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Fighting for Arthritis Funding
More than 3,500 people have signed on to a petition started by the Arthritis Foundation to maintain federal funding for arthritis research. The online petition urges members of Congress to fund the National Institutes of Health at $35 billion in fiscal year 2012, the minimum amount needed to maintain current research and account for inflation, according to the Arthritis Foundation. While 10-year debt negotiations get underway, Congress is considering smaller spending bills for fiscal year 2012. The petition is available at
www.arthritis.org/petition.php
Sex Differences in Knee OA
The Society for Women's Health Research is funding a pilot study looking into whether there are biological differences that account for women being disproportionately affected by knee osteoarthritis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last year that the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis in 2005 was 1.2 per 100 in women and 0.4 per 100 in men. To explore the etiology of the disease in the two sexes, the researchers will study tissue samples from patients who have undergone total knee arthroplasty. Dr. Mary O'Connor, chair of the department of orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., will lead the study and be joined by colleagues at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, and the University of Calgary in Alberta.
Senators: Stop the Imaging Cuts
A bipartisan group of senators has called on President Obama to reject any further cuts to medical imaging payments under Medicare, saying the cuts already in place are harming both patients and the developers of these technologies. “As a result of these cuts, physicians are holding onto their old equipment longer, which means fewer patients have access to the newest technologies that are better at finding early-stage disease and guiding life-saving treatment,” they wrote. Instead of cutting imaging payments, the group said, Medicare should implement clinical decision-support systems that will help doctors determine when imaging is necessary. The senators signing the letter were John Kerry (D-Mass.), David Vitter (R-La.), Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.).
Opioid Deaths Increasing
U.S. policy makers need to implement steps such as educational programs for physicians to curb an onslaught of deaths resulting from overdoses of prescription opioids, according to an analysis published in the British Medical Journal (2011;343:d5142 [doi: 10.1136/bmj.d5142]). Such deaths tripled in the United States from 1999 to 2007, reaching more than 14,400 a year. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom, are also seeing such increases, the researchers reported. To curb deaths from the prescription drugs, policy makers should consider new physician-education programs and creation of electronic prescription systems that will prevent people from obtaining opioids from multiple doctors or pharmacies, the authors suggested. In addition, they said that drug companies should end commissions for sales of prescription opioid drugs.
Physicians Seek Solid Data
Physicians should be able to review and challenge data on their individual performances before that information is released to the public, the American Medical Association and more than 80 other medical groups said in a letter. The organizations were commenting on a proposed federal rule allowing access to Medicare claims data for entities creating reports for patients on providers' care quality and efficiency. “Physicians and other providers must have the opportunity for prior review and comment, along with the right to appeal, with regard to any data or its use that is part of the public review process,” the groups said. “This is necessary to give an accurate and complete picture of what is otherwise only a snapshot, and possibly skewed or outdated view of the patient care provided by physicians and other professionals and providers.” In addition, the CMS needs a campaign to educate the public about the data and its limitations, the groups said in their letter.
Insurance Costs Vary Widely
Health insurance costs vary widely by state, with the average monthly, per-person price tag ranging from $136 in Alabama and $157 in California to more than $400 in Vermont and Massachusetts, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Nationally, each insured person – including children and adults – pays an average of $215 a month for health insurance. Reasons for varying premiums include cost-of-living differences, health care costs, average age of state residents, plans' effectiveness at controlling costs, the benefits offered by plans, and patient cost-sharing required, the report said. Since people in low-premium states might have to pay higher copayments and deductibles, the monthly prices don't necessarily reflect value, the analysts added.
Fighting for Arthritis Funding
More than 3,500 people have signed on to a petition started by the Arthritis Foundation to maintain federal funding for arthritis research. The online petition urges members of Congress to fund the National Institutes of Health at $35 billion in fiscal year 2012, the minimum amount needed to maintain current research and account for inflation, according to the Arthritis Foundation. While 10-year debt negotiations get underway, Congress is considering smaller spending bills for fiscal year 2012. The petition is available at
www.arthritis.org/petition.php
Sex Differences in Knee OA
The Society for Women's Health Research is funding a pilot study looking into whether there are biological differences that account for women being disproportionately affected by knee osteoarthritis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last year that the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis in 2005 was 1.2 per 100 in women and 0.4 per 100 in men. To explore the etiology of the disease in the two sexes, the researchers will study tissue samples from patients who have undergone total knee arthroplasty. Dr. Mary O'Connor, chair of the department of orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., will lead the study and be joined by colleagues at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, and the University of Calgary in Alberta.
Senators: Stop the Imaging Cuts
A bipartisan group of senators has called on President Obama to reject any further cuts to medical imaging payments under Medicare, saying the cuts already in place are harming both patients and the developers of these technologies. “As a result of these cuts, physicians are holding onto their old equipment longer, which means fewer patients have access to the newest technologies that are better at finding early-stage disease and guiding life-saving treatment,” they wrote. Instead of cutting imaging payments, the group said, Medicare should implement clinical decision-support systems that will help doctors determine when imaging is necessary. The senators signing the letter were John Kerry (D-Mass.), David Vitter (R-La.), Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.).
