Barbara Feder Ostrov

<p>Given the seemingly never-ending national news blitz about health reform town halls, it's easy to forget that California's dramatic health care budget cuts still are moving forward.</p>

<p>ReportingonHealth's <a href="/blogs/131">TalkBack blog</a> recently highlighted media coverage of a new <a href="http://cancerpreventionresearch.aacrjournals.org/cgi/rapidpdf/1940-6207…

<p>I recently <a href="/blogs/cdcs-environmental-health-tracking-system-new-slow-resource-journalists">wrote</a> about the new <a href="http://ephtracking.cdc.gov/showHome.action">National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network</a> launched by the Centers for Disease Control. A fascinating resource for reporters, but
molasses-slow at its debut. </p>

<p>I'm happy to report that after playing with the network again, the online database has recovered from its torpor, which might be explained by an estimated 10,000 hits upon its launch. </p>

<p>Here's a quick roundup of recent articles localizing the potential impact of federal health reform and California's health budget cuts (see Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's additional $656 million in line-item vetoes <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/vetoes1.pdf">he…; and the full California budget document <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/FullBudgetSumma…;).</p>

<p>Here's more coverage of the California budget cuts and their impact on health care, along with some new ideas for stories. </p>

<p>The general media consensus is that the state's Republicans won big in forcing major cuts in health and welfare programs, while Democrats are spinning their victory in saving the CalWORKS welfare program and the popular Healthy Families children's health insurance program from being
eliminated outright. </p>

<p><br />
As California lawmakers finally <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-california-budget22-2009jul22,0… a budget agreement</a>, it's time to start assessing how the proposed deep cuts in health care services may affect your community. </p>

<p>The CDC today launched a Web-based environmental public health tracking network that could be a fantastic resource for journalists looking for stories in their state or county.</p>

<p>I say "could be" because right now, the system is frustratingly slow to use, even with a decent Internet connection. </p>

<p>The Washington Post's newsroom is in an uproar today after the political news website Politico.com broke a shocking <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/24441.html">story</a>: </p>

<p>"For $25,000 to $250,000, The Washington Post has offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record, nonconfrontational access to "those powerful few": Obama
administration officials, members of Congress, and - at first - even the paper's own reporters and editors."</p>

<p>A new Institute of Medicine <a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12648#toc">report</a&gt; offers some excellent fodder for stories on "comparative effectiveness research," which examines whether and why some medical treatments are more effective than others. </p>

<p>You'll be hearing a lot about the comparative effectiveness buzzword as the national health reform debate unfolds, because it's seen as crucial in in lowering health costs. Why spend money on drug-eluting stents for heart disease, for example, if plain old stents might just keep people alive longer? </p>