Diabetes Registry OK for PQRI
The National Committee for Quality Assurance's diabetes registry has been designated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a registry that can be used for quality reporting, NCQA has announced. Physicians who have earned recognition through the NCQA's Diabetes Recognition Program may now opt to have NCQA submit their clinical data to Medicare for use in the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, which rewards physicians financially for collecting and reporting performance data. “Using NCQA data to qualify for the PQRI allows NCQA-recognized providers … to streamline their reporting and devote more resources to patient care,” NCQA said in a press release. Interested providers can submit data to NCQA for the 2009 PQRI registry through Jan. 31, 2010.
Vermont Bans Most Pharma Gifts
Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas (R) has signed into law a bill that prohibits manufacturers of drugs, medical devices, and biologics from providing free gifts, including meals and travel, to physicians and other health care providers. The toughest of its kind in the nation, the legislation also requires disclosure of any allowed gifts or payments, regardless of their value. In 2002, a Vermont law required disclosure of gifts or payments of $25 or more. Under the stronger law, manufacturers can give physicians only gifts such as samples intended for patients, “reasonable quantities” of medical device evaluation or demonstration units, and copies of peer-reviewed articles. Companies still can provide scholarships or other support for medical students, residents, and fellows to attend educational events held by professional associations, as long as the association selects the scholarship recipient.
Benefits of the Recession
More employees are saying that living a healthy lifestyle is a priority compared with a year ago, “in perhaps a nod to controlling their own health care costs,” according to the National Business Group on Health. The group surveyed 1,500 workers between the ages of 22 and 69; all worked at companies with at least 2,000 employees. The survey found that 34% of respondents reported exercising more, 46% said they were eating healthier, and 44% reported eating out less at fast-food restaurants. On the negative side, 27% of respondents reported forgoing health care treatment to save money on copayments or coinsurance costs. One in five respondents skipped taking their prescription drug medication dosage as prescribed by their doctor. “The National Business Group on Health believes the survey data provide a pathway for businesses to help their workers cope—and thrive—despite the bad economy, including offering financial incentives to motivate health behavior changes; disseminating more information about the costs and quality of services at a provider level … and providing more targeted communications based on specific health conditions,” the group said in a statement.
Bankruptcies, Illness Linked
Medical problems contributed to nearly two-thirds of all bankruptcies in the United States in 2007, according to a study in the American Journal of Medicine. Based on court-record reviews and interviews of more than 2,300 bankruptcy filers in 2007, the study found that 62% of filers cited medical debts and income lost to illness as reasons for seeking bankruptcy. Of these “medically bankrupt families,” 9 out of 10 said they had medical debts over $5,000, and the rest met criteria for medical bankruptcy because they had lost significant income because of illness or mortgaged a home to pay medical bills. Out-of-pocket medical costs averaged $17,943 for all medically bankrupt families, including the three-quarters of families that had insurance at the outset of their problems. Most medical debtors were well-educated, owned homes, and had middle-class occupations, the study found.
Obama: Give MedPAC More Clout
The Obama administration wants to give MedPAC greater influence. In a June 2 letter to Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), President Obama said he supported giving each MedPAC recommendation the force of law unless it is opposed by a joint resolution of Congress. This appeared to embrace the approach in the MedPAC Reform Act of 2009, which Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) introduced in May. Currently, MedPAC advises Congress, which then decides whether to act on the recommendations. At a Brookings Institution conference in mid-June, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag reiterated support for giving MedPAC more teeth. Mr. Orszag said the administration wanted to “take the MedPAC recommendations and, rather than having them sit on a shelf somewhere, have them protected in a fast track procedure, voted up or down as a package, and considered within a limited period of time so they become much more relevant.”