Medicine & Health articles from May 2003

Medicine & Health archives from May 2003

House steps up global HIV/AIDS effort. (HIV/AIDS).(the House votes to increase American efforts to fight the global HIV/AIDS epidemic)
May 5, 2003... By a 375-41 margin, the House on May 1 voted to sharply increase American efforts to fight the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, as well as malaria and tuberculosis. The measure, H.R. 1298, authorizes $3 billion annually from fiscal year 2004...

Battle, but little real debate, continues over AHPs ... (Association Health Plans).(association health plan legislation has support in the House and Senate)
May 5, 2003... Association health plan legislation has fairly broad support in the Senate and is likely on its way to House passage. But as the rhetoric increases from both supporters and opponents of the bill--which would allow groups representing small...

... As actuaries raise doubts about administrative savings. (Association Health Plans).(questions surround two current association health plan bills)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2003... Commenting on the two current AHP bills--H.R. 660 and S. 545--the health plan work group of the American Academy of Actuaries wrote House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair John Boehner (R-OH) April 29 that the group finds "the goals...

Report: state AIDS drug programs threatened. (HIV/AIDS).(a report says that state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs are at risk)
May 5, 2003... State AIDS Drugs Assistance Programs are increasingly at risk, says the 2003 annual report of the National ADAP Monitoring Project, a joint endeavor of the Kaiser Family Foundation, National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, and...

Medicare, private-pay rates creep closer together ... (Physician Payment).(evidence suggests that it is Medicare's inflluence on private payers that is causing problems for physicians)
May 5, 2003... Is Medicare's influence on private payers what's really bugging docs? Despite threats from physicians over the past two years that they'll stop seeing Medicare patients due to low reimbursement, some recent reports suggest that it may not be...

... And Medicare is still on top for E&M. (Physician Payment).(private insurer payments are smaller than Medicare payments for evaluation and management services)
May 5, 2003... While Medicare payments are similar on average to private-insurer payments, there are significant differences among services, says the Maryland study. "Private rates are lower than Medicare rates for evaluation and management services such as...

U.S. should not sign Tobacco-Control Treaty, anti-smoking group says. (In Other News).(the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids says the US should not sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control if it does not want to)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2003... * It's not exactly what you expect to hear from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: If the United States doesn't want to sign the recently negotiated Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, then it shouldn't. The reason for the Campaign's...

State budget woes continue, says NCSL. (In Other News).(28 states say their health-care programs are over budget)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2003... * As states struggle to close a fiscal year 2003 budget gap of $21.5 billion only two months before the end of most state fiscal years, 28 states say their health-care programs are over budget, says an April update from the National Conference...

Employees acknowledge higher health costs, don't want to pay them. (In Other News).(a survey finds that 87% of employees realize that health-care costs are growing faster than inflation)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2003... * Eighty-seven percent of employees acknowledge that health-care costs are growing faster than inflation, in a new survey from the Towers Perrin consultancy. Sixty-three percent of workers say that health-care costs have an impact on their...

Court sets out test for ADA size requirement. (In Other News).(the Supreme Court rules in Clackamas Gastroenterology Associates v. Wells)
May 5, 2003... * Common-law master-servant principles should determine who is an employee under the Americans With Disabilities Act, which applies only to employers with 15 or more employees, the United States Supreme Court held April 22 in Clackamas...

Health-related worries dominate, Kaiser finds. (In Other News).(according to a poll, 36% of Americans are very worried about health insurance costs)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2003... * Thirty-six percent of Americans are "very worried" that the amount they pay for health services or health insurance might increase, according to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation poll. The next-ranking concern, not health-related, was...

Bush moves on universal health care ... for Iraq. (In Other News).(three Democrats want the Bush Administration to make the same health-care commitment to Americans that Iraqis are getting)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2003... * Three House Democrats issued a call April 30 for the Bush administration to make the same health-care commitment to Americans as it has to residents of Iraq. A contract issued that day by the U.S. Agency for International Development...

Next up, the car wash. (In Other News).(Massillon Community Hospital in Ohio is holding a bake sale to finance health care for uninsured and under-insured people)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2003... * How to finance care for uninsured and under-insured people? One Ohio hospital is counting on cookies. For the third year, Massillon Community Hospital in Massillon will dole out pre-ordered muffins, brownies, and cookies from its board...

Barbour Griffith & Rogers. (People).(Bob Wood is leaving the Department of Health and Human Services to join Barbour Griffith & Rogers)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2003... Bob Wood, chief of staff to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, is leaving HHS to join Barbour Griffith & Rogers. Wood, who's worked with Thompson since 1994 when he was an education advisor to the then-Wisconsin governor, will...

