Friday Roundup

Here is a listing of articles of interest published within the last 7-10 days:

Health
1. Proposed new guidelines for food ads and children. NYT.com, April 28, 2011:
A recent article in the New York Times discusses new proposed guidelines released by the Federal Trade Commission that targets the tactics used to market foods high in sugar, fat, and salt to children. The regulations were created at the request of Congress and written by the FTC, FDA, CDC, and the Agriculture Department. Regulators are asking food makers/restaurants to make their foods healthier or stop advertising them to youngsters. According to Michelle Rusk, a lawyer with the Federal Trade Commission, "The goal is to encourage children to eat more healthy foods because obesity is a huge health crisis.”

2. Patient ratings to affect Medicare payments to hospitals, Washington Post, April 29, 2011:
Under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposal, Medicare will begin to withhold 1% of its payments to hopsitals beginning in October 2012. This will translate into $850 million in the first year that will be given as a bonus to hospitals that score above average on several measures. Under the proposal, patient scores will dictate 30% of the bonuses, while clinical measures for basic quality would determine the rest.

Education
1. Early-childhood education funding drops, study finds, Washington Post, Washington Post, April 26, 2011:
According to a recently released study published by the National Institute for Early Education Research, total state funding by states for early-education programs fell by $30 million nationwide during 2009-2010. In contrast, state funding for K-12 education increased slightly.