Opioid Deaths Increasing
U.S. policy makers need to implement steps such as educational programs for physicians to curb an onslaught of deaths resulting from overdoses of prescription opioids, according to an analysis published in the British Medical Journal (2011;343:d5142 [doi: 10.1136/bmj.d5142]). Such deaths tripled in the United States from 1999 to 2007, reaching more than 14,400 a year. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom, are also seeing such increases, the researchers reported. To curb deaths from the prescription drugs, policy makers should consider new physician-education programs and creation of electronic prescription systems that will prevent people from obtaining opioids from multiple doctors or pharmacies, the authors suggested. In addition, they said that drug companies should end commissions for sales of prescription opioid drugs.
Physicians Seek Solid Data
Physicians should be able to review and challenge data on their individual performances before that information is released to the public, the American Medical Association and more than 80 other medical groups said in a letter. The organizations were commenting on a proposed federal rule allowing access to Medicare claims data for entities creating reports for patients on providers' care quality and efficiency. “Physicians and other providers must have the opportunity for prior review and comment, along with the right to appeal, with regard to any data or its use that is part of the public review process,” the groups said. “This is necessary to give an accurate and complete picture of what is otherwise only a snapshot, and possibly skewed or outdated view of the patient care provided by physicians and other professionals and providers.” In addition, the CMS needs a campaign to educate the public about the data and its limitations, the groups said in their letter.
Insurance Costs Vary Widely
Health insurance costs vary widely by state, with the average monthly, per-person price tag ranging from $136 in Alabama and $157 in California to more than $400 in Vermont and Massachusetts, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Nationally, each insured person – including children and adults – pays an average of $215 a month for health insurance. Reasons for varying premiums include cost-of-living differences, health care costs, average age of state residents, plans' effectiveness at controlling costs, the benefits offered by plans, and patient cost-sharing required, the report said. Since people in low-premium states might have to pay higher copayments and deductibles, the monthly prices don't necessarily reflect value, the analysts added.
Fighting for Arthritis Funding
More than 3,500 people have signed on to a petition started by the Arthritis Foundation to maintain federal funding for arthritis research. The online petition urges members of Congress to fund the National Institutes of Health at $35 billion in fiscal year 2012, the minimum amount needed to maintain current research and account for inflation, according to the Arthritis Foundation. While 10-year debt negotiations get underway, Congress is considering smaller spending bills for fiscal year 2012. The petition is available at
www.arthritis.org/petition.php
Sex Differences in Knee OA
The Society for Women's Health Research is funding a pilot study looking into whether there are biological differences that account for women being disproportionately affected by knee osteoarthritis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last year that the prevalence of knee osteoarthritis in 2005 was 1.2 per 100 in women and 0.4 per 100 in men. To explore the etiology of the disease in the two sexes, the researchers will study tissue samples from patients who have undergone total knee arthroplasty. Dr. Mary O'Connor, chair of the department of orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., will lead the study and be joined by colleagues at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, and the University of Calgary in Alberta.
Senators: Stop the Imaging Cuts
A bipartisan group of senators has called on President Obama to reject any further cuts to medical imaging payments under Medicare, saying the cuts already in place are harming both patients and the developers of these technologies. “As a result of these cuts, physicians are holding onto their old equipment longer, which means fewer patients have access to the newest technologies that are better at finding early-stage disease and guiding life-saving treatment,” they wrote. Instead of cutting imaging payments, the group said, Medicare should implement clinical decision-support systems that will help doctors determine when imaging is necessary. The senators signing the letter were John Kerry (D-Mass.), David Vitter (R-La.), Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.).
Opioid Deaths Increasing
U.S. policy makers need to implement steps such as educational programs for physicians to curb an onslaught of deaths resulting from overdoses of prescription opioids, according to an analysis published in the British Medical Journal (2011;343:d5142 [doi: 10.1136/bmj.d5142]). Such deaths tripled in the United States from 1999 to 2007, reaching more than 14,400 a year. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom, are also seeing such increases, the researchers reported. To curb deaths from the prescription drugs, policy makers should consider new physician-education programs and creation of electronic prescription systems that will prevent people from obtaining opioids from multiple doctors or pharmacies, the authors suggested. In addition, they said that drug companies should end commissions for sales of prescription opioid drugs.
Physicians Seek Solid Data
Physicians should be able to review and challenge data on their individual performances before that information is released to the public, the American Medical Association and more than 80 other medical groups said in a letter. The organizations were commenting on a proposed federal rule allowing access to Medicare claims data for entities creating reports for patients on providers' care quality and efficiency. “Physicians and other providers must have the opportunity for prior review and comment, along with the right to appeal, with regard to any data or its use that is part of the public review process,” the groups said. “This is necessary to give an accurate and complete picture of what is otherwise only a snapshot, and possibly skewed or outdated view of the patient care provided by physicians and other professionals and providers.” In addition, the CMS needs a campaign to educate the public about the data and its limitations, the groups said in their letter.
Insurance Costs Vary Widely
Health insurance costs vary widely by state, with the average monthly, per-person price tag ranging from $136 in Alabama and $157 in California to more than $400 in Vermont and Massachusetts, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Nationally, each insured person – including children and adults – pays an average of $215 a month for health insurance. Reasons for varying premiums include cost-of-living differences, health care costs, average age of state residents, plans' effectiveness at controlling costs, the benefits offered by plans, and patient cost-sharing required, the report said. Since people in low-premium states might have to pay higher copayments and deductibles, the monthly prices don't necessarily reflect value, the analysts added.