AMA: Investigate Store Clinics
The American Medical Association has called for investigations into potential conflicts of interest posed by joint ventures between store-based health clinics and pharmacy chains. Physicians at the AMA's House of Delegates in Chicago voted to ask state and federal agencies to determine whether these joint ventures pose a threat to patients' welfare. “There are clear incentives for retailers to participate in the implementation and operation of store-based health clinics,” AMA board member Dr. Peter Carmel said in a statement. “The nation's physicians want the AMA to ensure these incentives do not compromise the basic obligation of store-based clinics to provide patients with quality care.” The AMA also noted that some insurers are allowing store-based clinics to waive or lower patient copayments, while still requiring physicians to collect such payments. The House of Delegates, noting concerns that these lower copayments for in-store clinics could inappropriately steer patients to the clinics on the basis of cost, rather than quality of care, voted to seek equal treatment for physicians regarding health insurers' copayment policies.
CDC: 43 Million Lack Coverage
Nearly 15% of Americans—43.6 million—lacked health insurance in 2006, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among Americans ages 18 through 64, nearly 20% lacked health insurance in 2006, a slight increase from about 19% in 2005, the CDC said. About 9% of children did not have health coverage in 2006, a marked drop from 14% in 1997, the year the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was enacted. The CDC noted that the percentage of uninsured Americans in the 20 largest states varied from less than 8% in Michigan to nearly 24% in Texas. The CDC study was based on data collected from interviews in more than 100,000 households nationwide.
Hospital Comparison Site Upgraded
The CMS said that it has improved the hospital comparison tool available on its Hospital Compare consumer Web site (
CMS Tests Personal Health Records
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has launched a pilot program to enable certain beneficiaries to access and use a personal health record provided through participating health plans and accessible through
Hawaii to Offer Kids Free Flu Shots
This fall, Hawaii will become the first state to offer free influenza vaccinations to schoolchildren aged 5–13 years. The shots will be available October 2007-January 2008 at school during the school day. Funding for the estimated $2.5-million program is being provided primarily by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the State of Hawaii, with additional support from the state's largest insurer, the Hawaii Medical Service Association. Nationally, schoolchildren have very high rates of influenza illness, exceeding 10% in most years, according to the Hawaii State Department of Health.
Services Behind Medicare Growth
The growth in Medicare's per-beneficiary spending can be explained by growth in the volume and intensity of physicians' services, rather than by changes in Medicare's payment rates, according to a Congressional Budget Office study. Between 1997 and 2005, Medicare's inflation-adjusted payment rates for services actually declined slightly, but per-beneficiary spending jumped by more than 34%, the CBO study found, with volume and intensity of services growing by about 4% per year. The CBO said that physicians tended to increase volume and intensity of services provided when payment rates were cut, but added that this behavioral response accounted for just a small fraction of the change in per-beneficiary spending. Still, projected cuts in Medicare payments to physicians may result in a different behavioral response from doctors, the CBO noted.