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CDC Considering Early Start to Seasonal Flu Vaccinations
Move Would Create Time for H1N1 Immunizations
(05/22/2009) -- Physicians and other health care professionals might be giving vaccinations for seasonal influenza well in advance of the flu season this year. Daniel Jernigan, deputy director of the CDC's influenza division, said during a May 20 media briefing that the agency is considering an early rollout of the seasonal influenza vaccine in the hope that a vaccine for the novel H1N1 influenza will be ready in the fall.

Senate Finance Committee's Health Reform 'Options Paper' Prompts Swift Academy Response
(05/20/2009) -- In response to a discussion paper issued by the Senate Finance Committee, the AAFP and two other primary care physician organizations have told the committee that in 2010, total Medicare payments for primary care physician services should be increased by at least 10 percent more than those made to nonprimary care physicians and other providers. The three groups also have recommended increases of an additional 5 percent each year for the subsequent four years.

AAFP Praises Bill That Would Strengthen Primary Care Infrastructure
(05/20/2009) -- The AAFP has endorsed a primary care bill that seeks to rebuild and strengthen the nation's primary care infrastructure by providing scholarships, loan forgiveness, deferral of loan repayments and grants for practices to incorporate the patient-centered medical home, or PCMH.