4th Circuit Court of Appeals. (People).(President Bush nominates HHS Deputy Secretary Claude Allen to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals)(Brief Article)
May 5, 2003... President Bush has nominated HHS Deputy Secretary Claude Allen to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. Prior to his appointment to HHS, Allen was Virginia's secretary for health and human resources. Earlier in his career, Allen was press secretary...

Hospital forum airs predictions on health-care future. (Perspective).(the nursing workforce shortage will likely be th emain driver of helath-care spending growth)
May 5, 2003... An aging population will not be the main driver of health-care spending growth, the nursing workforce shortage will become an increasingly scary nightmare, and the uninsured--even if their numbers increase--won't flood most hospital emergency...

Baldacci says everyone must give a little to fund care ... (Health Coverage).(Maine Governor John Baldacci introduces a proposal to provide coverage for all of Maine's uninsured within four years)
May 12, 2003... Declaring that his state's health-care crisis is deepening, Maine Gov. John Baldacci (D) unveiled a promised proposal May 5 to cover all Maine's uninsured within four years and implement mechanisms to hold down health-care cost increases. ...

... But will providers and insurers want to play?(health-care groups are showing concerns over Maine Governor Baldacci's helath care plans)
May 12, 2003... "Today we have to set aside special interests and put the people of Maine first," Baldacci proclaimed. But providers' and insurers' comments reported last week in the Maine press suggest that--not surprisingly--stakeholder balking over...

Care coordination lags all over, U.S. bucks other trends. (International Trends).(a survey of patients from several countries about their health care systems)
May 12, 2003... A lack of coordinated care for people with serious medical conditions characterizes all five nations in the Commonwealth Fund's 2002 comparative survey. But some other assessments of the health care system by patients in the United States...

More nurses, volume providers quality keys, says AHRQ. (Health Care Quality).(a report finds evidence for increasing nurse staffing and turning to high-volume providers to improve quality of care)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality says in a new report that there's solid evidence for increasing nurse staffing and turning to high-volume providers to improve quality of care. In an evidence report focusing on the question "Do...

Physician supply up, but so are time constraints. (Physicians).(while there are more physicians, more say they are short of time)
May 12, 2003... There are more physicians, and they're spending more time with patients--but physicians in greater numbers than before say they are short of the time they need to handle their caseload. That's the strange situation spelled out in a new Tracking...

OIG: PBM rebates protected if disclosed. (Compliance).(pharmacy benefit managers must disclose volume rebates from drugmakers, according to the Office of Inspector General)
May 12, 2003... To receive "safe harbor" protection under the federal anti-kickback statute, volume rebates from drugmakers to pharmacy benefit managers must be disclosed to the PBMs' clients, according to the final compliance program guidance for...

Frist to bring up House AIDS bill. (In Other News).(Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will bring up a bill passed by the House to provide $15 billion to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic)
May 12, 2003... * Frist To Bring Up House AIDS Bill. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) intends to bring up a bill passed by the House last week that would provide $15 billion over five years in funding to fight the international HIV/AIDS epidemic. "This...

Bioshield bill stalled by question of unlimited funding. (In Other News).(the House Energy and Commerce Committee postpones a mark-up of the "Bioshield" legislation)
May 12, 2003... * Bioshield Bill Stalled By Question Of Unlimited Funding. The House Energy and Commerce Committee announced May 8 that it had postponed a scheduled mark-up of the so-called "Bioshield" legislation until next week, "at the request of the...

Senate tax package contains help for states. (In Other News).(the federal government will send states $20 billion in additional funding under the bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... * Senate Tax Package Contains Help For States. The federal government would send states $20 billion over 10 years in additional funding under the tax bill approved May 7 by the Senate Finance Committee. Finance Chair Charles Grassley (R-IA)...

CMS proposes SNF payment increase. (In Other News).(the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will propose increasing payments to skilled nursing facilities)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... * CMS Proposes SNF Payment Increase. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will propose increasing payments to skilled nursing facilities under the SNF prospective payment system by 2.9 percent in fiscal year 2004, the agency said May...

Rehab hospitals in line for 3.3 percent increase. (In Other News).(inpatient rehabilitation hospitals will get a reimbursement increase under a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposal)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... * Rehab Hospitals In Line For 3.3 Percent Increase. Inpatient rehabilitation hospitals would get a 3.3 percent reimbursement increase under a proposed rule to be issued May 16 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency...

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (People).(appoints Sean Tunis as its chief medical officer)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services analyst Sean Tunis, MD, has been appointed the agency' s chief medical officer, a post he's held in an acting capacity for the past year. Tunis, an emergency physician, previously was director of CMS's...

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (People).(hires Beverly Watts Davis as the new director)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... Beverly Watts Davis is the new director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. She is a prevention specialist and trainer who previously served as executive director of San...

