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For
the
most current ABL Healthcare Online
and access to ABL.org, go to
http://www.abl.org/new/html/resources_news_hc.asp
-- Click on Titles Below to Go to News Item --
February 8, 8-11 a.m., San Francisco
Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, Abraxis BioScience Inc.
Hythiam
to Acquire CompCare
Aperio
Teams with Nikon in Europe
AARP Joins
Partnership to Spur Action on Healthcare
CalOptima
Touts 85% of OC Physician Award Winners
CMS Grants
$ for Alternatives to Institutional Care
Kopp
Named Interim COO
GSK
Awarded $63 Million HHS Contract for Flu Rx
OneLegacy
Sets National Record in 2006
Vocera's
Brent Lang Named Acting CEO; Julie Shimer Becomes CEO of
Welch Allyn
DWT Invites
ABL Members to Employment Law Seminar
Bush Proposes Health Insurance Tax Change
Meanwhile, California Groups Criticize
President's Plan
Coalition Proposes Health Insurance Expansion
Meanwhile, States & Legislators Tackle
the Issue Too
House Passes Bill to Require
Drug Benefit Negotiations
Premiums Grow Twice as Fast as Wages, Inflation
Coalition Offers Free Electronic Prescribing Program
Doctor Group Wants Fundamental Change in Patient Care
Providers, Companies Offer Medical Credit Cards
L.A. Program Discourages Use of EDs for Non-Urgent Care
Too Few
Americans Receive Screenings, Counsel
February 8, 8-11 a.m., San Francisco:
As expected, the new leadership of the 110th Congress has
made negotiating lower prices for drugs a primary
objective. And why not? After
all, the VA has a
formulary, and so do most health plans. Why shouldn't the
government pay rock-bottom prices for its beneficiaries'
drugs? These and
lots of other questions will be posed and thoroughly
discussed when
our panel of "miracle workers"
from Big Pharma and Biotech interact with the "Big Payers"
at our next Round Table Event. We'll open with each panelist
sharing their seasoned perspective. Then you and
our other Members will take the floor to query, probe and
dialogue on how Pharma's "miracle machine"
can
solve our healthcare crisis ... as
long as we can pay for it. Our expert panelists will be:
-
Arlene Kirsch, PhD,
Area VP,
GlaxoSmithKline
- "The Miracle Machine & Following the Rx Dollar"
-
Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD,
CEO,
Abraxis BioScience Inc.
- "Bioinformatics and Personalized Medicine: the Key
to Solving Our Healthcare Crisis"
- Art
Small, MD,
Director, Value Based Healthcare -
Genentech,
Inc.
- "Both Sides Now"
-
Jeff Flick,
Regional Administrator,
CMS
- "The Government's Role as the Largest Medication
Purchaser"
-
Sharon Levine, MD,
Associate Executive Director,
The Permanente Medical Group, Inc.
- "Determining Kaiser's Formulary: Maximizing Value"
Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD,
Abraxis BioScience Inc.
Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, is Chairman and CEO of
Abraxis BioScience, a global biopharmaceutical company that
develops, manufactures and markets a broad portfolio of
injectable products and leverages revolutionary technology,
such as its nab™ platform, to discover and deliver
breakthrough therapeutics that transform the treatment of
cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The first
FDA-approved product to use this nab platform, ABRAXANE, was
approved in January 2005 by the FDA for treatment of
advanced-stage metastatic breast cancer and is being
developed for adjuvant breast, lung, ovarian, prostate,
melanoma and head and neck cancers. Patrick assumed his
current position in April 2006, following the $4.1 billion
purchase of American BioScience by Abraxis BioScience. This
acquisition enabled him to regain operational control of the
two entities he founded in June 1994: Abraxis Pharmaceutical
Products and American BioScience, Inc. From June 1994 to
June 1998, he was also CEO and Chairman of VivoRx, Inc., a
biotechnology company. Patrick has joined the Los Angeles
Round Table.
Hythiam to Acquire CompCare
Hythiam,
Inc., where Rick Anderson is Senior Executive VP,
is acquiring Comprehensive Care
Corporation (CompCare), the eighth largest risk-based
managed behavioral health organization servicing Medicaid, Medicare and
commercial third-party payers. Of the
~1.1 million member lives CompCare manages, approximately 1 million
are on a cost-risk basis. The acquisition should allow Hythiam
increased access to a network of 8,000 CompCare providers that will
increase the potential referral base and availability of PROMETA at
treatment sites. The combined company will also have the
initial infrastructure in place to provide substance abuse
disease management to accommodate nationwide third party
reimbursement.
