Policy Today

Reducing early deliveries in Louisiana: An editorial
July 15, 2011
NOLA.com
Louisiana has a dismal track record when it comes to the health of its youngest residents: the state ranks 49th for infant mortality, pre-term births and low and very low birth weight babies, according to the National Center of Health Statistics.

How health cuts are killing women
July 5, 2011
The Guardian
While Republicans and Democrats are engaged in apparently abstract debt reduction talks, it's worth noting that a cascade of federal, state and local spending cuts has already taken its toll on the health of pregnant women, mothers and babies.

Legislature kills plan to aid Volusia prenatal care
May 10, 2011
The Daytona Beach News-Journal / Anne Geggis
The end of the recent legislative session killed a plan aimed at improving the odds that Volusia County’s youngest citizens get health care before taking their first breath of air — at least until next year. The Volusia County Health Department and the Healthy Start Coalition of Flagler and Volusia Counties had proposed exempting the county from rules that govern Medicaid, the state’s health insurance for low-income women. The plan had called for open access to prenatal care for the majority of pregnant Volusia County women on Medicaid, with the Health Department employing area obstetricians on a part-time basis.

Provide financial support to historically black colleges and universities
May 9, 2011
The Hill’s Congress Blog / Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.)
Challenging financial times such as these require difficult funding choices. That is why the members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) have seized the mantle of leadership and provided financial support in recent spending bills for historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and primarily black institutions (PBIs).

HHS Announces Health Center Planning Grant Opportunity
January 7, 2011
PRNewswire
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced up to $10 million in funding for a Health Center Planning Grant (HCPG) opportunity for organizations across the country that would like to become a Community Health Center. The HCPG opportunity is intended to support organizations in the future development of a health center and will support approximately 125 HCPGs in FY 2011.