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New Public Health Goals Set
The nation's updated public health objectives, Healthy People 2020, will include dementias and sleep disorders as focus areas for the first time. “Our challenge and opportunity is to avoid preventable diseases from occurring in the first place,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in announcing the update. HHS set 10-year goals of raising public knowledge about sleep disorders, such as that they can increase heart disease and stroke risks, and sleep-disorder treatments. The document also calls for reductions in the morbidity and costs associated with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, and improvements in the quality of life for people with these diseases.
O2 Denied for Headaches
The home use of oxygen to treat cluster headaches will not be covered under Medicare Part A or B except in an approved prospective clinical trial. There is not enough evidence that unsupervised use of oxygen works against the condition, according to a decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The agency considered coverage after requests from the American Academy of Neurology and American Headache Society. The decision does not affect home use of oxygen already approved for other conditions.
Multiple Sclerosis Disparities
There are significant differences in symptoms and treatments of multiple sclerosis between whites, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans, according to a study published in the journal Ethnicity & Disease. Using data from the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis, the researchers showed that a larger proportion of African Americans with the disease has never been treated by a neurologist specializing in MS. Hispanic Americans with MS were more likely than whites or African Americans to have received no mental health care. African Americans are youngest when MS is diagnosed, Hispanic Americans next, and whites the oldest. The authors said that more research is needed into such differences, especially given the growing population of Hispanic Americans.
VA Issues Notice on Agent Orange
Hairy cell leukemia and other chronic B-cell leukemias, Parkinson's disease, and ischemic heart disease are now officially the only categories of disease the Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledges to have proven associations and presumptions of service connection with the use of Agent Orange and other herbicides during the Vietnam War. The VA posted that notice in the Federal Register in late December, and attributed its content to “careful review of the findings of the [National Academy of Sciences] Report, Veterans and Agent Orange Update 2008.” The “presumption of service connection” permits veterans to claim VA treatment of diseases without proving a link to their military service. The Agent Orange Act of 1991 directed the VA to work with the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate possible evidence of associations between exposure to herbicides used during the Vietnam War and suspected diseases.
Guilty of Inflated Prices
Three drug makers – Abbott Laboratories, B. Braun Medical, and Roxane Laboratories – have agreed to pay $421 million to settle the government's claim that they inflated wholesale prices of their drugs to get higher reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid. The Department of Justice said that the government had paid “millions of claims of far greater amounts than it would have if Abbott, B. Braun, and Roxane had reported truthful prices.” Roxane was charged with reporting false prices for azathioprine, diclofenac sodium, furosemide, hydromorphone, ipratropium bromide, Oramorph SR, Roxanol, and Roxicodone. The Abbott products were dextrose solutions, sodium chloride solutions, sterile water, vancomycin, and erythromycin. B. Braun was alleged to have inflated prices for 49 products. The case was brought to light by a whistle-blower in Florida, who is to receive nearly $90 million, according to the government statement.
M.D. Heads Ways and Means Panel
Dr. Charles Boustany Jr., a Republican House member from Louisiana and a former cardiothoracic surgeon, has been named to head the Ways and Means Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. In a statementhtfter his appointment, Rep. Boustany made no secret of his desire to take on the Affordable Care Act in his subcommittee. “As we begin to undo the damage caused by President Obama's health care law, I plan to hold IRS officials accountable to the taxpayers and press them on how this law will be implemented,” he said. “I also plan to work with the Government Accountability Office and other watchdog groups to identify existing programs … that warrant review and improvements to save taxpayer dollars and increase efficiency,” he said. Medicare and Medicaid are among the programs within the Ways and Means Committee's jurisdiction.
New Public Health Goals Set
The nation's updated public health objectives, Healthy People 2020, will include dementias and sleep disorders as focus areas for the first time. “Our challenge and opportunity is to avoid preventable diseases from occurring in the first place,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in announcing the update. HHS set 10-year goals of raising public knowledge about sleep disorders, such as that they can increase heart disease and stroke risks, and sleep-disorder treatments. The document also calls for reductions in the morbidity and costs associated with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, and improvements in the quality of life for people with these diseases.
O2 Denied for Headaches
The home use of oxygen to treat cluster headaches will not be covered under Medicare Part A or B except in an approved prospective clinical trial. There is not enough evidence that unsupervised use of oxygen works against the condition, according to a decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The agency considered coverage after requests from the American Academy of Neurology and American Headache Society. The decision does not affect home use of oxygen already approved for other conditions.
Multiple Sclerosis Disparities
There are significant differences in symptoms and treatments of multiple sclerosis between whites, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans, according to a study published in the journal Ethnicity & Disease. Using data from the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis, the researchers showed that a larger proportion of African Americans with the disease has never been treated by a neurologist specializing in MS. Hispanic Americans with MS were more likely than whites or African Americans to have received no mental health care. African Americans are youngest when MS is diagnosed, Hispanic Americans next, and whites the oldest. The authors said that more research is needed into such differences, especially given the growing population of Hispanic Americans.
VA Issues Notice on Agent Orange
Hairy cell leukemia and other chronic B-cell leukemias, Parkinson's disease, and ischemic heart disease are now officially the only categories of disease the Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledges to have proven associations and presumptions of service connection with the use of Agent Orange and other herbicides during the Vietnam War. The VA posted that notice in the Federal Register in late December, and attributed its content to “careful review of the findings of the [National Academy of Sciences] Report, Veterans and Agent Orange Update 2008.” The “presumption of service connection” permits veterans to claim VA treatment of diseases without proving a link to their military service. The Agent Orange Act of 1991 directed the VA to work with the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate possible evidence of associations between exposure to herbicides used during the Vietnam War and suspected diseases.