>>
Aperio Teams with Nikon in Europe
Aperio
Technologies, Inc., where Dirk Soenksen is CEO,
announced that Nikon Instruments Europe will be the
official distributor of the full line of Aperio’s
award-winning ScanScope slide scanning systems and Spectrum
digital pathology information management software to the
clinical market, including hospitals and academic medical
centers, within Europe.
>>
AARP Joins Partnership to Spur Action on Healthcare
AARP, where Jennie Chin Hansen is President Elect,
Business Roundtable and SEIU have partnered to form Divided We
Fail, and will use the
influence of their over 50 million combined memberships to amplify the
message that attaining healthcare and long-term financial security is
vital for all Americans. Through grassroots work, advertising
and online activities, the partnership will strive to engage
the public, business and elected officials in the debate,
encouraging public leaders to offer solutions.
>>
CalOptima Touts 85% of OC Physician Award Winners
CalOptima, where Richard Chambers is CEO, has announced
that it has 160 of the 186 "Physicians of Excellence" award
winners in its medical networks.
For
the second year in a row, CalOptima-contracted physicians make up 85+%
of the total number of award winners.
>>
CMS Grants $ for Alternatives to Institutional Care
CMS, where Jeff
Flick and David Sayen are Regional Senior Executives, has
awarded 17 states [including California] more than $23 million
in grants for FY07 and up to $900 million over five years for
demonstration programs that will help build Medicaid long-term
care programs. This is the first round of grants that will
total $1.75 billion over five years (2007-2011) to help states
shift Medicaid’s traditional emphasis on institutional care to
a system offering greater choices for individuals and a full
range of home- and community-based services.
>>
Walter Kopp Named Interim COO
Walter Kopp has been appointed the
Interim COO of The Physicians Foundation at CPMC,
effective immediately. The 80-physician specialty doctors'
group is a Sutter affiliate.
GSK Awarded $63 Million HHS Contract for Flu Rx
GlaxoSmithKline, where Arlene Kirsch is a senior executive,
has been awarded a contract, with a value of at least $63.3
million, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the development of pre-pandemic and
pandemic flu vaccines. The five-year deal also gives the U.S. government
the option to fund an additional $44 million of future
clinical development programs.
Meanwhile, GSK has
begun shipping up to 15.5 million treatment courses of its antiviral Relenza, part of
its
agreement with the Federal government announced last year for building flu
pandemic stockpiles.
>>
OneLegacy Sets National Record in
2006
OneLegacy, where Tom Mone is CEO, announced its seventh
consecutive record-breaking year and national records in
donors and lives saved by a single organ recovery
organization. Working in concert with more than 200 hospital
partners, OneLegacy coordinated 433 organ donors -- a 16%
increase, and the transplantation of 1,338 recovered organs --
a 9% increase over the previous year.
>>
Vocera's Brent Lang Named Acting CEO;
Julie Shimer Becomes CEO of Welch Allyn
Julie Shimer has been named
President and CEO of Welch Allyn, an
international manufacturer of medical diagnostic and
therapeutic devices, cardiac defibrillators, patient
monitoring systems, and miniature precision lamps, with 2,300+
employees. Julie, former CEO of Vocera Communications and a
2002 ABBY Award Winner, has been a member of Welch Allyn’s board of directors since
2002.
>>
Meanwhile, Brent
Lang, who participated in Julie's Round Table presentation
earlier this month, has stepped in as Acting CEO of Vocera
and into ABL's Northern California Round Table. Brent, an
early member of Vocera, has led development of the company’s
marketing and product strategies, and been directly involved
in its venture capital fund raising.
>>
DWT
Invites ABL Members to Employment Law Seminar
Davis Wright Tremaine, where Gerry Hinkley is a Partner,
is presenting a "California Employment Law Update" seminar, on
January 30th in San Francisco and February 1st in Los Angeles.
