MATURE MARKET HEADLINES POSTED 9/4/98
Is The New Medicare Careless Healthcare?
The marriage between the private sector's health care providers and the public sector's "New Medicare" has ended in what might be called a "quickie divorce", except for the fact that there's little evidence that any wedding occurred in the first place. You see, August 31 was the deadline for private companies to sign up to provide health care to seniors under the new Medicare+Choice program.
Problem is, there were only three takers. What went wrong? The culprit, says Heritage Foundation's healthcare expert, Carrie Gavora, is a set of unnecessary federal rules and regulations that robbed private companies of incentives to get into the seniors healthcare market. Why else would private healthcare providers "pass" on this huge market of 38 million beneficiaries?
In addition, the new Medicare+Choice's complicated regulations (covering 800 pages) were not published by the Health Care Financing Administration until June 26 of this year, giving the private sector little time to absorb the massive document and submit proposals to HCFA by August 31. Interestingly, Congress already has a viable healthcare prototype that's unencumbered by the type of rules and regulations that essentially killed the New Medicare.
The prototype that works for members of Congress and more than 9 million other federal employees and their dependents is called the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). It works because, in a nutshell, FEHBP avoids read tape and allows hundreds of private companies to compete for consumers' healthcare dollars, which keeps costs low and provides consumers with more choices.
Heritage characterizes the new Medicare+Choice initiative as an exercise in micromanagement by federal bureaucrats. FEHBP, on the other hand, does work, says Heritage's Gavora because:
- Unlike Medicare+Choice, the FEHBP does not impose a rigid standardized set of health benefits.
- Unlike Medicare+Choice, the FEHBP does not use price controls.
- Unlike Medicare+Choice, the FEHBP does not define service areas within which health plans must provide coverage.
- Unlike Medicare+Choice, the FEHBP does not discourage private insurers from entering the market by requiring onerous data-collection and mandated quality assurance programs.
Congress, says Gavora, should compare the new Medicare+Choice "with its own lightly regulated FEHBP, which offers a wide range of choices, and remove the suffocating red tape that is frustrating attempts at Medicare reform". In the absence of such Congressional soul-searching, AgeVenture believes the new Medicare+Choice will be nothing more than an exercise in careless healthcare.
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
"New Medicare+Choice Health Options"
"Fascist Healthcare in the West"
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
BACK TO TOP
FDA Takes Stock of New Depression Drug
America's been in a depression for some time now. No, not an economic depression, but an emotional one. It seems our high quality of life co-exists with a very real emotional low. To be exact, one in five adults now suffer from depression. Think about it. The next time you sit down to play bridge, take a look around the card table. There's a good chance that at least one player has "the blues".
Studies estimate that emotional depression costs the nation more than $43 billion annually in absenteeism from work, lost productivity, and direct treatment costs. So great is the impact of depression that this year alone the U.S. market for antidepressants is expected to reach $6 billion.
The type of depression that's causing all the economic fuss is called clinical depression. Clinical depression is a biologically based illness associated with greater levels of physical and social impairment than other chronic conditions such as asthma and heart disease. Of particular importance is a growing body of evidence that untreated depression worsens the course of other medical illnesses, such as heart disease and pulmonary disease. However, the news isn't all bad.
Now, there's a new addition to our antidepressant arsenal. The FDA's taken stock of a promising new drug, Celexa (tm) (citalopram HBr), and approved it for marketing in the United States. A highly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), Celexa is the best-selling antidepressant in 13 countries, according to the drug's developer, Danish pharmaceutical firm H. Lundbeck A/S. Forest Laboratories has the U.S. marketing rights to Celexa, and will co-promote the drug with Parke-Davis.
"One of the strengths of Celexa is that it is well tolerated by patients and has few drug-drug interactions," says Dr. Jack Gorman, MD, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. That's very important, especially for older adults. AgeVenture News estimates the average older adult takes as many as six prescription medications a year. That makes drug-drug interaction a key factor in the success of any new medication.
Celexa received favorable reviews and was well-tolerated in clinical trials involving 23,000 Celexa-treated patients, as well as a decade of clinical use by more than eight million people in 64 countries where the medication is already available. Results from the Celexa studies show that treatment significantly improves symptoms of depression, regardless of patient age, race, or gender.
There are some side-effects which can include nausea, dry mouth, and sleepiness. And, of course, as with all SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), Celexa should not be taken together with monoamine oxidase inhibitors.
On a final note, with over $6 billion in anticipated annual sales of antidepressants in the U.S., you could say that depression is one of America's biggest growth areas. Ironical, isn't it. In these days of economical turmoil, depression seems to be a good investment. That's because any treatment remedy that can reduce depression's $43 billion drain on our economy just might be worth its weight in gold.
