Patients Quicker To Switch To Generic Drugs
A new analysis confirms that workers are saving money by switching more rapidly to generic drugs as they appear on the market, a trend that may provide hope for HR professionals struggling to hold down corporate medical expenses.
Generic dispensing rates for four drugs (Allegra, Arava, Amaryl, and Zithromax) reached 87% within 30 days after the generic option became available, according to Medco, a pharmacy benefit management firm based in Franklin Lakes, N.J. The average generic fill rate for the four drugs was 95% at Medco's mail-order pharmacies and 86% at retail pharmacies. Historically, it has taken six months or more to reach 90% generic replacement in retail pharmacies.
Medco estimates that the generic availability of the four drugs could save its clients and patients $130 million annually.
Dr. Glen Stettin, Medco's senior vice president clinical products, says, “The really good news is that these four generic medications are just the start. With a number of popular medications expected to move off patent in the next several years, we should see substantial prescription drug cost savings."
Almost 70 brand-name drugs, including Zocor, Zoloft, and Ambien, collectively accounting for more than $45 billion in U.S. sales, are expected to become available as generics within the next five years, Medco estimates.
Article published by BenefitNews 1-26-06.
FDA Unveils New Drug Labels
A major makeover is coming for those little written inserts that accompany prescription drugs. The new versions are supposed to play up information that's useful to pharmacists and patients while paring down the small-print legal disclaimers.
Confusing medical information is behind many of the estimated 300,000 preventable cases of death or injury that occur each year in the nation's hospitals, Surgeon General Richard Carmona said this week in introducing the new drug-labeling rules. The rules should make it easier to quickly learn the most critical things about a drug, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
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US News and World Report.
Employers Tackle To Obesity-Related Health And Productivity Challenges
Employers are paying close attention to obesity as a serious health threat that affects their bottom line and takes an enormous personal toll on the workforce. Since obesity is a highly complex medical condition to manage, a range of strategies and tools is needed to help employees maintain or return to healthy weights.
Obesity raises blood pressure and cholesterol, which in turn are risk factors for heart disease. It also increases the risk of diabetes, arthritis, some cancers and stroke, and may contribute to depression and stress, leading to increased health care and disability costs, lost productivity for employers and a reduced quality of life and health for millions of employees.
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Benefit News.
Health Care Inflation Dips
New research confirms earlier evidence that medical costs are rising at slower rates. Health care spending rose 7.9% in 2004, down from 8.2% in 2003 and 9.1% in 2002, according to report by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
“While the growth rate is declining, the cost of health care continues to be a concern for government, business, individuals and families,” Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt comments. “We must build on steps already taken — the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, advancing health information technology and encouraging a prevention-oriented society — to find innovative, market-based ways to control costs."
Spending on prescription drugs grew 8.2% in 2004, down from 10.2% in 2003 and 14.3% in 2002. To explain this trend, CMS cites increased reliance on generic drugs, more use of over-the-counter antihistamines and anti-ulcerants, greater mail-order dispensing, and reduced consumption of certain drugs due to safety concerns.
Private health insurance premiums climbed 8.4% in 2004, down from 11.5% in 2002 and 10.4% in 2003. Meanwhile, hospital spending increased 8.6% in 2004, while spending on physician services grew 9%.
Americans spent a mind-boggling $1.9 trillion, or $6,280 per person, on medical care in 2004. Health care spending accounted for 16% of the nation’s gross domestic product that year.
To contain inflation, the country needs to better align cost with quality of care, says American Benefits Council President Jim Klein. "Health care may be the only product or service in this country where we pay as much, or more, for poor quality as for excellent quality. That is totally upside-down," he remarks.
Article published by Benefit News 1-12-06.
Antibiotics Are Aging, And Bacteria Are Learning To Fight Them Off
Last month brought fresh evidence that while small, bacteria can certainly look out for themselves.
Costridium difficile, a microbe that can cause serious digestive illness and death in vulnerable patients in hospitals and nursing homes, was blamed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for doing just that in four states.
Like many other germs, it apparently had mutated, under pressure from antibiotics, into a toxic new strain.
What has exacerbated matters is Americans' well-documented tendency to think they need an antibiotic for every cold or cough or child's sore throat or earache. And physicians tend to go along, arguing that they don't have time to educate patients on the folly of taking an antibiotic.
The larger the quantity of antibiotics prescribed, the greater the opportunity for bacteria to form resistant mutations.
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Bugs Behaving Badly.
Mandated Health Screenings Reap Rewards
Cadmus Communications has taken a radical approach to employee wellness: It requires employees to take a health risk assessment, blood pressure screening and cholesterol screening.
Seventeen employees at the publishing services company in Richmond, Va., lost their health coverage in 2005 because they didn't cooperate.
Cindy Ellis, a benefit manager, admits workers initially questioned the mandates. "A lot of people said, 'You're invading my privacy. What are you going to do with this information?' We talked to our lawyers and made sure what we were doing was legal," she says. Not surprisingly, Cadmus found high levels of hypertension and high cholesterol among its staff of 3,000.
Although 23% of employees thought they were overweight, 78% actually were. Nurses followed up to ensure workers received appropriate treatments. The company also organized weight-loss contests with cash prizes and provided a 25% subsidy for Weight Watchers memberships. The results?
