Health affairs
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To address the obesity crisis, public health experts recommend major reductions in the marketing of unhealthy food to youth. However, policies to restrict food marketing are not currently viewed as politically feasible. This paper examines attitudes and knowledge about food marketing and support for restricting unhealthy food marketing [corrected] among one group of constituents: parents. A survey of 807 parents found that those most likely to support food marketing restrictions were also more likely to have negative views of current food practices. [corrected] These findings suggest that increased public education about the harm caused by food marketing may increase public support for policy interventions.
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For the money spent on health care in the United States, far better quality of care should be expected. The Commonwealth Fund and AcademyHealth have created the State Quality Improvement Institute to assist states in implementing sustainable quality improvement strategies. Lessons have emerged about the role of states in advancing fundamental and systemic changes in the way care is delivered, as well as how providers are organized and compensated. The experiences of states participating in the institute may offer insights for other states seeking to achieve similar goals.
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Comparative Study
Trends in health care spending for immigrants in the United States.
The suspected burden that undocumented immigrants may place on the U. S. health care system has been a flashpoint in health care and immigration reform debates. ⋯ However, noncitizen immigrants were found to be more likely than U. S. natives to have a health care visit classified as uncompensated care.
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The economic recession and rising unemployment-plus changing demographics and baby boomers aging into Medicare-are among the factors expected to influence health spending during 2009-2019. In 2009 the health share of gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to have increased 1.1 percentage points to 17.3 percent-the largest single-year increase since 1960. ⋯ As a result, public spending is projected to account for more than half of all U. S. health care spending by 2012.