Medicaid's Public Support
Most people think Medicaid is a “very important program” and should not be cut to balance state budgets, a poll of more than 1,200 adults conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed. In fact, the majority thought the federal government should maintain (44%) or increase (36%) federal spending on Medicaid, with only 12% favoring cuts. “We expected Medicaid to be relatively unpopular with the public, much like welfare was,” said Mollyann Brodie, Ph.D., Kaiser's director of public opinion and media research. The fact that many of the respondents (56%) reported having some interaction with Medicaid could explain why the program ranked closely with such other popular programs as Medicare and Social Security, she said.
Kids Miss Smoking/Addiction Link
Nearly one-third of children aged 10–12 years believe that they can smoke without becoming addicted, according to a survey of 418 families by the Group Health Cooperative's Center for Health Studies, Seattle. Terry Bush, Ph.D., and colleagues surveyed the preteens on their attitudes and beliefs about smoking over a 20-month period and found that the percentage agreeing with the statement “people can smoke a few cigarettes without becoming addicted” rose from 27% at the beginning of the study to 31% at the end. However, the percentage agreeing that “if you smoked, you could stop anytime you wanted to” dropped from 27% to 20% during that same period. The researchers found that two factors associated with positive attitudes toward smoking were lack of family cohesiveness and having a parent who smoked.
Florida's Parental Notification Law
After a court battle and a state constitutional amendment, the requirement for parental notification when a minor seeks an abortion is now the law in Florida. The “Parental Notice of Abortion Act” was signed by Gov. Jeb Bush (R). The legislation requires a physician to notify the parent or guardian of a minor at least 48 hours before the termination of a pregnancy. The law allows for the courts to waive the notification process in cases of medical emergency. The physician can also determine that a medical emergency exists, and there is insufficient time to comply with notification requirements; however, he or she must document the reason for the medical necessity in the patient's medical record.