ABL Members and/or their HR executives are invited to
attend at no charge. Click here for the Seminar Agenda and
to Register Online (insert "Comp" opposite Total):
>>
Bush Proposes Health Insurance Tax Change
President Bush has proposed to offer a federal tax deduction
of $7,500 for individuals and $15,000 for families who obtain
health insurance on their own or through an employer. This
would for the first time levy a tax on the value of
employer-sponsored health insurance in some cases. Currently,
most employees are not taxed on the value of their
employer-sponsored health insurance. Under the proposal,
individuals and families with employer-sponsored health
insurance plans worth more than the proposed allowable
deductions would pay taxes on the difference. The deduction
would be available to all who purchase health insurance,
regardless of the value of their policies or whether they
itemize deductions on their tax returns. For U.S. residents
who receive employer-based health insurance, the deduction
would be offset by the cost of their coverage. The proposal
would pose no net cost to the government over 10 years. Bush
said that a family of four with an annual income of $60,000
who purchases its own health insurance would save $4,500 in
taxes annually under the proposal.
Also, Bush has proposed redirecting portions of
existing federal healthcare funding to "help the states that
are coming up with innovative ways to cover the uninsured."
The proposal would redirect about $30
billion in federal Medicare and Medicaid funding currently
designated for disproportionate share hospitals.
(NY Times,
1/24;
California Healthline, 1/23; CQ Healthbeat, 1/23/07)
Meanwhile, California Groups Criticize
President's Plan
Some California healthcare advocates and hospital officials
said Bush's healthcare reform proposal would not benefit
uninsured and low-income individuals. John Capitman,
Executive Director of the Central Valley Health Policy
Institute and Professor of Public Health at CSU Fresno, said
most health plans in California do not fall within the
proposed deduction limits. The average employer-sponsored
plan costs about $700 to $800 monthly for an individual and
$1,500 for a family, he said. However, a Governor
Schwarzenegger spokesman said Bush's tax deductions likely
would complement his proposal if both plans were enacted.
Hospital officials criticized the part of Bush's plan that
would redirect federal Medicaid funding from hospitals to
states to subsidize insurance coverage, estimating it would
result in $700 million in lost funds to California hospitals
annually. (Fresno Bee & Sacramento Bee, 1/24/07)
Coalition Proposes Health Insurance Expansion
Health Coverage Coalition for the
Uninsured*
has announced a proposal to provide health coverage to more
than half of the nation's 47 million uninsured, initially
calling for increased funding for an expansion of SCHIP
programs and tax credits for families to purchase private
insurance for children.
Uninsured children would be automatically enrolled in SCHIP
when they enroll in other means-tested programs such as
discount school lunches and food stamps. Expanding coverage
for children would cost an estimated $45 billion over
five years, and the coalition envisions that it would be
covered by the federal government.
A second phase of the coalition's plan recommends giving
states the flexibility and funding to expand Medicaid to
make all adults at or below the federal poverty level
eligible for coverage. The coalition didn't estimate a cost.
It also would offer tax credits for adults with incomes
between 100% and 300% of the federal poverty level to help
them purchase private insurance.
(NY Times &
USA Today, 1/19; AP/Houston
Chronicle, CongressDaily, CQ Today & HCCU release, 1/18/07)
*Members
include U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AHIP, AMA, AHA, Catholic
Health Association, AARP, United Health Foundation, BCBS
Association, Kaiser Permanente, Pfizer, American Academy of
Family Physicians, American Public Health Association,
Families USA, Federation of American Hospitals, Healthcare
Leadership Council, and Johnson & Johnson.
Meanwhile, States & Legislators Tackle
the Issue Too
In recent weeks, California Gov. Schwarzenegger and
Pennsylvania Gov. Rendell announced proposals, based on a
Massachusetts law enacted last year, that would require all
state residents to obtain health insurance.
Governors in Colorado, Illinois and
Kansas have called for universal health insurance for
residents, and governors in Arizona, Indiana, New Mexico and
New York have called for expanded coverage.
A
bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation that
would provide grants to states to test healthcare reform
proposals. And
Sens. Wyden (D-Ore) and Kennedy
(D-Mass) and Rep. Dingell (D-Mich) have said they will seek
to pass legislation that would extend Medicare to all
residents and allow them to select from health plans offered
to federal lawmakers.
Sen. Clinton (D-NY) said she plans to introduce legislation
that would extend and expand SCHIP to cover children whose
families earn up to 375% of the federal poverty level
and
allow any family, as well as employers, to buy insurance
through the program. Rep. Dingell plans to introduce a
similar bill in the House.
