Dr.Dreams A Health,Medical & Wellness Blog » congress

Washington Wire: Progress on How Medicare Pays Doctors

Sean Duffy — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:26:30 +0000

A Democratic congresswoman and Republican congressman are edging forward in the effort to change how Medicare pays doctors.

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Washington Wire: Progress on How Medicare Pays Doctors

A.M. Vitals: Pfizer Parts With Lipitor

Martin Neumann — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:06:56 +0000

Also: The FDA warns about bone-strengthening drugs; Washington will pay primary-care doctors more; and a patients’ pain group folds hours after senators announce a probe.

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A.M. Vitals: Pfizer Parts With Lipitor

A.M. Vitals: Advocacy groups playing matchmaker for drug research

Dr Dreams — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:08:17 +0000

Here’s what’s making news this morning: Advocacy groups are finding patients for drug trials. (WSJ). The matchmaking comes as shortages of volunteers have slowed trials of new treatments for cancer and other diseases. Researchers identify the part of the brain that concentrates attention on a particular speaker. (WSJ). The finding explains the accidents people can have while multi-tasking during driving or the failures to observe events within one’s field of vision. Measles deaths world-wide drop by 74%, saving 9.6 million kids between 2000 and 2010. (AP). The drop, reported in Tuesday’s Lancet, is the result of vaccination campaigns, but fails to meet a World Health Organization target of a 90-percent reduction. Social Security will exhaust its reserves three years earlier than had been estimated. (WSJ). Funds for the retirement and disability benefits will run out in 2033, increasing the pressure on Washington to find a fix.

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A.M. Vitals: Advocacy groups playing matchmaker for drug research

Poll Shows Awareness of Health Overhaul Grows, But Opinions Barely Budge

Dr Dreams — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:27:41 +0000

How did last month’s oral arguments before the Supreme Court on the health-overhaul law shift public opinion? Not much, it turns out. Some 43% of respondents in an April poll carried out by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation had an unfavorable view of the health law — up from 40% in March. Forty-two percent had a favorable view, up from 41% the previous month. That’s all within the poll’s +/- 3 percentage-point margin of error, which had 1,210 respondents. Feelings about the least popular aspect of the overhaul — a requirement that individuals buy insurance or pay a fee, which is also the centerpiece of the constitutional challenge to the law — are also virtually unchanged. Some 30% say they support the requirement, and 70% oppose it, up from 32% and 66%, respectively, in March. More people knew the requirement is in the law: 74%, up from 64% in March. And feelings about the Court itself have changed among Republicans. After oral arguments, 43% of respondents who identified themselves as Republicans said they had confidence in the justices, up 19 percentage points from the previous month. Only 29% of Democrats, however, said in April that they had confidence in the justices, almost unchanged from March. What’s more, few respondents said the Court’s ruling would change their opinion of the law anyway. Some 81% said that however they feel about the law now, it would be the same if the court rules that the individual mandate is constitutional. For both political parties, that means doubling down on their messaging heading in to the general election, whether it’s fighting to overturn the provisions of the law, in the case of Republicans, or to protect them, in the case of Democrats.

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Poll Shows Awareness of Health Overhaul Grows, But Opinions Barely Budge

A.M. Vitals: New Batch of Fake Avastin Is Circulating in the U.S.

Martin Neumann — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:26:01 +0000

iStockphoto Here’s what’s making health news toda y: FDA Finds New Batch of Counterfeit Avastin (WSJ): The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned doctors that a second supply of fake Avastin has made its way into the U.S., suggesting more than one counterfeiting network is involved is distributing the common cancer treatment . Controversial Bird Flu Experiments Produced No Killer Virus, Scientists Say (Washington Post): Researchers announced at the Royal Society in London that their controversial experiments with the H5N1 avian-flu virus hadn’t produced a lethal infectious microbe, despite concerns about manipulating the potentially deadly pathogens. Caffeine and Exercise: A Protective Mix Against Skin Cancer, in Mice (Time’s Healthland blog): Regular exercise and caffeine can reduce the risk of skin cancer in mice, scientists reported at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Chicago. Study on Kids’ Playtime With Parents: Does It Miss the Point? (LA Times Booster Shots blog): Researchers who analyzed exercise among more than 10,000 children said in the journal Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine that about half of the preschoolers they studied didn’t have even one parent-supervised outdoor play opportunity a day. FDA To Fund Controversial Research Foundation (NPR’s Shots blog): The Reagan-Udall Foundation, a nonprofit group created by Congress in 2007 to support scientific research of interest to the FDA, may finally be getting its promised funding from the federal regulatory agency.

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A.M. Vitals: New Batch of Fake Avastin Is Circulating in the U.S.

