Medicine & Health articles from August 2003

Medicine & Health archives from August 2003

Bush shifts funds from infectious ills to anthrax. (Infectious Disease Research).
August 4, 2003... The White House has directed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to shift $145 million in fiscal year 2003 funding away from its current uses into an initiative to procure a next-generation anthrax vaccine for civilians....

AIDS incidence ticks up, CDC reports. (HIV/AIDS).(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... The number of AIDS diagnoses in the United States rose 2.2 percent in 2002, the first such increase in 10 years, according to preliminary data released July 28 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC also said new...

Inpatient rule lowers outlier threshold. (Hospital Inpatient Rule).(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Under the 2004 hospital inpatient rule, published Aug. 1 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and set to take effect Oct. 1, Medicare inpatient prospective payment system rates would be increased by the full rise in the hospital...

States attack malpractice rates in 2003 sessions. (State Legislation).
August 4, 2003... Measures significantly revising state tort law were enacted by 10 states in the first half of 2003, as a total of 34 legislatures debated solutions to malpractice-premium costs, says a new survey by Blues plans. Idaho capped both...

GAO says data needed on medical liability. (Medical Liability).
August 4, 2003... Increased claims losses have been the biggest long-run factor behind rising malpractice premium rates, according to a General Accounting Office report released July 28 by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI). "Such losses are by far the biggest...

If Medicare Rx bill happens, e-prescribing wins the day. (Electronic Prescribing).
August 4, 2003... If this year's Medicare prescription-drug legislation becomes law, expect the country to shift wholesale to electronic prescribing within a few years. Both the House and the Senate legislation call for quick initiation of a...

In-hospital infection control key to stopping SARS ... (SARS).
August 4, 2003... The most important key to containing SARS--and potentially other new, infectious diseases without vaccines or treatments, such as pandemic flu--is quick and sustained implementation of tight, traditional infection-control procedures by hospital...

... But GAO doubts hospitals can cope. (SARS).(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Despite working to put precautions in place, U.S. hospitals may not be prepared to quickly contain a major new outbreak of SARS, the General Accounting Office told the Senate Government Reform Committee July 30. A SARS outbreak that occurs...

State budget crunches squeeze parents' coverage. (Medicaid/SCHIP).
August 4, 2003... The state fiscal crisis is taking a significant toll on health coverage for low-income parents, and to a lesser extent their children, according to an examination of state changes in their Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Programs...

Congress extends availability of SCHIP dollars. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... * Congress Extends Availability Of SCHIP Dollars. Under legislation passed by the Senate July 31, states will receive access through fiscal year 2004 to $1.2 billion in unspent SCHIP funds originally allocated for fiscal years 1998 and 1999....

$850 million more for SNFs under final payment rule. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... * $850 Million More For SNFs Under Final Payment Rule. Skilled nursing facilities would get about $850 million in increased Medicare payments next year under the final. SNF payment rule, scheduled to be published Aug. 4. Four hundred million...

Aid to tobacco farmers, FDA regulatory authority to be linked. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... * Aid To Tobacco Farmers, FDA Regulatory Authority To Be Linked. A proposal to prove financial help to American tobacco growers will be joined to legislation giving the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco products, CQ...

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (People).(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Pamela Kurland joins the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she'll work on issues related to community health centers. She was a legislative aide to former Rep. Mike Synar (D-OK) and most recently was Washington counsel for the...

National Health Council. (People).(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Delba Riddick is vice president of operations and member services at the multisector coalition National Health Council. She's previously been on staff at the Center for Policy Alternatives and the National Family Planning and Reproductive...

Biotechnology Industry Organization. (People).(Brief Article)
August 4, 2003... Sara Radcliffe, who's been research director for biologics, biotechnology, and preclinical affairs at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, is now director of regulatory affairs for the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

HHS Office of Human Research Protection. (People).(Obituary)
August 4, 2003... Helen Gordon of the HHS Office of Human Research Protection died June 15th at the age of 86. Gordon, who joined HHS in 1971, worked in OHRP's division of assurances and quality improvement the week before her death.

IOM: NIH needs big strategy, not fewer institutes. (Perspectives).
August 4, 2003... An Institute of Medicine panel tells Congress that lawmakers shouldn't worry much about the recent proliferation of new organizations within the National Institutes of Health. Policymakers should concentrate on helping NIH administer its...

