Monday, February 23, 2009

What Does the Economic Stimulus Plan Mean for Cancer and Fertility?

As a liberal democrat married to a conservative republican, I am hearing a lot of great debates about the merits (and pitfalls) of President Obama's stimulus plan, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. After reading the Act’s Press Summary (and the LiveStrong Blog), I thought the following might be of interest to you:
  • $10 billion to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for biomedical research in areas such as cancer and stem cells (including at least $1.2 billion for cancer research).
  • $1 billion to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for prevention and wellness programs including cancer screening and education programs and, maybe, infertility (if we can get it recognized by the CDC as a disease!).
  • 65% federal subsidy for COBRA health insurance premiums for up to nine months for workers who lose their jobs from September 1, 2008 through December 31, 2009.
  • $19 billion for a national health information technology system to support electronic medical records in hopes of lowering medical costs and improving quality of care (which would also greatly help with improved informed consent around cancer-related infertility).

I would love to know more. Anyone have any additional knowledge, insight or opinions as to how this will affect the cancer and/or fertility communities?

1 comment:

  1. this is good news. i am happy to see that some of the money is being invested into an area i care deeply about. positive things like this often get lost in all of the media hype and criticisms...

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