Guilty of Inflated Prices
Three drug makers – Abbott Laboratories, B. Braun Medical, and Roxane Laboratories – have agreed to pay $421 million to settle the government's claim that they inflated wholesale prices of their drugs to get higher reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid. The Department of Justice said that the government had paid “millions of claims of far greater amounts than it would have if Abbott, B. Braun, and Roxane had reported truthful prices.” Roxane was charged with reporting false prices for azathioprine, diclofenac sodium, furosemide, hydromorphone, ipratropium bromide, Oramorph SR, Roxanol, and Roxicodone. The Abbott products were dextrose solutions, sodium chloride solutions, sterile water, vancomycin, and erythromycin. B. Braun was alleged to have inflated prices for 49 products. The case was brought to light by a whistle-blower in Florida, who is to receive nearly $90 million, according to the government statement.
M.D. Heads Ways and Means Panel
Dr. Charles Boustany Jr., a Republican House member from Louisiana and a former cardiothoracic surgeon, has been named to head the Ways and Means Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. In a statementhtfter his appointment, Rep. Boustany made no secret of his desire to take on the Affordable Care Act in his subcommittee. “As we begin to undo the damage caused by President Obama's health care law, I plan to hold IRS officials accountable to the taxpayers and press them on how this law will be implemented,” he said. “I also plan to work with the Government Accountability Office and other watchdog groups to identify existing programs … that warrant review and improvements to save taxpayer dollars and increase efficiency,” he said. Medicare and Medicaid are among the programs within the Ways and Means Committee's jurisdiction.
New Public Health Goals Set
The nation's updated public health objectives, Healthy People 2020, will include dementias and sleep disorders as focus areas for the first time. “Our challenge and opportunity is to avoid preventable diseases from occurring in the first place,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in announcing the update. HHS set 10-year goals of raising public knowledge about sleep disorders, such as that they can increase heart disease and stroke risks, and sleep-disorder treatments. The document also calls for reductions in the morbidity and costs associated with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, and improvements in the quality of life for people with these diseases.
O2 Denied for Headaches
The home use of oxygen to treat cluster headaches will not be covered under Medicare Part A or B except in an approved prospective clinical trial. There is not enough evidence that unsupervised use of oxygen works against the condition, according to a decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The agency considered coverage after requests from the American Academy of Neurology and American Headache Society. The decision does not affect home use of oxygen already approved for other conditions.
Multiple Sclerosis Disparities
There are significant differences in symptoms and treatments of multiple sclerosis between whites, African Americans, and Hispanic Americans, according to a study published in the journal Ethnicity & Disease. Using data from the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis, the researchers showed that a larger proportion of African Americans with the disease has never been treated by a neurologist specializing in MS. Hispanic Americans with MS were more likely than whites or African Americans to have received no mental health care. African Americans are youngest when MS is diagnosed, Hispanic Americans next, and whites the oldest. The authors said that more research is needed into such differences, especially given the growing population of Hispanic Americans.
VA Issues Notice on Agent Orange
Hairy cell leukemia and other chronic B-cell leukemias, Parkinson's disease, and ischemic heart disease are now officially the only categories of disease the Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledges to have proven associations and presumptions of service connection with the use of Agent Orange and other herbicides during the Vietnam War. The VA posted that notice in the Federal Register in late December, and attributed its content to “careful review of the findings of the [National Academy of Sciences] Report, Veterans and Agent Orange Update 2008.” The “presumption of service connection” permits veterans to claim VA treatment of diseases without proving a link to their military service. The Agent Orange Act of 1991 directed the VA to work with the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate possible evidence of associations between exposure to herbicides used during the Vietnam War and suspected diseases.
Guilty of Inflated Prices
Three drug makers – Abbott Laboratories, B. Braun Medical, and Roxane Laboratories – have agreed to pay $421 million to settle the government's claim that they inflated wholesale prices of their drugs to get higher reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid. The Department of Justice said that the government had paid “millions of claims of far greater amounts than it would have if Abbott, B. Braun, and Roxane had reported truthful prices.” Roxane was charged with reporting false prices for azathioprine, diclofenac sodium, furosemide, hydromorphone, ipratropium bromide, Oramorph SR, Roxanol, and Roxicodone. The Abbott products were dextrose solutions, sodium chloride solutions, sterile water, vancomycin, and erythromycin. B. Braun was alleged to have inflated prices for 49 products. The case was brought to light by a whistle-blower in Florida, who is to receive nearly $90 million, according to the government statement.
M.D. Heads Ways and Means Panel
Dr. Charles Boustany Jr., a Republican House member from Louisiana and a former cardiothoracic surgeon, has been named to head the Ways and Means Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. In a statementhtfter his appointment, Rep. Boustany made no secret of his desire to take on the Affordable Care Act in his subcommittee. “As we begin to undo the damage caused by President Obama's health care law, I plan to hold IRS officials accountable to the taxpayers and press them on how this law will be implemented,” he said. “I also plan to work with the Government Accountability Office and other watchdog groups to identify existing programs … that warrant review and improvements to save taxpayer dollars and increase efficiency,” he said. Medicare and Medicaid are among the programs within the Ways and Means Committee's jurisdiction.