La
tackle health cer
1.1 milliOll
people are covered nder
edicaid in Michi, bile
nearly the same number go
. lIlY type of health care
aNCI'IIe.
To help the uniDsurcd, GoY.
J Blanchard proposed a
pia called Healthy Start
o Id provide, i.surance
covenp for cbilcha
10 fna · uredf •. .
ADOtber apoGlOled by
Rep. Wilfred Wedd, ))'HIZel
ould povidc same in-
1DDCe aNerIp for those lao
lose cdicaid beaefits beD
they get a job. The iDsunmcc
ould be patterned after
Medicaid and ould allow a
spicific prnodof time a per-
lOG could be covtzed.
Rep. Webb's bill povidcs
incentive to get off weUare,
somctbi. that Rep. David Hol
lister, D-I .lOSing. sees a proI>
Ita.
• WE KNOW THAT people
don't take jo bcca they
doD't p-ovide iDSuraDCe,· 1ilI
liater . d. Mothers GO clfarc
may DOt choose to pt a miai
mDIll-W.1Ife job if they bow they
e their dIilcl to die
doctOr w be or . cS.
Risias bcalth-care COllI e
made insuruce a lux� tbIl
many low-inoome ,.miliea can
DOt afford. A Michigan Health
Care Campllin report sbowed
that a Michigan family should
have an income of about
Hlp, I've bad breath
Dear Di lope: Help, I'
Ithy nd I have bad
the A Ii nd told e and I
ITU cl. Yes, I brush
orDIDI aDd night, 0 why
ould I hav th problem?
A.P., Sumervllle, GA.
Dear A.P.: More and more
dentists and hygienists em
phasize the importance of floss
ing. The regular use of dental
floss removes b eterial. plaque,
often the source of bad breath.
Also, brush your tongue and the
areas between your teeth and
lips. Sugar is notorious for en
couraging odor-causing bac
teria on and between teeth.
Also, consider widing or cu -
• down 0 foods have a
of phur - 0 • _ garlic,
coffee red meat. If the con-
pe ICC your docto .
Iy recognized in recent yers that
after menopause women are
susceptible to osteoporosis, a
loss of bone mass resulting in
brittleness and risk of breakage.
. On a physician's advice, your
wife may want to include more
calcium-rich foods in her diet,
d supplement her meals with
calcium pills. But don't ignore
your own needs! Newly
published findin . at Oregon
Health Services University sug-
est tha mCD also lose bone
mass thro their .
Do you have a questioa
about personal hygiene or weD
ness? Write The Dial Corpora
tion, Greyhound Tower, M.S.
1616, Phoenix, Ariz. 8SCTn.
$25,140 for a family of three to
be able to pay for ome in-
UI'IDCe cav e.
·The best move is a natioaal
bcalth-care plan nan by fedCral
gew • said ICris Dowell,
bcalth policy <ircctor fex the
MIC:bI· ... atizem. Lobby. ·ID
die UBtcd S e are eatia&
up our beIltb-care dolIan with
administrative costs."
·The ited S is the ODly
country, the only industrial
country, that relies upon
employers to provide health- .
care beacfits.· • d C. Patrick.
BIbcock, ciJector tX the
Dcpadmcat tX Social Servica.
• If yoo go to my office ill
Detroit and look across the river
into Cauda,· Bobcock aid,
• you ICC a COUDby very simit
to ours in terms of CCODOmics,
19
with health-care as a basic right
for people,' not only for
children. •
. WHETHE A NATION·
AL or tate ide health-care
plan is needed for CVerJODC,
state officials and lawmakers
agree the cost of iDsuraacc· a
major issue.
How �ve is covetlle
fex thole who to act off
elfare' and for those on
Mecicare? .
. For c::umplc, Blue Care Net
work of South est Michipn
pllticipltiag physicians ill
'I'1m:e Rivers and PortIge. Its
Personal Plus policy covers
hospitalization ad doctor
visits, but not prescriptions. A
man aDd woman, age 25, pay
$94.37 aDd $146.92 per month
RU486 ignite
By STEPHANIE REITZ
Capillll News Service
LANSING-RU 486, the
" t-home abortion pill" hailed
by some pro-choice .activists
and ted by pro-life groups,
would have tough legisl ive
road to travel in Michigan if it
ever receives federal approval.
