CMPI NEWS
www.cmpi.org

Part D: A Model For Health Reform
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
By Gary E. Applebaum, MD
April 29, 2009

Before President Obama and his team overhaul the American health care system, they should note what currently works.

Consider Medicare Part D. This prescription drug benefit for seniors has a huge price tag, but by allowing the market to set prices, Part D has actually reduced costs and improved services for seniors.

http://www.cmpi.org/in-the-news/in-the-news-feature/part-d-a-model-for-health-reform/

Lowering Drug Costs (Letter to the Editor)
New York Times
By Peter J. Pitts
April 28, 2009

Pegging drug prices to health outcomes is a smart way to lower health care costs (“Drug Deals Tie Prices to How Well Patients Do,” Business Day, April 23). It's also a patient-centric way of determining which drugs are worth the money.

In Britain, New Zealand and elsewhere, government officials determine which drugs are worth the cost. These officials are under constant pressure to arrive at conclusions that lead to lower government spending, so patients are routinely denied access to expensive, cutting-edge medicine.

http://www.cmpi.org/in-the-news/in-the-news/lowering-drug-prices/

DRUGWONKS BLOG
www.drugwonks.com

Peggy Pandemic
By Peter Pitts
May 1, 2009

What's it going to take to get the Senate to act on Peggy Hamburg's nomination, a flu pandemic?

While FDA has made all the right moves in dealing with the swine flu issue (specifically by naming Jesse Goodman to oversee the agency's role in addressing the problem) there's one more thing that only the United States Senate can do to help – confirm Peggy Hamburg as Commissioner. Now.

http://www.drugwonks.com/blog_post/show/6752

Ace Ventura, Autism Detective
By Mario Coluccio
April 30, 2009

Unhappy with CNN's Campbell Brown commenting on the flimsy evidence regarding vaccines' link to autism, actor turned medical expert Jim Carrey has taken to writing commentary on the issue.

Writing on The Huffington Post, Carrey states, “If the CDC, the AAP and Ms. Brown insist that our children take twice as many shots as the rest of the western world, we need more independent vaccine research not done by the drug companies selling the vaccines or by organizations under their influence. Studies that cannot be internally suppressed. Answers parents can trust. Perhaps this is what Campbell Brown should be demanding and how the power of the press could better serve the public in the future.”

http://www.drugwonks.com/blog_post/show/6751

Inconsistency On Conflict Of Interest
By Robert M. Goldberg, PhD
April 29, 2009

Still trying to get my mind around the IOM conflict of interest document.  I am sure it is because I am not smart enough, as the report implies, to discern if my doctor is a total degenerate because he is unconsciously being manipulated to prescribe a certain product because of the free lunches that were handed out.    Or as the IOM study puts it, it is too bad if I want to judge my doctor or a scientist on the quality of his or her work alone.  Oh no.   You see, " Here again the problem is that many people affected by professional decisions are not in a position to judge the validity of those decisions.  In addition, those who are competent to judge may not be able to do so until after the damage has occurred. "

Note that the IOM report never specifies or demonstrates through research what damage has occurred. And note that it presupposes that the great unwashed are too stupid to figure out that it is being duped to able to judge outcomes. Incredible. So much for evidence based medicine. 

http://www.drugwonks.com/blog_post/show/6749


REPORTS

Industry Support For Continuing Education of Healthcare Professionals

To read this paper, please click here:

http://www.cmpi.org/uploads/File/CMPI_CME_Report.pdf

Drug Safety, Medication Safety, Patient Safety: An Overview of Recent FDA Guidances and Inititatives

To read this paper, please click here:

http://cmpi.org/uploads/File/Regulatory-Article.pdf

ARTICLES OF NOTE

Healthy Lifestyle Key To Controlling Costs
Politico
By Tommy G. Thompson
April 30, 2009

Most public surveys show that the public overwhelmingly supports the idea of reforming health care. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, Americans are increasingly concerned about the burden of health care costs and overwhelmingly support reform. In fact, the public feels that, in light of the economic downturn, it is more important than ever to reform health care.

In addition, most of the key stakeholders — from the insurance industry to business, to unions, to pharmaceutical manufacturers, to the advocacy community — also agree: Now is the time.

So why do questions remain about the timing of pursuing reform?

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0409/21882.html

The Fight
Forbes
By Steve Forbes
April 2009

The biggest domestic battle since the Clintons tried to nationalize health care in the early 1990s is about to unfold. Sometime in June the Obama Administration will formally introduce its plan to deal with the problem of the 46 million Americans who don't have health insurance. But the proposal will have far larger--and more ominous--implications for the country than the number of uninsured.

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0511/017-opinions-steve-forbes-the-fight.html

ER Visits, Costs In Mass. Climb
Boston Globe
By Liz Kowalczyk
April 2009

Several physicians and policy makers said the state [Massachusetts] information, along with other new data from Harvard researchers, suggests that emergency room crowding and rising costs will not be solved by providing people with health insurance alone, despite optimistic talk by politicians who advocated for the law.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/04/24/er_visits_costs_in_mass_climb

Expect Health Care Rationing
Boston Globe
By Charles Krauthammer
April 2009

Why do you think the stimulus package pours $1.1 billion into medical “comparative effectiveness research”? It is the perfect setup for rationing. Once you establish what is “best practice” for expensive operations, medical tests and aggressive therapies, you've laid the premise for funding some and denying others.

It is estimated that a third to a half of one's lifetime health costs are consumed in the last six months of life. Accordingly, Britain's National Health Service can deny treatments it deems not cost-effective —- and if you're old and infirm, the cost-effectiveness of treating you plummets. In Canada, they ration by queuing. You can wait forever for so-called elective procedures like hip replacements.

http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/04/24/krauthammered0424.html


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UPCOMING CMPI EVENT

The Odyssey Project
Medical Innovation: The 21st Century Solution for the 21st Century Health Care

Thursday, May 14, 2009   9:30am – 10:30 am

National Press Club
Holeman Lounge
529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor
Washington, DC 20045

The Honorable Mike Rogers, (R-MI), House Subcommittee on Health

The Honorable Anna Eshoo, (D-CA) Vice Chair, 21st Century Health Care Caucus

Elijah Alexander, President, Tackle Myeloma Foundation
Former NFL Linebacker Oakland Raiders, Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts

John F. Crowley, President & CEO, Amicus Therapeutics, Founder, JohnFCrowley.org

To RSVP to this event, please email Meryl Reichbach at mreichbach@cmpi.org or call 212-417-9169

http://cmpi.org/about-us/events/the-odyssey-project/