Viewpoints: Improve Medicare’s Drug Payment Test; Have Scientists Judge Biotech Patents
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Morning Consult:
A Path Forward On Medicare Payment Reform For Physician-Administered Drugs
The recent proposal for a large-scale test of payment reforms for Medicare Part B “physician-administered” drugs has generated broad opposition from many patient groups, physician specialty societies and pharmaceutical companies. While many consumer organizations that represent Medicare beneficiaries have expressed support, the future of the proposed reforms is unclear. (Peter Bach and Mark McClellan, 8/23)
The Des Moines Register:
Iowa's Fighting Medicaid Fraud, But At What Cost?
Gov. Terry Branstad on Monday brushed off like an annoying mosquito questions about health-care providers going out of business or having to borrow money because the state’s Medicaid program isn’t paying them on time. ... we still have no real idea whether or how much the state is saving by moving to managed care. So the governor is discounting the reports from providers who say they are struggling to stay afloat amid managed care red tape in favor of expectations of savings that we still can’t actually document. (Kathie Obradovich, 8/22)
The Wall Street Journal:
Patent Judges Should Be Scientists, Too
Patents are the lifeblood of biotechnology, the force that motivates companies to develop innovative medical treatments and bring them to market. The trouble is that these patents must be enforced in a court system that isn’t set up to adjudicate highly technical matters—resulting in rulings that seem arbitrary or even scientifically suspect. (Alex Berezow and Neal Mody, 8/22)
The Hill:
Zika Funding Held Back By Politics
To date, nearly 2,000 Zika cases have been reported in the United States. In Miami alone, roughly 30 people have contracted Zika after being bitten by mosquitos, including a tourist who took the virus back with him to Texas. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has taken the unprecedented action of issuing a travel warning for a community in the United States. Sadly, Congress has yet to act. (Dr. Thomas Gellhaus and Dr. Didi Saint Louis, 8/22)
The New York Times' The Upshot:
The Life-Changing Magic Of Choosing The Right Hospital
There’s an exceedingly simple way to get better health care: Choose a better hospital. A recent study shows that many patients have already done so, driving up the market shares of higher-quality hospitals. A great deal of the decrease in deaths from heart attacks over the past two decades can be attributed to specific medical technologies like stents and drugs that break open arterial blood clots. But a study by health economists at Harvard, M.I.T., Columbia and the University of Chicago showed that heart attack survival gains from patients selecting better hospitals were significant, about half as large as those from breakthrough technologies. (Austin Frakt, 8/23)
Stat:
Why All Findings From Clinical Trials Need To Get Published
New research suggests that nearly half of all clinical trials involving kids go unfinished or unpublished — either because the researchers lose interest in the work or take up more pressing projects, or, in some cases, because the companies that funded the studies don’t want the results to get out. That news won’t come as a surprise to anyone who has followed the fate of studies in general. But it should catch the notice of the FDA: The pharma industry currently gets a special bonus, in the form of extended exclusive marketing rights, for testing their drugs in kids — a rule that was implemented to accelerate research into childhood ailments. (Ivan Oransky and Adam Marcus, 8/19)
Stat:
Learning From The Yellow Fever Vaccination Campaign
The massive yellow fever vaccination campaign that got underway this month in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will help save lives in those countries. It is also serving as a dress rehearsal for how all nations can best cope with vaccine shortages, something we could see a lot more of in the years ahead. (Seth Berkley, 8/22)
Stat:
In A New Era Of Terrorism, Examining The Science Of Mass Hysteria
Last week, loud popping sounds triggered a frightening chain of events at J.F.K. Airport. ... Incidents of mass panic or hysteria depend on the mood of the crowd at the time an episode occurs. Over the past 30 years, I have studied many outbreaks of mass panic and hysteria. In all of them, the common denominator is a backdrop of anxiety and stress. Fear and anxiety can spread from person to person like a contagious disease. (Gary W. Small, 8/23)
