Administration Posts Filling Up
The Obama administration has named officials to several top health care-related positions that do not require Senate confirmation, including the administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration and the new National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Rural health expert Mary Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N., was selected to head the HRSA, joining the agency from the University of North Dakota. Internist David Blumenthal, former director of the Institute for Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital, will take the lead on creating a nationwide HIT infrastructure. And three new members will join the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: Susan Curry, Ph.D., of Iowa City, an expert on tobacco use; Dr. Joy Melnikow of Sacramento, a family physician; and Dr. Wanda Nicholson of Baltimore, a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist and a perinatal epidemiologist.
Virtual Colonoscopy Supported
More than 40 members of Congress have signed a letter urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to cover computed tomography colonography (CTC), or virtual colonoscopy. The letter responded to a proposed decision by the CMS not to cover the noninvasive procedure because of what the agency considers to be insufficient evidence that it improves the health of Medicare patients. “Medicare coverage of CTC could prevent unnecessary deaths,” the lawmakers said in the letter. “Many Americans forgo the colorectal screening process … so an alternative such as CTC should be covered by Medicare.” The lawmakers noted that Walter Reed Army Medical Center has called its CTC program a success and is working with the Department of Veterans Affairs to deploy CTC screening throughout the VA Health System.
NQF Adds Safe Practices
The National Quality Forum has recommended seven new practices that it said have been proved effective in reducing adverse events; the practices include efforts to prevent falls, eradicate multidrug-resistant organisms, and improve glycemic control in diabetic patients. The membership group also recommended improvements in care for clinical providers, staff, and administrators who are harmed in the course of their work, interventions to prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections, appropriate hospital policies on organ donation, and safe practices for children receiving CT scans. These seven new recommendations were included among 34 safe practices promoted in the National Quality Forum's 2009 Safe Practices for Better Healthcare report and year-long Webinar series. Forum members include the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Americans Struggle on Costs
About one in five Americans reported having difficulty paying for necessary health care in December 2008, 3 percentage points higher than in January 2008, according to a Gallup poll commissioned by the disease-management company Healthways. More than half of the uninsured struggled to pay their medical bills, as did 30% of all Hispanic and black Americans. The percentage of people receiving employer-based insurance is only 58%, the poll found. The score on the poll's overall “well-being” index, which combines physical and emotional health, healthy behavior, work environment, and access to care, fell significantly over the past year.
Loneliness, Poor Health Linked
Not having many close friends maycontribute to poorer health for many older adults, and feeling lonely is associated with increased health risks, according to a study from the University of Chicago. Researchers measured the degree to which older adults were socially connected and active. They also assessed whether the elders felt lonely and expected friends and family to help them in times of need. The study found that the most socially connected older adults were three times as likely to report being in very good or excellent health, compared with those who were least connected, regardless of whether they felt isolated. But older adults who felt least isolated were five times as likely to report being in very good or excellent health, compared with those who felt most isolated, regardless of their actual level of social connectedness. The study was published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
Upcoding Alleged in MA Plans
The problem of overpayments to Medicare Advantage plans will not be solved until Congress addresses the plans' upcoding practices, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive think tank. “Upcoding helps private plans financially by inflating the payments that Medicare makes to them,” according to the report. An analysis of 2007 data from the CMS showed that the severity of the diagnosis codes is rising faster among beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage plans than among those in traditional Medicare. Until that problem is addressed, “private plans will continue to receive overpayments … because the private plan beneficiaries' actual health status will be better than their reported health status,” the authors wrote.