Latest California Healthline Stories
Health Agencies Nab Grants for Community Improvement
On Monday, the National Association of County and City Health Officials announced individual grants of $35,000 to the Plumas County Public Health Agency in Chester, the San Francisco Department of Public Health and 10 other local health departments around the country for community health improvement projects. The projects will serve as preparation for a new, voluntary accreditation process for public health departments that begins in September. The grants are supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch.”
Drug Prices Expected To Dip as Patent Protections Expire
Seven of the world’s 20 top-selling prescription drugs will lose patent protection in the next 14 months, causing drug prices to decline significantly. In addition, nearly 120 brand-name prescriptions worth about $255 billion in global annual sales are expected to lose market exclusivity by 2016. As a result, consumers could experience significant savings over the next decade because generic alternatives typically cost between 20% and 80% less than brand-name treatments. Physicians also hope lower prices will discourage people from skipping or not taking medications as prescribed to save money. AP/San Francisco Chronicle.
IOM Issues Plan for Chronic Disease Surveillance System
Last week, the Institute of Medicine released a blueprint for building a national chronic disease surveillance system. The report proposes that HHS lead an effort to “integrate current and emerging data on chronic diseases and generate timely guidance for stakeholders at the local, state, regional and national levels.” IOM suggests that without a national system, “gaps in current monitoring approaches will continue to exist and make it more difficult to track the nation’s health status despite advances in technology and data collection.” The Hill‘s “Healthwatch.”
HHS Denies N.D. Request for Medical-Loss Ratio Waiver
Last week, HHS announced that it denied North Dakota’s request for a medical-loss ratio waiver, the first time that the agency has rejected such a request. The waivers allow insurers in states to avoid a requirement in the federal health reform law that individual and small-group health plans spend a certain amount of premiums on direct medical costs. HHS said it denied the waiver because North Dakota insurers are not at risk of leaving the market. Meanwhile, HHS partially approved waivers for Iowa and Kentucky. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch,” Modern Healthcare.
Brown Rejects Bill To Establish Replacement Program for ADHC
Gov. Brown has vetoed a measure to create a program that would help care for the elderly and residents with disabilities in place of adult day health care services. The veto message noted that ADHC benefits will continue until Dec. 1. Sacramento Bee et al.
Health Care Costs Slow for Employers, Thomson Reuters Analysis Finds
Medical costs for U.S. residents who have employer-sponsored insurance slowed to an annual rate of 3.8% for the first three months of 2011, compared with a 6.3% rate in the first quarter of 2010, according to a Thomson Reuters health care spending index. Healthcare Finance News.
Editorial Sees Problems in S.F. Health Care Proposal
A San Francisco Chronicle editorial states that San Francisco Supervisor David Campos has “identified a legitimate concern” by pointing out that some local businesses are “trying to evade a city requirement that they provide health insurance to their workers.” However, Campos’ proposal to address this problem by requiring employers to roll over unused funds from health reimbursement accounts into the next year could “amount to locking up hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for businesses that may be on the margins of profitability,” the editorial states. It adds, “A coalition of business groups has stepped forward with a much more practical and effective solution to the problem identified by Campos: Require employers to inform workers of the benefit and to keep them updated on their account balances through the year — and require them to reimburse all IRS-eligible health expenses.” San Francisco Chronicle.
CBO: Fixing ‘Glitch’ in Reform Law Could Save $13B Over Next Decade
According to a Congressional Budget Office report, legislation aimed at fixing a “glitch” in the federal health reform law allowing middle-income early retirees to qualify for Medicaid could save about $13 billion over the next decade. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch,” Modern Healthcare.
Survey: Small Businesses Concerned About Effects of Health Reform Law
A survey from the National Federation of Independent Business finds that many small businesses are worried that the health reform law will lead to more paperwork and higher taxes. Some reform law supporters are raising questions about the poll. National Journal et al.
Study: Mail-Order Rx Linked to Better Cholesterol Control
People who obtain statin medications through mail-order pharmacies achieve better cholesterol control than patients who obtain statins from walk-in pharmacies, according to a new study by Kaiser Permanente Northern California researchers. The study found that 85% of patients who used mail-order pharmacies met their target cholesterol levels at least three months after starting the statins, compared with 74% of those who used the walk-in pharmacy. Researchers suggested that patients who use mail-order pharmacies might take their medications more regularly. Boston Globe, United Press International.