Office of Management and Budget. (People).(Mitch Daniels is resigning as the White House Office of Management and Budget Director)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mitch Daniels announced May 6 that he's leaving that position, amid speculation that he plans a run for governor in his home state of Indiana. On May 7, the Indianapolis Star reported that...

Health Strategies. (People).(hires John Richardson)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... John Richardson has joined the Washington-based consultancy Health Strategies. He was a Medicare analyst at the White House Office of Management and Budget, specializing in Part B issues, and most recently directed development of new programs...

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.(Health Strategies hires Ferry Bridger)(Brief Article)
May 12, 2003... Also new at Health Strategies beginning May 12 is Ferry Bridger, who's been a senior analyst in the coverage and analysis group at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

FEHBP-like Medicare gets buzz, likely isn't prime-time ready. (Perspectives).(Federal Employees Health Benefit Program)
May 12, 2003... Last summer, much of Washington thought that at least the short-term course of Medicare overhaul was clear: Enact a program-wide prescription-drug benefit relying--to a greater or lesser extent--on delivery by private entities. Include in the...

Senate passes AIDS bill. (HIV/AIDS).(Brief Article)
May 19, 2003... By voice vote May 16, the Senate authorized $15 billion over five years to combat the international HIV/ AIDS epidemic. The Senate approved the bill passed by the House May 1 almost unchanged, beating back Democratic attempts to eliminate a...

Help for states, rural areas in Senate bill. (Budget).
May 19, 2003... The tax bill passed by the Senate May 15 includes $20 billion in fiscal relief for state and local governments, including $10 billion earmarked for Medicaid. The measure would also raise Medicare reimbursements for rural states. The Senate...

Inpatient rule lowers high-tech threshold. (Hospitals).
May 19, 2003... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says hospitals would get a 3.5 percent pay raise under the proposed inpatient rule released May 9. The American Hospital Association says the average per-case increase would be more like 2.5...

Payers mull adoption of new consensus safety measures. (National Quality Forum).
May 19, 2003... The purchaser-sponsored Leapfrog Group, which aims at pushing hospitals to adopt better patient-safety methods, will take its "next leaps" from the consensus list of "safe practices" just issued by the National Quality Forum, That's...

Big buyer to pursue longer contracts, purchaser pacts. (CalPERS).(Brief Article)
May 19, 2003... Managing chronic conditions and establishing longer-term relationships with its health plans are key parts of a new strategic plan for cost control adopted May 13 by the administrative board of the California Public Employees' Retirement...

Thomas aside, no news but clearer detail in CBO paper. (Uninsured).
May 19, 2003... A May 13 statement from Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA) on a new Congressional Budget Office analysis of who's uninsured in America bears the headline "Study Finds Number of Uninsured Grossly Overstated." But perusal of CBO's full report suggests that...

GAO: death to local coverage process. (Medicare).
May 19, 2003... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should strip Medicare contractors of their authority to make local coverage decisions for new devices and procedures, the General Accounting Office said May 12. Asserting that LCDs resulted in...

Medicaid revisions still up in air on hill, among governors. (In Other News).
May 19, 2003... Medicaid Revisions Still Up In Air On Hill, Among Governors. The National Governors Association task force on Medicaid is a long way from consensus on program revisions to recommend, according to evidence that emerged from a May 14 Washington...

Commerce approves Bioshield Bill. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
May 19, 2003... Commerce Approves Bioshield Bill. After a lickety-split May 15 mark-up featuring much bipartisan bonhomie, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved legislation designed to encourage pharmaceutical companies and other private firms to...

Collins to FDA: regulate tissue industry now. (In Other News).
May 19, 2003... Collins To FDA: Regulate Tissue Industry Now. Legislation introduced May 14 by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) would give the Food and Drug Administration 90 days to issue safety regulations for the tissue industry. ...

HELP approves mosquito control funds. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
May 19, 2003... HELP Approves Mosquito Control Funds. In a May 14 session, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee unanimously voted to send states and localities $100 million to control mosquitoes, the primary carriers of West Nile virus....

Without outliers, Tenet revenues shrink.(Brief Article)
May 19, 2003... Without Outliers, Tenet Revenues Shrink. Tenet Healthcare Corp., one of the big winners under the previously highly gameable Medicare outlier-payment mechanism, announced a first-quarter loss now that the federal government has cracked down on...

Feds lower threshold for hypertension danger. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
May 19, 2003... Feds Lower Threshold For Hypertension Danger. New guidelines from the National Heart, and Blood Institute warn that even people with blood-pressure levels formerly viewed as the higher end of normal range are at relatively serious risk of...

