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Senate Finance Committee To Discuss Public Plan Options; House Energy And Commerce Committee Discusses State, Regional Plans
The Senate Finance Committee on Thursday will meet to discuss the inclusion of a public insurance plan in its health care reform legislation, the Des Moines Register reports (Beaumont, Des Moines Register, 5/14). Supporters of the public plan say it would allow middle-income workers a choice between their employer coverage and coverage offered by the government. The insurance industry and Republican lawmakers oppose such a plan.The Finance Committee will consider a plan similar to Medicare but that would feature slightly higher reimbursement rates for providers. The plan would either be operated by the government or government-contracted private firms. Another option would allow each state to develop and oversee its own public coverage plan. The committee also will consider a proposal from Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) that would allow a new public plan to compete with private insurers by requiring that the public plan be financed by premiums rather than tax dollars, that it follow the same solvency rules that apply to private firms and that it keep a reserve fund to cover liabilities. Schumer"s plan also would allow doctors and hospitals the choice of participating. The public plan also would be required to follow the same consumer protection rules as private firms (Alonso-Zaldivar/Werner, AP/Contra Costa Times, 5/14). The panel also is expected to discuss employer or individual mandates (Edney, CongressDaily, 5/14).Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who has said he believes a public plan would eventually eliminate private insurance and force U.S. residents out of their employer-sponsored plans, said the committee meeting will reveal the likelihood of Republicans uniting against a public option. "We will have an idea how controversial it is and how strong people feel about it on both sides," Grassley said. He added, "I think before I would write it off completely, I would want to look at what those possible compromises are" (Des Moines Register, 5/14). House Energy and Commerce Committee
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Comparative Effectiveness Research Underway At 28 Research Centers
"You hear the pitch in drug ads all the time: "Ask your doctor if this medication is right for you,"" reports MSNBC. However, evidence to show whether a treatment is appropriate for a given patient is often scarce. Matching therapies to patients is further complicated by vast difference in how people respond to medicines. However, a national push for so-called comparative effectiveness research could make that job easier. The economic stimulus package includes $1 billion to support the research.
News of the day
Researchers Say More Aggressive Vitamin D Supplementation Needed In Obese Cancer Patients
Body mass index (BMI) should be taken into account when assessing a cancer patient"s vitamin D status, according to researchers at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), who found that obese cancer patients had significantly lower levels of vitamin D compared to non-obese patients.
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HELP Committee Approves Protection For High Tech Drug Companies From Generics

"Senators agreed Monday to give high-tech biologic drugs 12 years of market protection before generic versions can compete," according to The Associated Press. The AP reports: "The vote in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was a victory for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries but a defeat for the Obama administration and AARP. The Obama administration had pushed for a seven-year exclusivity period so that patients could get quicker access to cheaper versions of costly medicines used to treat ailments including cancer, Parkinson"s, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Proponents of the longer time frame say products like the blockbuster cancer drug Avastin deserve longer market protection because they are more expensive and time-consuming to produce than regular drugs, and the extra time and money is needed to attract investors and promote innovation. ... The decision would still need agreement from the full Senate and the House, where Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., strongly supporters a shorter exclusivity period." The AP notes: "Biotech drugs currently don"t face generic competition because the Food and Drug Administration doesn"t have power to approve copies of such medications. Efforts to change that have been held up for nearly a decade by squabbling between the biotech and generic drug industries and their allies on Capitol Hill" (Werner, 7/14). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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