Nine Health Insurance Companies Submit Proposals For 'Cover Florida' Program Nine health insurers have submitted proposals to participate in Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's (R) new "Cover Florida" program, which aims to provide basic, low-cost health coverage to about four million uninsured state residents, the St. Petersburg Times reports.

Opinion Pieces Address Presidential Candidates' Responses To Abortion Rights Issues At Saddleback Forum Six opinion pieces recently addressed comments on abortion made by presidential candidates Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) at a forum moderated by the evangelical minister Rick Warren at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., on Saturday. Summaries of the opinion pieces appear below.~ E.J.

Study Looks At Literacy Intervention To Improve Asthma-Related Health Outcomes Among Minority Youth "The Impact of Literacy Enhancement on Asthma-Related Outcomes AmongUnderserved Children" (.pdf), Journal of the National Medical Association: The study looks at whether improving literacy among children with low rates of literacy would influence asthma-related health outcomes.

Report Finds 60,000 KCHIP-Eligible Kentucky Children Lack Coverage, Urges Enrollment Boost More than 60,000 of Kentucky's estimated 93,000 uninsured children are eligible for KCHIP, the state's version of SCHIP, but are not enrolled, according to a report released on Monday by Kentucky Voices for Health, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. KCHIP is available to children of families with annual incomes less than 200% of the federal poverty level.

WSJ Examines Increasing Use, Concerns Over Breast Surgery Using Fat Augmented With Stem Cells The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday examined procedures increasingly being conducted in Japan and Europe and developed in the U.S. that use a combination of fat and adult stem cells for breast reconstruction and augmentation.

Fight Against HIV/AIDS Pandemic At 'Frustrating Yet Tantalizing Turning Point,' Editorial Says The fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic is at a "frustrating yet tantalizing turning point," as was "evidenced" at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City earlier this month, a San Francisco Chronicle editorial says.

U.S. District Court Judge Temporarily Blocks Medi-Cal Cuts A U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles temporarily blocked implementation of a proposed 10% cut to Medi-Cal payments for doctors, dentists and pharmacies, stating the changes would violate federal laws and reduce the quality of medical care for millions of people, the Sacramento Bee reports (Yamamura/Sanders, Sacramento Bee, 8/20). The state Legislature in February approved the $1.

Census Bureau Report Finds Women Having Fewer Children, Giving Birth Later In Life More U.S. women in their early 40s do not have children, and women who are having children are having fewer than ever before, according to a Census Bureau report released Monday, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports. According to the report, from 1976 to 2006 the percentage of women ages 40 to 44 with no children doubled from 10% to 20%.

HIV/AIDS Advocates In Delaware Call For Federal Funding That Targets Poverty In Fight Against Disease Although federal funding to support state organizations in Delaware in the fight against HIV/AIDS is helping to address the disease among blacks -- who make up 67% of the state's HIV-positive population -- some advocates say the prevalence of the disease among blacks would be closer to that of whites if more resources were used to target poverty, the Wilmington News Journal reports. The Rev.

States Consider Legislation To Restrict Access To Physician Prescribing Information For Data Mining Companies A number of states have begun to consider legislation that would restrict access to physician prescribing information for data mining companies as part of a "backlash against pharmaceutical marketing efforts," the AP/Arizona Republic reports.