Health Resources and Services Administration. (People).(Brief Article)
May 19, 2003... Moving over to the Health Resources and Services Administration from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is Michelle Snyder. Snyder's been director of the office of financial management at CMS.

Emerging infections highlight need for big-picture awareness. (Perspectives).
May 19, 2003... This is the first part of a two-part Perspectives on public-health infrastructure needs brought into focus by the recent emergence of SARS. Policymakers' tendency to ignore public health until a sudden drama, such as the emergence of SARS,...

High court oks Maine Rx ... (Rx Drugs).
May 26, 2003... The U.S. Supreme Court May 19 turned back a challenge to the Maine Rx program, which seeks to leverage the buying power of the state's Medicaid population to obtain drug discounts for non-Medicaid eligible state residents. In so doing so,...

... But the fight may be just beginning. (Rx Drugs).
May 26, 2003... Stevens and other justices took pains to emphasize the narrowness of their decision. For example, Stevens said these three Medicaid purposes would not save Maine Rx if it "severely curtailed Medicaid recipients' access to prescription drugs,"...

Tax bill: States get help ... (Capitol Hill).(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... States will get $20 billion in new federal money under the economic growth package passed by Congress and supported by President George Bush. Rural health care providers, however, must wait some more for the $25 billion that they would have...

... Rural providers must wait for Medicare bill. (Capitol Hill).
May 26, 2003... Grassley's package, intended to bring Medicare reimbursements for rural hospitals, physicians, skilled nursing facilities, and other providers up to the level of their urban counterparts, didn't make the final cut. The Iowan ran into House...

Aetna, docs settle in Miami class action. (Managed Care).
May 26, 2003... Aetna, Inc., will pay $100 million to the nation's physicians and make significant changes in the way it does business to settle out of a massive federal class action, the insurer and plaintiffs' attorneys announced May 22. In the suit,...

Study suggests who gains from disputed surgery. (Lung-Volume Reduction).
May 26, 2003... The five-year National Emphysema Treatment Trial, a historic attempt by the federal government to obtain evidence on the effectiveness of a fast-proliferating medical procedure--lung volume reduction surgery--whose costs had threatened to...

US doesn't block treaty but hasn't committed to ratify. (Tobacco Treaty).
May 26, 2003... The 192 members of the World Health Organization unanimously adopted WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control on May 21, the first treaty ever negotiated under the group's auspices. Forty countries must ratify the treaty for it to take...

Just say no to refundable credits, says Cato analyst. (Insurance Tax Credits).
May 26, 2003... So you thought advancing refundable tax credits to help lower-income workers buy health coverage was a compromise on which everybody could, however grudgingly, agree? Not so fast, said Cato Institute health-policy director Tom Miller, in...

HELP moves genetic discrimination bill. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... * After years of deadlock, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee unanimously approved a bill barring insurers and employers from discriminating based on an individual's genetic information. Senate Majority leader Bill...

Second panel approves bioshield. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... * The House Government Affairs Committee May 22 passed legislation designed to encourage development of bioterrorism countermeasures. By voice vote, the panel approved HR 2122, President George Bush's "Bioshield" initiative, which was adopted...

Commerce names medicaid task force. (In Other News).
May 26, 2003... * In search of Medicaid revisions to enhance the program and save cash, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Billy Tauzin (R-LA) has appointed a task force on the issue. The task force's goals, according to a press release: identify...

Eight state hospital associations officially back reporting plan. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... * The New Jersey Hospital Association is the eighth state organization to endorse the voluntary quality-reporting effort announced in December by the American Hospital Association and others. Associations in the District of Columbia,...

American Association for Homecare. (People).(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... Laura Fisher is director of communications at the American Association for Homecare. Previously, she worked on home care issues at Edelman Public Relations. Fisher replaces Julie Phillips Turner, now an independent consultant.

Generic Pharmaceutical Association. (People).(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... New at the Generic Pharmaceutical Association is Debra Barrett, senior director of government affairs. She has been a professional staffer for Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

Independent Sector. (People).(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... Also at GPhA, Janice Jackson is director of membership services. She previously was associate director for membership at Independent Sector, a leadership organization for the nonprofit and philanthropic sector.

Iowa Department of Human Services. (People).(Brief Article)
May 26, 2003... Kevin Concannon is currently director of the Iowa Department of Human Services. Previously, he headed Maine's human-services agency, and it was on his watch that the state devised the Maine Rx prescription drug-buying program to which the U.S....

King-Shaw emerges at treasury as Bush point man on health. (Medicine & Health Perspectives).
May 26, 2003... This is the first in a series of Perspectives on health coverage tax credits for some jobless people and retirees that were enacted last year as part of trade legislation. * Bush Campaign's Big Health-Care Plan In Works Behind The Scenes...