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
"America's New Great Depression: this time it's personal"
"WHO Looks Into Global Depression"
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
BACK TO TOP
Urine Test Detects Alzheimer's Disease
A urine test has been found successful for detecting Alzheimer's Disease (AD), according to scientists at the Saint Louis University Health Science Center, one of six centers participating in the clinical trials. The urine test developed by Nymox Pharmaceutical Corporation is able to identify AD7C, a highly accurate and valid marker for AD in the central nervous system.
Previously AD7C could be identified in the brain and in spinal fluid. The new multi-center trial results now indicate that AD7C can also be detected in urine with a comparable level of accuracy, making diagnosis easier for both patients and physicians. "This is a potentially promising non-invasive screening tool to enhance the accuracy of the diagnosis of AD," says George T. Grossberg, M.D., Fordyce Professor at the SLU School of Medicine.
"Although more research needs to be done before the test can be broadly recommended, I see it as a great aid to physicians in the management of Alzheimer's." In addition to the obvious advantages for streamlining patient care, the test may also lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment of AD, as well as aid in the discovery and development of new, effective drugs for this devastating disease.
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
"Molecular Technology Tackles Alzheimer's"
"New Alzheimer's Test Takes Only 7 Minutes"
"Scientists Rethink Genetic Test For Alzheimer's"
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
BACK TO TOP
Is Nearsightedness Surgery Shortsighted?
The laser eye procedure known as photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) may leave some people without sharp vision in low-light or low-contrast environments, says the American Optometric Association. Writing in the August 1998 issue of "Optometry and Vision Science" researchers say they found that one of the most serious complications of PRK is decreased visual acuity with glasses in lower-light or lower-contrast environments. The authors of the study represented researchers affiliated with the University Hospital in Uppsala and St. Erik's Eye Hospital (both in Sweden) along with others at the Cooperative Research Centre for Eye Research and Technology at the University of New South Wales in Australia.
The team of scientists tested the visual acuity of patients who had undergone PRK with broad-beam lasers. Their research concluded that the consequences of significantly decreased visual acuity in low lighting and contrast conditions may seriously affect the safety of this procedure. Charline Gauthier, O.D., PhD, corresponding author of the 1993 study said, "We know that complaints of glare, halos, and night-driving difficulties are not uncommon after PRK.
Larger treatment zones that allow for pupil dilation in low light may reduce this effect considerably. However, corneal haze and irregularities in the cornea's surface may contribute to reduced visual performance in suboptimal viewing conditions." "Most of the patients in the study were happy with the results of the surgery," says Dr. Gauthier. "But the types of vision losses described may cause greater concern as patients age, vision gets poorer and eye health problems like macular degeneration set in.
Improvements in new laser technology procedures such as LASIK (laser in-situ keratomileusis) and customized treatments may address these problems." The American Optometric Association (AOA) estimates that fewer than 200,000 laser refractive surgeries (both PRK and LASIK) were performed in the U.S. last year. AOA advises consumers considering the surgery to explore all correction options with their optometrist.
See related item in the Aging America newsletter.
"Aging America newsletter, AUG 98, item 12, Corneal Modifications"
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
BACK TO TOP
Some Herbal Remedies Horrible
Some herbal remedies can trigger serious side effects or toxic reactions "and should not be taken", advises the September issue of New Choices magazine. Here's the list of "horrible herbals".
- Chaparral (Larrea tridentata). Also known as the creosote bush, chaparral is
marketed as a tea, tablet, or capsule. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), chaparral has been associated with acute nonviral hepatitis (rapidly developing liver damage), sometimes irreversible.
- Comfrey (Symphytum officinale). Available as a tea, tablet, capsule, or tincture, this
leafy plant has been linked to obstruction of blood flow from the liver, with potential liver scarring (cirrhosis).
- Germander (Teucrium genus). Germander is a common name for a group of plants
contained in medicinal teas, elixirs, capsules, or tablets. It is mixed with other herbs in products to treat obesity. In France, at least 27 cases of acute nonviral hepatitis have been associated with germander products.
- Lobelia (Lobelia inflata). Also known as Indian tobacco, Lobelia has been associated
with depression of nervous system function. Doses as low as 50 milligrams (mg) of the dried herb or one milliliter of the tincture can result in respiratory depression, rapid heart rate, and even coma.
- Yohimbe (Pausinystalia yohimbe). A number of body-building products contain this
tree bark. New Choices reports that the FDA has linked it to kidney failure, seizures, and death.
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
"Futurists Forecast Health Care Trends"
"Alternative Medicine Alert"
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
BACK TO TOP
View More Headlines
AgeVenture News Service, 21946 Pine Trace, Boca Raton, FL 33428 USA
Dr. David Demko, Editor
E-mail:newsdesk@demko.com
the media may use these headlines free-of-charge