HHS Extends Medicaid Relief
The Department of Health and Human Services is giving states a $4.3-billion break on prescription drugs for people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid. That's how much less the federal government will charge states through this year for Medicare coverage of drugs for “dual eligibles.” “We believe [this] action will help states as they struggle to maintain Medicaid and other budget priorities in these difficult economic times,” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement. The relief comes from last year's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which granted a temporary increase in the amount states receive from the federal government for Medicaid. The new action applies the funding adjustment to the period Oct. 1, 2008, through Dec. 31, 2010. California's estimated savings are the largest in the country, at $675 million, while Wyoming will probably receive the least, at about $4 million. In his proposed budget for 2011, President Obama called for again extending the funding break, through June 30, 2011.
Healthy Food Financing Proposed
In an effort to bring better foods to communities that are known as “food deserts” because of their lack of healthy options, the Obama administration has proposed targeting $400 million in tax credits, low-rate loans, loan guarantees, and grants. If Congress approves the Healthy Food Financing Initiative as part of the federal budget, the funds will support projects ranging from grocery store construction to smaller interventions such as placing refrigerators stocked with fresh produce in convenience stores. The Department of Agriculture estimates that 23.5 million people, including 6.5 million children, live in low-income food deserts that are more than a mile from a supermarket. These areas typically are served by fast-food restaurants and small stores that offer little or no fresh produce.
More Quality Reporting Woes
Medical practice leaders continued to cite multiple administrative challenges with Medicare's Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, according to a survey from the Medical Group Management Association. Specifically, the 429 medical practices surveyed said that the process for accessing PQRI feedback reports was “unnecessarily arduous” and that the reports themselves were not satisfactory. According to the MGMA, fewer than half of the medical practices that attempted to participate in the 2008 PQRI were able to access their 2008 feedback reports. For those that did get the data, it took an average of 9 hours to download the report. Sixty percent of practices that got the reports said that they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the presentation of the information, and two-thirds said they were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the report's ability to guide them in improving patient care outcomes. The MGMA urged the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to change the PQRI feedback process.
Many Use Internet for Health Info
More than half (51%) of adults aged 18–64 years use the Internet to look up health information over the course of a year, but only a handful communicate with their providers by e-mail or another Internet route, according to a survey by the National Center for Health Statistics. About 3% of adults reported using online chat groups to learn about health topics. The survey showed women more likely than men to use the Internet to research health issues and to join chat groups. Almost 5% of adults said that they had communicated with a health provider online in the past year, while 6% requested a prescription refill online and 3% made an office appointment online. The analysis included data from 7,192 adults surveyed from January to June 2009.
Supplements Bipartisanship
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) have introduced legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration authority to issue mandatory recalls of unsafe dietary supplements. The bill also would force supplement manufacturers to register with the FDA and provide the agency with lists of their supplements' ingredients. Currently, the FDA does not have the authority to review dietary supplement makers' advertised claims of safety and effectiveness, even though surveys have shown that most users of the products believe the agency does, Sen. McCain said in a statement.
FDA Oncology Approvals Up
The FDA's Office of Oncology Drug Products approved 53 new indications for oncology and hematology drugs and biologics between July 2005—when the office began reviewing marketing applications—and the end of 2007, according to an agency study. During that time, the oncology-products office reviewed 60 applications and took action on 58, investigators reported (J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 2010;102:230–43). The approved applications were for 18 new drugs and 35 additional indications for already approved drugs. The office utilizes an accelerated approval process based on various end points, including indirect measurements of clinical benefit.