High hopes, trepidations attend trade credit debut.(Insurance Tax Credit)
August 11, 2003... Seventeen states have qualified coverage options ready for people who want to use advanceable federal credits to purchase health insurance under the tax credit for trade-displaced workers enacted last year. Two more states are "technically"...

Thomas announces discount card agreement.(Drug Discount Cards Rep. Bill Thomas)
August 11, 2003... House and Senate Medicare conferees have reached a "tentative agreement" on rules for prescription-drug discount cards, conference chair Bill Thomas (RCA) announced Aug. 5. Thomas said "some technical drafting still needs to be completed,"...

Battle over risk-adjusting quality data turns nasty ...(Nursing-Home Quality Data)
August 11, 2003... A technical dispute over risk adjustment escalated late last year into war between Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Tom Scully and a leading quality-of-care researcher. The flap is delaying a critical study of...

... And scully seeks new ideas on survey and cert.
August 11, 2003... Having hacked his way to a precarious agreement with industry, unions, and others, Scully likely was touchy about perceived threats to the reporting initiative. But CMS won't divulge details of his beef with Zimmerman. HHS's response to GAO...

Single-shot vaccine may help contain Ebola.(Infectious Diseases)
August 11, 2003... If a single-shot, fast-acting Ebola vaccine works as well in humans as it seems to work in monkeys, it could be used to contain outbreaks of the deadly virus through "ring vaccination," the National Institutes of Health said in an Aug. 6...

CMS proposes 3.8 percent OPPS update.(Outpatient Payments)
August 11, 2003... Hospital payments under the outpatient prospective payment system would get a 3.8 percent increase under the proposed rule released the Aug. 6 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Aggregate outpatient payments to the nearly...

Local public-health officials stress out more about bioterror funding shift.(In Other News)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2003... Local public-health officials are increasingly worried about their "ability to maintain core... services while focusing on bioterrorism preparedness," reports the nonpartisan research and policy group Center for Studying Health System Change...

Do any health plans like the idea of Medicare "regions"?(In Other News)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2003... (Hint: No) The White House, House, and Senate all want to ensure health-plan choices for Medicare beneficiaries across the country--without drastic premium differences overwhelmingly favoring large urban areas--by requiring plans to serve...

West Nile moving farther and faster this year.(In Other News)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2003... Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Julie Gerberding, MD, said Aug. 7 that the number of human West Nile virus infections tripled in the past week, outpacing last year. In 2003, 4,156 people contracted the virus and 284 died in...

Florida malpractice deal caps pain and suffering damages.(In Other News)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2003... Florida lawmakers have agreed to a $500,000 cap on physicians' liability for noneconomic damages in malpractice cases, the Miami Herald reported Aug. 8. Emergency-room physicians would get more protection, with caps as low as $150,000 in many...

CMS to propose AWP reform.(In Other News average wholesale price)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2003... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services intends within the next couple of weeks to issue a proposed rule reforming the "average wholesale price" mechanism by which Medicare pays for the small number of outpatient drugs that it covers....

Urban hospitals not yet ready for bioterror attack, GAO says.(In Other News)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2003... Urban hospitals remain inadequately prepared for a bioterror attack, the General Accounting Office warned Aug. 6. Fewer than half of the hospitals that responded to a GAO survey reported conducting exercises simulating an attack. And many...

AHP opponents gain key GOP ally.(In Other News association-health-plan)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2003... Influential conservative Republican Sen. Don Nickles (OK) blasts association-health-plan legislation in a July 31 letter to fellow senators. Citing the National Association of Attorneys General's opposition to the federally regulated AHPs...

Outpatient drug outlays increase.(In Other News)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2003... The cost of outpatient drugs rose from $72.3 billion in 1997 to $103 billion in 2000, according to new data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Outpatient medications also increased as a...

... And pretty soon you're talking real money.(In Other News)(Brief Article)
August 11, 2003... On August 6, the giant hospital chain Tenet Healthcare agreed to pay $54 million to settle federal investigations into unnecessary heart surgeries at its Redding, CA, facility. Tenet's acting CEO said the settlement brought "closure to one of...

