TASK DEFINITION: Generate an explanation for the given claim using the provided supporting material from the paragraph. Please consider the following points while generating an output. 1) The claim will always have supporting proof in the paragraph, and the paragraph will have a clear point of view supporting the claim. 2) There can be instances where direct correlation to the claim is not available. Make use of the sentences in the paragraph to provide a corresponding output supporting the claim. 3) The explanation should be at least one and at most twelve sentences long.
PROBLEM: Paragraph: In its latest "report card," the American College of Emergency Physicians said such reduced access earned the nation a "D+" that's down from the overall "C-" grade from the group's last report in 2009. Shortages and reduced hospital capacity make it more difficult to access emergency care, the group said. It also warned about the impact on disaster preparedness. While the report does not measure the actual quality of care provided, it does offer a snapshot of national and state policies affecting emergency medicine as seen by providers. Washington, D.C., was ranked the highest in the report, earning a "B-" grade, while Wyoming ranked last and was the only state to earn an overall failing grade of "F." The group's task force looked at scores of measure in five major categories access to care, quality and patient safety, liability, injury prevention and disaster preparedness and relied on data from the Centers for Disease Control and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, among others. The report comes just as the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, comes into full effect this year. The 2010 law aims to expand access to health insurance and reduce the nation's healthcare costs, but it has become a political flashpoint amid a troubled rollout of the federal insurance exchange website. While the physician's report does not factor in all of the effects of the law its grades are based on data from early 2013 emergency rooms could be used even more as more Americans gain insurance coverage under Obamacare, it said. Some health experts have predicted that increasing the number of insured patients should reduce pressure on hospital emergency rooms because access to regular doctor care will improve, something that is hoped would prevent chronic conditions from spiraling out of control or help catch other problems before they worsen. But insurance coverage could also lead those who might have held off going to the emergency room to seek care, said Jon Mark Hirshon, an emergency medicine doctor and researcher at the University of Maryland who oversaw the group's report card. Newly insured people also may have a hard time finding a regular doctor who accepts their plan, he said. "On top of that, emergency departments are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If I have a primary care provider but it's 9 o'clock at night on a Friday and they're closed, then people come to the emergency department," Hirshon told Reuters. The group is asking for congressional hearings to probe whether the law puts "additional strains" on emergency rooms. Already, beds for patients have fallen from a rate of 358 per 100,000 people four years ago to about 330 beds per 100,000 people now, the report said. Wait times have increased to a median of 4.5 hours compared to four hours in 2009. Despite the dismal U.S. grade given by the group, it noted that policies and infrastructure varied widely by state. States with the best emergency care include Massachusetts, Maine, Nebraska and Colorado, while Kentucky, Montana, New Mexico and Arizona rounded out the bottom, just above Wyoming. States are also still grappling with the uninsured. By law, hospitals must provide emergency care regardless of patients' ability to pay. Under Obamacare, states can expand access to Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance plan for the poor. Data shows that Medicaid patients use emergency rooms as much as other insured patients, but several recent studies have shown that Medicaid patients utilize them more than the uninsured. One study this month showed Oregon patients given Medicaid through a lottery increased their emergency room use by 40 percent compared to those not offered Medicaid. "We have to be leaner and more efficient, but it just becomes more and more challenging," Hirshon said. Claim: Doctors say pressure on ERs may rise, give U.S. failing grade.

SOLUTION: People seeking urgent medical could face longer wait times and other challenges as demand increases under Obamacare, U.S. emergency doctors said in a report on Thursday that gives the nation's emergency infrastructure a near failing grade.

PROBLEM: Paragraph: Amid mounting global concern over the public health implications of so-called e-cigarettes, Touraine said they faced the same fate as traditional ones: a ban on smoking in public spaces and sales to minors and a blackout on media advertising. In a country where the pungent waft of Gaulloises and Gitanes once seemed an unassailable part of cafe culture, smokers have long been banished to outdoor terrace seats. The near-odorless electronic alternative - battery-driven devices that allow users inhale odorless nicotine-laced vapor rather than smoke - are gaining ground in no-go zones such as bars, cafes, trains, waiting rooms and offices. A government-commissioned report said this week that around 500,000 people in France had turned to e-cigarettes, which are designed to look like cigarettes although some come in different colors, and recommended a crackdown on public use. Health officials in many countries say the impact of electronic cigarettes on health needs further study. Another worry they cite is that the electronic alternative will increase the general temptation to smoke, including enticing those who have quit to start again, or that smokers may use them alongside rather than instead of regular cigarettes. "This is no ordinary product because it encourages mimicking and could promote taking up smoking," said Touraine, who announced her plans at a news conference. In the United States, the number of smokers who have tried out e-cigarettes doubled to one in five in 2011 and the number of all adults trying it doubled too, to 6 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In France, a country of 66 million, the government says tobacco smoking kills some 66,000 people a year and another 5,000 are killed through passive exposure to smoke. The expert in charge of the French report advised against an outright ban on e-cigarettes, however, saying they still seemed safer than tar-laden tobacco. Electronic cigarettes, whose invention is widely credited to a Chinese pharmacist a decade ago, usually comprise disposable cartridges of liquid such as propylene glycol that is easily turned to vapor and can contain artificial flavors alongside concentrated liquid nicotine. Claim: France to ban electronic cigarettes in public.

SOLUTION: France will ban electronic cigarette smoking in public places by imposing the same curbs enforced since 2007 to combat tobacco smoking, Health Minister Marisol Touraine said on Friday.

PROBLEM: Paragraph: KGW-TV reports a woman in her 40s was hospitalized for a lung injury after she reportedly vaped products containing nicotine and THC. The products were purchased at local licensed retailers, Clark County Public Health said. A medical provider reported the illness to health officals. As of Dec. 10, the CDC reports 2,409 hospitalized cases of vaping-associated lung injury and 52 deaths. In Washington, 21 cases have been reported in nine counties. "We still don't know what is causing this outbreak, and there may be more than one cause," said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County health officer and Public Health director. "People should not use any vapor products." In Oregon, two people have died from a vaping-related illness, according to the Oregon Health Authority. Claim: Washington's Clark County reports 1st vaping-related illness.

SOLUTION:
Health officials say the first case of severe lung illness associated with vaping has been reported in Vancouver's Clark County.