- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- April 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
December 2011 Archives
It's been a busy end of the health care year--with the "doc fix" endgame, the departure of CMS director Dr. Don Berwick, the debut of Pioneer ACOs, rules for essential health benefits, calls to privatize Medicare, and controversial decisions about contraceptive coverage, among many other matters. There's plenty on the horizon too. If you ran the show at the Department of Health and Human Services, what would be your number one priority for the coming year? What should Secretary Kathleen Sebelius set down as her New Year's resolution?
It's been a long road for the emergency contraceptive pill called Plan B. Its maker, the generic manufacturer Teva, has been trying to get the drug available over-the-counter for buyers of all ages for years. It was stopped by the FDA under the Bush administration, in a decision that prompted resignations and a federal court case.
The Obama administration FDA considered a similar application and was poised to make an opposite decision. A scientific panel and the FDA's commissioner had determined that the drug would be safe for women and girls of all ages to purchase and use without a doctor's prescription. But last week, Sebelius overruled the agency's final decision, arguing that there was not adequate research showing that the youngest girls who might need it - girls as young as 11 -- would be able to read and understand the medication labels. As a result, Plan B will remain prescription-only for girls under 17, and those 17 and older will have to show ID to a pharmacist to buy it. Several commentators have described the move as the first time an HHS secretary has overruled the FDA in this way.
Sebelius denied the judgement was politically motivated, but critics have said it was. Was the secretary right to intervene?
After a year-long reprieve from having to fix the Medicare "sustainable growth rate" formula, Congress is once again scrambling to avoid a 27 percent cut to Medicare physicians pay in January 2012.
Hopes for a permanent fix this year dimmed with the failure of the super committee. That means any "doc fix" Congress passes will last no longer than a year, at most maybe two years.
How many more years will it take before a permanent solution is found? Is a bill from Rep. Alyson Schwartz, D-Pa., a first step to permanently addressing the Medicare SGR? Or is a Medicare Payment Advisory Commission plan, which cuts most doctors pay, a more realistic solution?
