Health Highlights: Jan. 14, 2009

Jan. 15 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

House OKs Widened Coverage in Children's Health Insurance Program

The U.S. House of Representatives approved Wednesday an expansion of a children's health insurance program that would extend coverage to about 400,000 to 600,000 children, including those of legal immigrants and pregnant legal immigrants, the Associated Press reported.

The vote was 289 to 139, and the Senate was expected to take up the measure Thursday, AP said.

The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) legislation was vetoed twice by President George W. Bush in 2007, but supporters were confident the bill would pass soon after President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration.

"In this moment of crisis, ensuring that every child in America has access to affordable health care is not just good economic policy, but a moral obligation we hold as parents and citizens," Obama said after the House vote.

Current law requires legal immigrants to wait five years before becoming eligible for coverage under the SCHIP and Medicaid programs. The new bill means, supporters say, that children can get quicker treatment for acute conditions such as asthma and diabetes without having to seek care in an emergency room. Critics had opposed lifting the five-year waiting period, saying it violated a pledge by immigrant sponsors that people coming into the United States would not be dependent on government assistance, AP reported.

The measure adds $33 billion to fund SCHIP over the next four years, and will come from a 61-cent increase in the federal excise tax on a pack of cigarettes and comparable increases for other tobacco products.

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Software Glitch Exposed Vets to Wrong Drug Doses

A glitch during an annual software upgrade last August at Veterans Affairs health centers around the country exposed some patients to incorrect drug doses, delayed treatments and other medical errors, according to internal documents obtained by the Associated Press.