Highlights of the important and the interesting from the world of health care:
- Image by Getty Images via Daylife
And Ben Nelson makes 60: After securing the vote of Nebraska’s Ben Nelson, health overhaul proponents are “right on the one-yard line,” according to presidential advisor David Axelord. That was no doubt the biggest non-snow news of the weekend. Around 1 a.m. Monday morning, Democrats passed a procedural measure cutting off debate that proved that they do, in fact, have the votes. So maybe, just maybe, the biggest health-care story of 2009 is close to reaching its denouement. The price of securing Nelson’s vote? Language in the bill ensuring federal funds would not be used to pay for abortions and providing extra Medicaid funds for Nelson’s home state. Nothing like a little good ol’-fashioned backroom dealing quid pro quo to get something done in the Senate.
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So the situation that many feared when President Obama came to power once again rears its ugly head: The so-called “centrist” or “moderate” or DINO (Democrat in Name Only) Democrats essentially hold all the power and have the ability to hold hostage any legislation as they see fit, perhaps in a blatant attempt to extract a few perks for themselves and their states as Nelson clearly did in this case.
That’s how the sausage will continue to be made in the Senate, essentially to the detriment of everyone except those few “moderates.” Hopefully the moderates realize they’ll have just another year to water down Democratic proposals, until next November when Republicans inevitably pick up a few seats and narrow the Democrats’ vote gap. Then the question becomes whether Democrats will be able to move any significant legislation through the “ominously dysfunctional” Senate without that legislation becoming almost completely neutered. With the seemingly idiotic self-imposed Senate rule that requires 60 votes to end a filibuster, I fear the answer is “probably not.”
The end of the H1N1 pandemic (for now)? It could be up on us, as diagnostic H1N1 testing rates dropped 75% by Dec. 9 from their peak in October, MedPage Today reports. That data comes from Quest Diagnostics, one of the largest companies involved in H1N1 testing. The company said positive H1N1 tests dropped 60% or more in every region but one during the two weeks from Nov. 25 to Dec. 9 compared with the prior two weeks. That could signal the end of the so-called second wave of H1N1, though there are plenty of concerns that a third wave could start up early next year.
Facility fees, the newest way to screw patients: Been charged with a facility fee yet? If you visit a hospital-owned physician practice chances are you will. Called “provider-based billing,” a recent change to Medicare rules allows hospitals that own physician practices and outpatient clinics that meet certain federal requirements to bill separately for the facility as well as for physician services, the Washington Post reports. What’s worse, few insurance plans cover these fees, so the charges come straight out of consumers’ wallets. While hospitals say the fees are necessary to cover high overhead and compensate for declining reimbursements, patient advocates obviously don’t agree. From the Post:
A Personalized Approach to Medication Nonadherence
At the Abarca Forward conference earlier this year, George Van Antwerp, managing director at Deloitte, discussed how social determinants of health and a personalized member experience can improve medication adherence and health outcomes.
[Critics]Â regard the fees as disguised price increases that ratchet up the cost of care at a time consumers can least afford it. Many say that facility fees underscore the urgent need for transparency in pricing for medical services and exemplify the relentless cost-shifting that is driving more Americans into medical debt and bankruptcy.
Happiness is a warm state: People in sunny states say they’re the happiest Americans, according to a survey of 1.3 million people from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Conducted over four years, the survey included on question asking people how satisfied they are with their lives, the Associated Press reports. Louisiana came in at No. 1, followed by Hawaii, Florida, Tennessee and Arizona.
