2008 Woodie Awards
Weekly World Update
Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: News
Nation on Point
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
On Sept. 25 the Senate approved Michelle's Law, which will enable ill-stricken college students to take up to 12 months medical leave without the risk of being dropped from a parent's insurance plan.
The bill would require students to provide written documentation from a medical professional explaining the need for the leave and would only apply to full-time students who are already dependents on a health plan Insurance companies are not requiring to cover new procedures or individuals, only preventing them from dropping coverage.
"Far too many seriously ill college students are forced to make an incredibly difficult and unfair choice between education and well-being," said Daniel E. Smith, president of American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. "This bill will help preserve health insurance coverage for these students so they can focus on their treatment without the added burden of a full-time course load. We thank the Senate for their support of this issue and urge President Bush to sign this bill into law when it reaches his desk."
The bill is named after Plymouth State University's Michelle Morse, who, after being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2004, was forced to remain a full-time student while undergoing chemotherapy to remain on her family's insurance. Morse lost her battle to the disease.
TheState.com/TCPALM.com
St. Lucie, Fla., County officials are currently investigating if a firefighter took a man's severed foot from the scene of a traffic accident.
On Sept. 19, a man's foot was lacerated during a crash on I-95. It is Fire District policy to take both the severed body part and the patient to the hospital if there is any chance of reattachment, or the body part is sent to the medical examiner's office. However, authorities said the foot was taken to the hospital days later, on Sept. 24.
Officials would not release the name of the firefighter under investigation, but said the firefighter trains cadaver dogs, which are used to locate and follow the scent of decomposing human flesh. The man survived and is undergoing treatment at a local hospital.
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
On Sept. 25 the Senate approved Michelle's Law, which will enable ill-stricken college students to take up to 12 months medical leave without the risk of being dropped from a parent's insurance plan.
The bill would require students to provide written documentation from a medical professional explaining the need for the leave and would only apply to full-time students who are already dependents on a health plan Insurance companies are not requiring to cover new procedures or individuals, only preventing them from dropping coverage.
"Far too many seriously ill college students are forced to make an incredibly difficult and unfair choice between education and well-being," said Daniel E. Smith, president of American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. "This bill will help preserve health insurance coverage for these students so they can focus on their treatment without the added burden of a full-time course load. We thank the Senate for their support of this issue and urge President Bush to sign this bill into law when it reaches his desk."
The bill is named after Plymouth State University's Michelle Morse, who, after being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2004, was forced to remain a full-time student while undergoing chemotherapy to remain on her family's insurance. Morse lost her battle to the disease.
TheState.com/TCPALM.com
St. Lucie, Fla., County officials are currently investigating if a firefighter took a man's severed foot from the scene of a traffic accident.
On Sept. 19, a man's foot was lacerated during a crash on I-95. It is Fire District policy to take both the severed body part and the patient to the hospital if there is any chance of reattachment, or the body part is sent to the medical examiner's office. However, authorities said the foot was taken to the hospital days later, on Sept. 24.
Officials would not release the name of the firefighter under investigation, but said the firefighter trains cadaver dogs, which are used to locate and follow the scent of decomposing human flesh. The man survived and is undergoing treatment at a local hospital.
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