July 30, 2009

Medicare at 44:

With the president and Congress trying to reform healthcare in the United States, the government-run health insurance program Medicare marks its 44th anniversary.

Medicare was part of a Social Security bill signed into law July 30, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It was designed to provide health insurance coverage for those 65 years or older. Former President Harry Truman was ceremoniously given the first Medicare card and was the first official beneficiary. By 2007, more than 43 million Americans were receiving Medicare benefits.

The sheer size of the program and the fact the United States is becoming demographically older has put pressure on the program to the point that it is predicted to run out of funds in 2017.

On the reform front, congressional wrangling appears to be progressing to the point of a possible agreement. House of Representatives negotiations involving relatively conservative Blue Dog Democrats have led to the reform's price tag cut to about $900 billion. A Senate version is reportedly slightly less expensive.

U.S. President Barack Obama had set a summer congressional recess as a deadline to pass a reform package. Wednesday he suggested that it may be October before full-chamber votes take place.

The break will give supporters time to convince their constituents that their plan for reform is a good thing. Convincing is necessary as, despite Obama's non-stop promotion of the issue, polling indicates public support of flagging. An MSNBC poll indicated 42 percent of those asked said the Obama plan is a bad idea compared to 36 percent who said they like it.

Race and beer:

U.S. President Barack Obama scheduled a "teachable moment" for Thursday over beer at a picnic table outside the White House.

Obama invited Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge, Mass., police Sgt. James Crowley to Washington to talk about race relations. Gates said racism was behind his arrest by Crowley at the professor's home.

Crowley responded to a 911 call of a possible break-in at Gates's house -- the professor was apparently having trouble with the door -- and determined Gates was, in fact, the homeowner. However, Crowley claimed Gates became uncooperative and subsequently arrested Gates. Charges were later dropped.

Obama entered the fray when he said Cambridge police acted "stupidly" in arresting his friend. Two days later he began to arrange the beer meeting.

It'll be interesting to see how much the men are on the same page. If their bar orders are a sign, it could be difficult. White House officials said Obama will have Bud Light while Crowley opted for Blue Moon and Gates asked for Red Stripe. Or, as a CNN crawl put it, Red, Light and Blue. Perhaps there's hope for agreement yet.

Swine flu priorities:

U.S. health officials said pregnant women and healthcare professionals should be the first to receive vaccines for the H1N1 virus as the medicines become available.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices said children older than 6 months, the people who take care of infants (who are too young to be vaccinated), people 19-24 years old and adults with high-risk medical issues should be next on the priority list.

That totals about 160 million Americans. Officials said perhaps 120 million doses of swine flu vaccine will be available this fall when the traditional flu season hits the Northern Hemisphere.

Older people weren't put at the top of the list because H1N1 seems to affect younger people, particularly young adults, more than their elders. The committee, however, said older Americans should still get vaccines for seasonal influenza.

Terror targeted Man U:

The Manchester United soccer team was the target of the bombing of an Indonesian hotel earlier this month, The Times of London said.

Seven people were killed and dozens injured when suicide bombers attacked two luxury hotels in Jakarta July 17.

Now, The Times said, a message purportedly from the prime suspect in the planning of the attacks and similar acts claims Man U was a target. The team, however, wasn't to arrive at the hotel until July 18 and subsequently canceled its game against an Indonesian all-star team.

The message supposedly from Noordin Mohammed Top said the Man U "players are Christians, so Muslims should not honor and respect these enemies of Allah."

The Times said it retrieved the message from the Web site blogspot.com.