Cadmus saw a 21% drop in hospital admissions, a 44% reduction in the length of hospital stays and a 33% decrease in diagnostic testing costs this year. Its health premiums jumped only 7% for 2006, compared to 22% in 2005. "It's been a huge cultural shift and an attitude shift. We're seeing that we're making a difference, and we're getting results," Ellis says.
Article published by Benefit News 1-3-06.
No Better Health Bargain
Of all the changes Americans can make to improve their health, exercise has been shown to provide the most benefits. Exercise not only preserves weight loss; it also enhances the efficiency of the heart, increases blood flow to the lungs and muscles, and keeps arteries supple and elastic.
Exercise reduces blood pressure and cholesterol, while it improves blood sugar and blood flow to the brain, reducing the risk of dementia and stroke. Exercise also prevents some cancers.
Yet more people are willing to endure a restrictive diet than commit to a daily exercise regimen.
Why do people have such a difficult time exercising? Harvey Simon, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, believes it's due to the way society has defined exercise. Most believe that without pain, there is no gain, he says. "The aerobics revolution inspired the few, but discouraged the many.
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US News and World Report.
Despite Confusion, Millions Seek Part D Coverage
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services ended 2005 with a last minute influx of Medicare Part D enrollees, but the surge is nothing the agency can't handle, officials say. "Our electronic information and back-up systems are in place to make sure beneficiaries get the medication they need," says CMS spokeswoman Barbara Cebuhar.
Dec. 31, 2005, was the deadline to sign up for the drug coverage expansion, which took effect Jan.1. By CMS' last official count, on Dec. 21, 2005, 21 million people either had signed up for Part D coverage or were covered under their employers' plans, subsidized by Medicare.
Article published by BenefitNews.com 1-3-06.
Stop Dieting!
It's diet season, that time of year when more than 76 million Americans resolve to never eat another french fry, swear off sweets, stop swilling beer, and pray for a magic pill to shorten the days of diet deprivation that so often mark the new year.
Does dieting work ? Do people lose weight permanently on diets? Does dieting lead to better health?
Nutritionists, exercise physiologists, and other health professionals are asking these questions with increasing frequency. And a small but growing number of them believe that the solution is simple: Stop dieting.
Stop obsessing about every morsel you put in your mouth, stop weighing yourself twice a day, stop letting the quest to be thin control your life. "I'm almost convinced that dieting is totally useless," says Cris Slentz, an exercise physiologist at Duke University Medical Center. "It's the physical activity aspect of our lifestyle that is the main culprit in our over weight problems.
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US News and World Report
Best Drug Prices: Medicare or Canada?
It may be less costly to get prescription drugs through the new Medicare drug plan than from online Canadian pharmacies, according to a new AARP report.
AARP crunched the numbers for five people taking a variety of prescription drugs.
Using the drug plan finder on Medicare's web site, AARP calculated the costs of buying the drugs under the new Medicare plan, which begins on Jan. 1, 2006, or through online Canadian pharmacies.
The bottom line: Medicare was less expensive for four out of the five people studied.
The AARP report shows that Medicare's prices beat Canada's for the four participants who each had more than one prescription.
Co-payments, deductibles, and monthly premiums were calculated. The numbers come from the least expensive Medicare plan each patient could have chosen that covered all of their drugs.
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WedMD Medical News.
Medicare Prescription Drug Benefits Make History
Medicare's prescription drug coverage rolls out this month, a benefit being hailed as the most significant advance in the program's 40-year history.
Most senior citizens should see their medicine become more affordable because of the new coverage. Still, not everyone will save, and Medicare's 42 million beneficiaries have been patient, if not hesitant, about enrolling in a private plan.
About 906,000 people in Indiana are eligible for the Medicare drug program, including 110,000 who are eligible for a low-income subsidy.
The best way to ensure people get the most out of the new coverage is to find the private plan that best suits their needs. That takes time and effort.
In each state, beneficiaries can choose from among dozens of plans. Those offering drug coverage include the biggest names in the health insurance industry.
In Indiana, 42 private plans offer prescription drug coverage. The choices increase even more when including Medicare Advantage programs. Those programs operate like an HMO and offer more medical coverage, such as visits to a doctor.
Making a choice has proven daunting for some senior citizens, but government officials counter that choice is good. The competition drives down expenses and improves benefits, they say.
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IndyStar.
Most U.S. Adults Still Don't Exercise
More than half of U.S. adults still do not get a minimum amount of daily exercise recommended to help stave off obesity and chronic disease, according to government figures.
Lack of regular exercise is closely intertwined with obesity, and both factors are known risks for the leading killers of American adults, including heart disease, diabetes, and several forms of cancer.
Sixty-four percent of Americans over 20 years old now qualify as overweight, while 30% are classified as obese, according to government figures.
Overall exercise rates remain low in a nation where daily suburban highway commutes and office cubicles long ago replaced farm and factory work, and television, computers, and video games now overwhelmingly dominate leisure time.
Those forces have largely overwhelmed messages extolling the benefits of regular exercise, says Tegan Boehmer, PhD, an epidemiologist at the St. Louis University School of Public Health.
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WebMD Medical News.