A.M. Vitals: Justices Question Health Law

Dr Joe — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:23:19 +0000

Here’s what’s making health news this morning: Justices Question Health Law (WSJ): The Supreme Court’s conservative justices sharply challenged the Obama administration’s health-care overhaul Tuesday, raising the prospect that the law could be struck down, while the liberal and conservative wings seemed inclined to split evenly over the question of whether the “individual mandate” is constitutional. Health Executives Unfazed by Debate (WSJ): Insurance companies and hospital chains brushed off concerns Tuesday the Supreme Court could strike down a requirement in the health-care law that would create millions of newly insured customers. In Real World, Mandate Stirs Some Dissent (NYT): Massachusetts offers a real-world laboratory of how a health-insurance mandate might work. Data Show Lower Risk for Bypass Than Stent (WSJ): For patients facing a choice between bypass surgery and a popular, less-invasive procedure to treat heart blockages, surgery improves chances of long-term survival, researchers said Tuesday. Va. Man Injured in Gun Accident Gets New Face (USAT): A 37-year-old U.S. man injured in a 1997 gun accident has received what doctors say is the most extensive face transplant ever performed. Cancer Research Targets a Key Cell Protein (LAT): Blocking “don’t destroy me” signals that normally sit on the surface of tumor cells and render them resistant to immune-cell attack slows the growth of a broad range of human cancers when they’re implanted in mice, researchers have found. FDA Approves Drug to Treat Anemia (Dow Jones): The Affymax Inc. drug, which will be sold under the brand name Omontys, would compete with Amgen Inc.’s Epogen, which is approved for use in the same group of patients. Defibrillator Wires Linked to Fatalities (WSJ): Heart-defibrillator wires made by St. Jude Medical Inc. are responsible for at least 20 deaths because of “high-voltage failures,” according to an analysis published online in a cardiac-medicine journal.

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A.M. Vitals: Justices Question Health Law

Avastin Scare Greases Bill To Boost Counterfeiting Penalties

Sean Duffy — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 20:37:48 +0000

Penalties for selling fake medicines would double if a bill passed last night by the U.S. Senate becomes law. The counterfeiting bill, which has not passed the House of Representatives, would boost the maximum penalty for importing and marketing forged drugs in the U.S. from 10 years of imprisonment and a $2 million fine for individuals to $4 million and 20 years behind bars. Companies implicated in counterfeiting crimes could face steeper fines. Under current law, the penalties for trafficking bogus pharmaceuticals are the same as selling other counterfeit goods, such as electronics and clothing, according to the office of Sen. Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat who sponsored the legislation, putting suppliers of knockoff Versace purses on the same shelf as say, vendors of fake cancer drugs. Sen. Bennet’s press release said the recently discovered fake Avastin vials, a fraudulent version of Roche Holding AG’s cancer drug which regulators said recently reached U.S. physician practices, shows the danger of counterfeiting. Unlike a knockoff handbag — or even fakes of Pfizer’s Viagra, the erectile dysfunction treatment favored by counterfeiters of an earlier generation – the product is meant to extend life. By its nature, faking cancer drugs puts “Americans at risk,” Bennet’s press release said . Just this morning, the WSJ reported that the Canadian businessman who did bring that phony Avastin into the U.S. is, along with an associate, now under scrutiny by U.S. investigators in connection with separate crimes related to illegally importing drugs not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Subpoenas recently probed California physician offices who bought their products for documentation of their business dealings with the man’s companies. But, authorities don’t believe he knowingly sold the counterfeit drugs. Sen. Bennet’s office confirmed that the change of law would only apply to those who purposefully peddle fakes. Image: iStockphoto

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Avastin Scare Greases Bill To Boost Counterfeiting Penalties

Kaiser Poll Finds Opinions on Medicare Proposal Are ‘Malleable’

Dr Dreams — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:20:01 +0000

House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan proposes changes to Medicare’s benefit structure. The latest poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds most people want to keep Medicare’s basic benefit structure as it is today — though those on both side of the argument can potentially be swayed. When originally asked whether Medicare should continue as it is today — with the government guaranteeing a certain set of health benefits for seniors — or be changed “to a system in which the government would guarantee each senior a fixed amount of money to put toward health insurance,” 70% of survey respondents wanted to keep it as is, with 25% preferring a change. That proposed change to the government insurance program is what has been suggested by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney as well as by two members of Congress : Republican Rep. Paul Ryan and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden. Seniors would be able to use a subsidy to purchase traditional Medicare or private coverage. Some of the initial opposition to such a change — which existed even among a small majority of Republicans — has the potential to melt away in the face of certain arguments, though. Of the 70% who backed the current structure, half said they were “more interested” in the proposal if told that without the change, “Medicare’s costs will be unsustainable and the program will go bankrupt.” Respondents were a tad less swayed by arguments about the benefit of having private plans compete for seniors’ business and the fact that today’s seniors wouldn’t be subject to the proposed changes. The 25% of those who initially supported the proposed change could also be persuaded to change their minds — more than half of those folks were less interested in the proposal if told that “it will turn Medicare into a voucher program and give the insurance industry too much influence over seniors’ health care.” The notion that the change saves money by shifting costs to seniors and the argument that if the change is made, “Medicare as we know it will no longer exist” had the potential to change the minds of a slightly smaller percentage of original supporters. The poll covered a nationally representative sample of 1,519 U.S. adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Photo: Associated Press