(AP/Arizona Daily Star, 1/21; Washington Post, Long Island
Newsday, 1/22 & NY Times, 1/22/07)
House Passes Bill to Require
Drug Benefit Negotiations
The
House voted 255-170 to approve a bill (HR 4) that would
require the HHS secretary to negotiate prices directly with
pharmaceutical companies under the Medicare prescription drug
benefit and report to Congress in six months. The bill would allow
insurers that sponsor Medicare drug plans to negotiate lower
prices than those obtained by the government. However, White House
Press Secretary Tony Snow said, "If this bill is presented to
the president, he will veto it." (Washington
Post
& McClatchy/Miami Herald, 1/13/07)
Premiums Grow Twice as Fast
as Wages, Inflation
Health
insurance premiums paid by employers for their employees rose an average
7.7% in 2006, twice as fast as workers wages and inflation, according to
the 2006 Employer Health Benefits Survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation
and the Health Research and Educational Trust. The increase is less than
9.2% recorded in 2005 and the recent peak of 13.9% in 2003. Premiums
have increased 87% over the past six years. (Managed
Care Weekly Watch, 1/16/07)
Coalition Offers Free
Electronic Prescribing Program
The National E-Prescribing Safety Initiative, a
coalition of technology and healthcare companies, has launched an
Internet-based electronic prescribing program that physicians can access
at no cost. The software, called
eRx NOW, is available free to any
healthcare provider with legal authority to prescribe medication, and
requires no download, no new hardware and minimal training.
Physicians and staff learn to use the software through an online
tutorial that can be completed in 15 to 20 minutes. (CongressDaily,
1/17; CQ HealthBeat, 1/16/07)
Doctor Group Wants
Fundamental Change in Patient Care
The
American College of Physicians have suggested putting internists and family
doctors at the center of patient care, paying them to coordinate
prescriptions and specialists to help prevent disease and avoid
unnecessary treatments. Specialists who generate many procedures are
reimbursed more by private insurers and Medicare, and there are few
incentives to keep patients healthy, said ACP. If ACP’s
recommendations are accepted, Medicare would no longer pay physicians
based solely on how many procedures or visits are billed. Instead,
physicians would be paid for taking responsibility for coordinating the
care of the whole patient. For instance, doctors would be paid if they
help a diabetic control blood sugar and thus avoid a foot amputation
later. (Reuters,
1/22/07)
Providers, Companies Offer
Medical Credit Cards
Healthcare
providers in some states are pairing
with financial institutions to offer medical credit cards to
patients to pay their medical bills. Citibank's Citi Health Card
is offered to patients through participating healthcare providers.
The card offers monthly payments as low as $10 and includes a
no-interest option for patients who pay down their medical debt
quickly through higher monthly payments. Patients who do not meet
the terms of that plan pay more than 20% in annual interest on
their balance. Tenet, in partnership with UnitedHealth Group, has
implemented a pilot program in Texas that offers a line of credit
to employees to help address their escalating medical debts. Under
the program, workers' copayments for healthcare services are paid
through automatic payroll deductions. (Boston Globe, 1/22/07)
L.A. Program Discourages Use
of EDs for Non-Urgent Care
Los
Angeles County-USC Hospital is working with a private
not-for-profit organization on a three-year pilot program that is
intended to encourage frequent users of hospital ERs to seek
treatment at private health clinics. LAC-USC and COPE will teach such patients about other options for medical attention,
including private clinics where most program participants can be
treated more regularly and at a lower cost than in an ED. Program
participants receive care at no cost at the private clinics and
are assigned a health coach to help them learn about healthcare
options and manage their care.
COPE officials estimated that the cost of
care for one program participant decreased by about half over the
seven months he has been enrolled. About
100 people are enrolled in the program, to which $250,000 has been
committed. (LA Times, 1/22/07)
Too Few Americans Receive
Screenings, Counsel
Providers are missing important chances to help Americans
avoid disease or serious complications, according to two
annual reports from HHS’s Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality, which found that the use of proven
prevention strategies lags significantly behind other gains in
healthcare. Only about 52% of adults reported receiving recommended
colorectal cancer screenings. Fewer
than half of obese adults reported being counseled about diet by a
healthcare professional. Only 49% of people with asthma said they were
told how to change their environment, and 28% reported receiving an
asthma management plan. Only 48% of adults with diabetes received all
three recommended screenings — blood sugar tests, foot exams and eye
exams — to prevent disease complications. (Healthcare Daily Data Byte,
1/18/07)
2/7 - Orange County
Round Table
2/8 - Northern California Round Table: "Paying for Rx
Miracles" Event
2/16 - Los Angeles Round Table
2/21 - Life Sciences Round Table
For
the
most current ABL Healthcare Online and access to ABL.org, go to
http://www.abl.org/new/html/resources_news_hc.asp