New “Health Wonk Review” Available on Disease Management Care Blog
Looking for a few good health policy reads? The always-interesting “Health Wonk Review” is being hosted by the Disease Management Care Blog.
It can be found here.
WHAT WE’RE READING: Catch Up with Express Scripts CEO George Paz
- “Express Scripts CEO’s Take on the Drug Market,” Wall Street Journal: George Paz discusses the Medco takeover and Express Scripts’ break with Walgreen.
- “How Patients Judge What Makes ‘Excellent’ Health Care,” Washington Post’s “Wonkblog”: A study analyzes what patients consider to be quality care.
- “Band-Aids and Muppets Aim to Soothe Child’s Scrapes,” New York Times: Bring your band-aid to life with Johnson & Johnson’s new app.
AHL’s TOP STORY: Amendments Hold Up Senate Reauthorization of User Fee Bill
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) yesterday warned that he would move on to other legislation if a deal is not reached over amendments to a bill (S 3187) to reauthorize and modify FDA’s prescription drug and medical device user-fee programs, The Hill‘s “Floor Action Blog” reports (Strauss, “Floor Action Blog,” The Hill, 5/22).
Reid gave the warning as he set up a procedural vote on the bill for today. He noted that if a deal is not reached, he could file cloture on the measure and move on to other legislation.”[I]f we don’t have something worked out, I think we’re going to have to do some other things and recognize that all the happy talk on this bill might not come to be,” he said.
WHAT WE’RE READING: No Overnight Cure for Health Care Woes
- “Jon Gruber on Obamacare, Premium Support and Health Policy Dreams,” Washington Post’s “Wonkblog”: MIT health economist says it will take time to fix the nation’s health care problem.
- “Autism Scientists Search for Help, for Their Own Kids’ Sakes,” USA Today: Father of children diagnosed with autism works to find a cure.
- “A Boy’s Serious Ailment Required Only a Simple Fix Once it was Diagnosed,” Washington Post: After five years of misdiagnosis cornstarch provided the cure for a deficiency that attacks the liver.
AHL’s TOP STORY: Tax Credit Benefit Not Enough To Overcome Complexity for Small Businesses, GAO Report Finds
The small business tax credit provided by the federal health reform law is not big enough to incentivize employers to begin offering health benefits, according to a Government Accountability Office report released yesterday, The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” reports (Baker, “Healthwatch,” The Hill, 5/21).
Under the overhaul, the credit is available to businesses with fewer than 25 full-time workers whose annual incomes average less than $50,000. The credit pays 35% of insurance premium costs for an eligible applicant, and the company must pay at least 50% of premium costs. Not-for-profits are eligible for up to 25% off of their premium costs. The credit was developed to help small businesses through 2014, when they will be able to purchase insurance through state-based exchanges. The credits will phase out two years after the exchanges open, according to the law (American Health Line, 11/8/11).
WHAT WE’RE READING: Patients Share Tales on Facebook
- “Your Stories of Being Sick Inside the U.S. Health Care System,” NPR’s “Shots”: A Facebook poll uses personal tales to illuminate serious problems with the cost and quality of care in the U.S.
- “The Latest Trend: Blaming Brain Science,” Time’s “Ideas”: Judith Warner analyzes why we no longer take responsibility for our actions.
- “Entitlement Reform for the Entitled,” New York Times’ “Opinionator”: Ezekiel Emanuel proposes linking the eligibility age for Social Security and Medicare to a person’s wealth.
AHL’s TOP STORY: Health Care Spending Growth Stems From Price Increases, Study Finds
Health care spending by privately insured U.S. residents increased between 2009 and 2010 primarily because prices of services increased, according to a study by the Health Care Cost Institute, Politico reports. The study found costs increased by 3.3% in 2010, despite U.S. residents using fewer services in many categories (Feder, Politico, 5/21).
The findings are based on claims data from Aetna, Humana and UnitedHealthcare, which cover about 20% of U.S. residents with employer-sponsored health plans (Bristol, CQ HealthBeat, 5/21).
BETWEEN THE LINES: Dispensing Emergency Contraception Misinformation
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) recently introduced legislation (HR 5731) that would prohibit federal funding of telemedicine to clinics and physicians to provide medication abortion remotely. The bill states that “no funds made available under a telemedicine law … may be used for telemedicine abortions or for assistance to facilities that offer telemedicine abortions.” It also would prohibit any equipment or other infrastructure purchased with federal telemedicine grants from being used for abortion care.
According to The Hill‘s “Floor Action Blog,” however, the bill would “cut off public funding for abortion providers that use video consultations with doctors who prescribe the morning-after pill,” which is another term for emergency contraception, not medication abortion. Read the rest of this entry »
BACK AND FORTH: How Using Truvada for HIV Prevention Is a Catch-22
Although an FDA advisory panel recently recommended that FDA approve Gilead Sciences’ Truvada for use in preventing HIV, some panel members were concerned that HIV-negative individuals would not take the drug as prescribed and put themselves and their partners at risk.
Panel members expressed concerns about people taking Truvada incorrectly; while the drug can prevent HIV infection, it cannot control an infection. As a result, individuals who are infected while taking Truvada could develop drug-resistant strains of HIV, which could spread to other people. In addition, studies have shown that the drug’s side effects — which include nausea, kidney infections and declines in bone density — affect individuals’ compliance with a daily Truvada regimen.
The recommendation to approve the drug for men who have sex with men, HIV-negative partners of individuals who are HIV-positive, and “other individuals at risk for acquiring HIV through sexual activity” has launched a flurry of debate as to whether the benefits are worth the risks.
WHAT WE’RE READING: Eating Healthy Costs Less
“How to Make Healthy Eating Easier on the Wallet? Change the Calculation,” NPR’s “The Salt”: Economists from USDA found consumers get more for their buck when accounting for the vitamins and minerals being consumed.
“If the Court Repeals Obamacare, Republicans Don’t Need to Worry Too Much About Replacing It,” Time’s “Swampland”: Kate Pickert argues that Americans do not expect a GOP health plan to replace Obama’s.
“Why Expose a Child to the Risks of a Clinical Trial? One mom Explains,” Wall Street Journal’s “Health Blog”: Michael Link of Stanford University says study participation by young patients keeps kids’ long-term cancer survivor rates high.