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Kaiser Poll Finds Opinions on Medicare Proposal Are ‘Malleable’

Komen Says Planned Parenthood Will Still Be Eligible For Funding

Dr Joe — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:13:53 +0000

A Komen fundraising race from the fall. It hasn’t been a great week for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the breast-cancer advocacy group known for its pink-ribbon fundraising efforts. Today the group reversed a decision — made public only Tuesday — to end Planned Parenthood’s eligibility for grants. Critics had said Komen planned to cut funding to the group for breast exams and education under pressure from anti-abortion organizations; Komen denied that. In a statement , Komen’s board and its founder and CEO, Nancy Brinker, apologized “to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives.” The statement continues: The events of this week have been deeply unsettling for our supporters, partners and friends and all of us at Susan G. Komen. We have been distressed at the presumption that the changes made to our funding criteria were done for political reasons or to specifically penalize Planned Parenthood. They were not. Komen’s short-lived move to defund Planned Parenthood spurred controversy , to put it mildly. Komen’s public rationale for its action changed over the week: A spokeswoman originally told the Associated Press it had changed its criteria to end grants to any organization under government investigation. But later in the week it said the decision sprang from a broader review of its criteria for grantees. Today it said it would “amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be criminal and conclusive in nature and not political. That is what is right and fair.” Planned Parenthood is the subject of a congressional investigation. Komen’s statement continues: Our only goal for our granting process is to support women and families in the fight against breast cancer. Amending our criteria will ensure that politics has no place in our grant process. We will continue to fund existing grants, including those of Planned Parenthood, and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants, while maintaining the ability of our affiliates to make funding decisions that meet the needs of their communities. It is our hope and we believe it is time for everyone involved to pause, slow down and reflect on how grants can most effectively and directly be administered without controversies that hurt the cause of women. We urge everyone who has participated in this conversation across the country over the last few days to help us move past this issue. We do not want our mission marred or affected by politics — anyone’s politics. Starting this afternoon, we will have calls with our network and key supporters to refocus our attention on our mission and get back to doing our work. We ask for the public’s understanding and patience as we gather our Komen affiliates from around the country to determine how to move forward in the best interests of the women and people we serve. We extend our deepest thanks for the outpouring of support we have received from so many in the past few days and we sincerely hope that these changes will be welcomed by those who have expressed their concern. Planned Parenthood, in a statement , said it is “enormously grateful that the Komen Foundation has clarified its grantmaking criteria, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Komen partners, leaders and volunteers. What these past few days have demonstrated is the deep resolve all Americans share in the fight against cancer, and we honor those who are at the helm of this battle.” So, readers, have the week’s events changed your opinion of Susan G. Komen for the Cure? Photo: Associated Press

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Komen Says Planned Parenthood Will Still Be Eligible For Funding

A.M. Vitals: Prostate-Cancer Drugs Improve Survival in Trials

Martin Neumann — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:16:48 +0000

Prostate-Cancer Drug Studies: The results from two trials of experimental drugs for advanced prostate cancer add to recent progress against the disease, the WSJ reports . Medivation’s MDV3100 extended survival by nearly five months in a 1,199-patient study, while Bayer and Algeta’s Alpharadin, which homes in on cancer that has already spread to the bone, boosted survival by almost three months in a 922-patient study, the paper reports. No Consensus on Repeat Breast-Cancer Surgery: Rates of repeat lumpectomies vary widely from doctor to doctor, according to a study published in JAMA, and averaged 22.9%, the New York Times reports . There is no broad agreement on when a second surgery — intended to make sure all cancer has been excised — is necessary. The study found that almost half of the repeat surgeries were in women whose lab reports showed no cancer had been left behind, while 14% of patients who did have some remaining traces of cancer did not receive a follow-up surgery to remove it, the NYT reports. Birth-Control Recall: Pfizer is recalling about a million blister packs of birth-control pills because of packaging errors, including in some cases a lack of enough active tablets to prevent pregnancy, Time’s Healthland blog reports . Pfizer says 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and 14 lots of generic Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets with expiration dates ranging from July 31, 2013, to March 31, 2014 were affected, and that women who have been taking the pills should use back-up, non-hormonal birth control, Time says. Grants Are Cut Off: Susan G. Komen For the Cure is ceasing hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants to Planned Parenthood affiliates for activities including breast exams and breast-cancer education, the WSJ reports . Komen said in a statement that had “implemented more stringent eligibility and performance criteria” for its grant programs. Planned Parenthood, which is being investigated by a Republican member of Congress about its compliance with federal restrictions on funding abortion, says Komen “appears to have succumbed to political pressure.” The Associated Press first reported Komen’s move. Image: iStockphoto

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A.M. Vitals: Prostate-Cancer Drugs Improve Survival in Trials