National Association of Chain Drug Stores.(People)
August 11, 2003... The senior vice president for government affairs at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores is Lee Verstandig. Previously, he was a top lobbyist at the National Association of Realtors and at the Wexler Group. He was an aide to both...

Last spending bill goes first, comes out cheaper, GOP hopes.(Perspectives)
August 11, 2003... September is shaping up as the month of big fights on federal spending, which often occur much later in the year. The result may be that many of the last-minute health-related spending boosts that have made it into previous years'...

All dislike AWP, but cancer docs dislike proposed fixes ...(Average Wholesale Price)
August 25, 2003... Medicare beneficiaries and the government could save up to $45.2 billion over ten years if the health care program for seniors and the disabled cut back on overpayments to physicians for outpatient prescription drugs So says the Centers...

Differential-pricing concerns shift to hospitals.(Perspectives this week ...)
August 25, 2003... This is the first part of a Perspectives series on the growing controversy over differential hospital pricing and its effects on the uninsured. The second will be published in our Sept. 8 issue. What's the newest tough-to-eradicate...

... CMS seeks comment on four payment schemes.
August 25, 2003... According to CMS, increasing practice expense reimbursements is irrevocably linked to decreasing drug payments, since the agency only has authority to do the former by using funds gained from the doing the latter. Under the first...

Medicare pay cut looming in 2004.(Physician Compensation)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2003... Only a few months after Congress turned a looming 4.4 percent Medicare pay cut into a 1.6 percent increase for 2003, physicians are facing a 4.2 percent cut in 2004, with another cut expected in 2005. The 2004 negative update, contained in...

Single-payer must be part of debate, say docs ...(Access)
August 25, 2003... A group of high-profile physicians, including two former U.S. Surgeons General, are campaigning to move the notion of single-payer national health insurance off the fringes and into the mainstream of political debate over ensuring...

... Whose plan would end for-profit health-care.(Access)
August 25, 2003... At an annual per capita expenditure of $5,775, "we're already spending enough in this country to provide excellent health care to everybody," said Harvard Medical School's Steffie Woolhandler, MD, lead author of the JAMA article. "How bad does...

Panel wants coverage mandate, subsidies ...(Vaccines)
August 25, 2003... The United States can move towards universal access to important vaccines through a tripartite strategy: Mandate that all public and private insurers cover immunizations, subsidize insurers for the cost of doing so, and provide vaccination...

... Panel cites dangers of high costs, disappearing producers.(Vaccines)
August 25, 2003... "The national immunization system has performed extremely well in achieving high levels of immunization for children, and progress has been made in adult immunization," said panel chair Frank Sloan, a Duke University professor of Health Policy...

Study: big hospitals still miss donation opportunities.(Organ Donation)
August 25, 2003... Eighty-eight percent of all potential brain-dead organ donors who ended up not donating are in hospitals with 150 beds or more, according to a study in the Aug. 14 New England Journal of Medicine. That means efforts to convert more potential...

Minnesota hospitals to report quality forum's "never events.".(In Other News)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2003... * Minnesota Hospitals To Report Quality Forum'S "Never Events." Minnesota lawmakers have passed legislation making the state the first to require all hospitals to report occurrence of 27 adverse events that the multi-stakeholder National...

Tax credit tough going in states where few qualify.(In Other News)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2003... * Tax Credit Tough Going In States Where Few Qualify. Add another to the ironies of the U.S. health-care system. In states where few people need the new federal coverage tax credit for trade-displaced workers, it's likely to be harder for those...

M+C enrollees spending more, but FFS beneficiaries spending more yet.(In Other News)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2003... * M+C Enrollees Spending More, But Ffs Beneficiaries Spending More Yet. The average Medicare+Choice enrollee is spending about $1,964 out-of-pocket this year, 10 percent more than last year and double the amount from four years ago, Marcia Gold...

CMS expands E-Reporting requirements.(In Other News)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2003... * CMS Expands E-Reporting Requirements. In an Aug. 22 final rule, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it would require several types of Medicare providers to submit electronic cost reports beginning in May 2005. CMS said it...

Pharmaceutical Care Management Association.(People)(Brief Article)
August 25, 2003... Phil Blando is vice president of public affairs at the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association. Previously, he was vice president for strategic planning and public affairs for the American Association of Health Plans.