The Lock Haven (PA) Express (7/19) reported that US Reps. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) and Charles Rangel (D-NY) recently “introduced HR 6107, the Veterans E-Health and Telemedicine Support (VETS) Act of 2012, a bill aimed at increasing veteran healthcare access at no additional cost to the taxpayer.” The bill “expands the current Department of Veteran Affairs state licensure exemption to allow credentialed health care professionals to work across state borders performing telemedicine without having to obtain a new state license.” According to the Express, “HR 6107 was introduced with the support of 12 additional bipartisan

Related Links:

— “Thompson introduces bill to expand use of telemedicine for veterans, The Express, July 18, 2012.

The Los Angeles Times (7/19, Goldberg) said that on Wednesday, veteran Ruth Moore spoke about her struggle to obtain post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) benefits from Veterans Affairs after she was raped by a superior in the Navy. She made her comments while testifying before a House Veterans Affairs subcommittee. According to the Times, US Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) is “sponsoring a bill that would allow victims of military sexual trauma seeking disability benefits to provide only a diagnosis of PTSD and an opinion from a doctor that an assault could have caused the disorder.” Pingree stated, “It’s outrageous that men and women who sign up to defend our country end up being victims of sexual assault in the first place. Then to deny them the help they need to recover is simply unacceptable.”

Related Links:

— “Military sex assault victims’ PTSD claims neglected, panel told, “Jamie Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, July 19, 2012.

MedWire (7/20, Cowen) reports, “People with serious mental illnesses are significantly more likely to experience injuries than the general population,” according to a study published online June 2 in the journal Injury Prevention. “In a seven-year study of 6,234 Medicaid recipients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or other serious mental illnesses, the researchers found that the incidence of injuries requiring a visit to the emergency department or hospital admittance was 80% higher than in the general population.” In addition, investigators “found that the risk for fatal injuries was 4.7 times greater in people with serious mental illnesses, compared with the general population.”

Related Links:

— “Injury risk increased in patients with serious mental illnesses,”Mark Cowen, MedWire News, July 20, 2012.

The CBS News (7/20, Jaslow) “HealthPop” blog reports, “Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is the leading preventable cause of birth defects and developmental disabilities in children, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Yet, “In the latest issue of its journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC investigates drinking rates among pregnant women, and finds about one in 13 pregnant women drink,” and “of those women, almost one in five reported binge drinking…during pregnancy.”

Reuters (7/20, Beasley) reports that 10 percent of women with college degrees reported having a drink in the past month as opposed to just five percent of those with a high school diploma or less. The report was based on a telephone survey of 345,076 women aged 18 to 44 conducted 2006-2010.

Related Links:

— “1 in 13 pregnant women drink alcohol, CDC says, “Ryan Jaslow, CBS News, July 19, 2012.

Time (7/19, Futrelle) reports in “Moneyland” that “a new study of workers in the state of Michigan…found that those who were worried about their jobs were significantly more likely to develop depression or suffer anxiety attacks or both.” A previous study “by the same lead researcher, sociologist Sarah Burgard of the University of Michigan, found that employees worried about their jobs were more likely to suffer from depression and poor health than those who lost their jobs and got a new one.” Meanwhile, “research by Stuart Whitaker, an occupational-health expert at the University of Cumbria in England, also suggests that worrying about being fired may be worse than being fired.”

Related Links:

— “Is High Unemployment Making Us All Sick?, “David Futrelle, TIME, July 18, 2012.