And even if the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA)
decides to review aod awove
the pill, most pharmaceutical
companies won't touch it for
fear 01 lawsuits and controversy.
The PUt introduced in France
in 1988 by Groupe Roussel
Udaf, causes a miscarriage by
stopping the hormone
progesterone from retaining a
fertilized ea. After three day
eX takiag. the pill. the patieot is
given a shot induces COIl
tractio in the uterus, abortiDg
the prepucy in a more natural
way thaD preSemly used sWJi
cal meallodl
Its very ease angers anti
lIbortio groupl ill Michigan
.ad throuabout the . OIl, who
it life eYeD
more Ibodioa.
ALrfBOUGB TB DA
tbcpiU�
lIIi(i_stoIlO ia meci-
d f ee •
in CYeDif
lppI'CWed federally, lesidlton
1peC.
Rep. R-Lake
Orioa, . d fcderal restriction
ould be allllOlt a aeceuity .
·BleD if OW' l�islature took
action on it, would be a
tough thiag to OODtrol,· be . d,
ddiog that the pill might be
ier to obtain in Ohio or In
if those tales enact more
lenient. restrictions than
Michigan's.
ts
respectively. A woman with two
. dependents pays $213.76 while
a man with the same pays
$171.06. This plan does not
offer any coverage for people
over 65.
One of the cheapest pIaM for
Blue CrossIBlue Shidd pays 30
peteeDt of � up to $1,000
and then all COlts fater
Coverage for one pe on is
$111.35 per mOllth, hile
coverage for two adults with ODe
is $207.92.
Insuraoce foe peOple over 65
is in ackitio to w Mecicare
pays, thus called a • .....",.....
policy. One Blue Cross/Bluc
Sliield plan for scaion COIrs
�3.57 'per month. It covers the
$592 deductible for each
hospitalization aDd the S75 per
incident deductible Medicare
does not cover.
controver
y
said DuaDe Pisancza, an Upjohn
representative for Michigan
State University.
·We're caught in between
people who want the stuff and
those who want it right DOW but
expect perfection," he said "The
fact is, nothing's been
developed in medicine that's
100 percent safe. On something
like this, who can afford to take
chance?"
Rising liability insurnace
costs also influenced Upjohn in
its decision to stop the fertility
research program in 1985,
spokeswoman Jessyl Bradford
said
"We're planning no efforts to'
market new contraceptive or
abortive products in the future," "
Bradford said ·We felt that
DAVID DODGE A would be prudent, considering
pokesperson for Rep. D vid the rising casts of liability in-
Jaye, R-Utica, . dJaye will DOt surance nd the hole
comment on RU 486. qulatory climate in the U.S.·
• He's y pro-life, but Groupe Rous el Uclal of
1ft ODe be doeIIt t Prance. fccli. the heat from
to ciscuu,. Dodge . d. . uti-abortion groups throughout
Pharmaceutical companies ' the world, chose recendy to stop
uch � Up- . cistributing the pill. WhcD the
john odt touda RU 486, fear- Preach govemmeot dareaIeacd
illl coauovcny and W,hly to take ay the pill' cxcl ive
e:QlCllliV· e· pI!ItaIt, retumcd it to the
Coaapay officials do Dot
to follow ia the fOOb'CfJI
of the O.D. Searle aD
" I doubt it could be coofained
without an all-encompassing
federal policy," he said
�TlON
Some legisl OIS are reluc
tant to <iscuss the pill or its pas
ibIe reception the Capitol.
e if AK Rob- .
baknlptaftec
• UPJOHN HAS EVE
closed down it 'medical
reproductive products facility
because of the controversy,"
CST OU L
.. �� ..... CEImCALS, a
Jeacy com� in . ch
_ Groupe Udal is a miaor
stolSbold�, will DeVer produce
au 486, officials • d. DOW
markets medication for
ciabdics vi . . of .
cisease.
Abo 15,000 women have
cces to RU 486, mostly in
France. Tests also are being run
in the United States, Sweden,
anna, Hungary and the United .
Kiogdcm.