African-Americans.
“Solving the HIV/AIDS
dilemma is a global issue that demands local
leadership and local action,” said Olivo.
Members of the Coalition
include: AIDS Foundation Houston; Coalition
for Barrier Free Living/Fort Bend Center for
Independent Living; Fort Bend Family Health
Center; Fort Bend County Health and Human
Services; Legacy Community Health Services
(formerly Montrose Clinic); Oak Bend Medical
Center; Planned Parenthood of Houston and
Southeast Texas, Inc; and St. Hope
Foundation.
For more information call
Representative Olivo at (281) 208-8806. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
NHCSL 4th
National Summit
November 16-19, 2006 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
