Healthcare Policy

A new report has found that African-Americans in Connecticut are dying prematurely of diabetes far more often than their non-minority counterparts. According to the study, which was published by the Connecticut Health Foundation, African-Americans in the state are dying before age 75 three times more often than whites. Experts noted that the reasons for this difference may include poor access to care and questionable food choices, but that obesity rates were the biggest contributor. The …

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (D) has signed an executive order setting up a task force to examine the nursing profession's status in the state. The Nurse Workforce and Patient Care Task Force is looking at nurses' contributions to quality of care in healthcare facilities and the state's environment for nursing practice, as well as the accuracy of quality and staffing statistics. The task force will also consider ways in which new legislation might address the state's healthcare staffing …

Louisiana legislators continued to debate fundamental issues of health system reform this week, as different factions with different philosophies on public health struggle to assert themselves. To date, Louisiana's legislators haven't been able to agree on the critical issue of how many uninsured patients the state, much less how to pay for their care. This has prevented legislators from having a productive discussion on how to overhaul the state's healthcare system, and whether to fund a …

New York's largest labor union is taking on the state commission responsible for downsizing the state's hospital and nursing home industries. The Civil Service Employees Union (CSEU), which boasts 265,000 members, has filed a suit challenging the authority of the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century. The state law creating the Commission stated that its recommendations--which include closing or restructuring of 57 hospitals and 21 nursing homes--would have the force of …

The AARP has stepped into the fight over biologic drugs, throwing its support behind a new bill designed to speed the development and approval of generic versions of these medications. The measure, The Access to Life-Saving Medicine Act of 2007, would provide the FDA with a regulatory approach for approving generic biologics. The bill is intended to offer cheaper alternatives to biologic drugs, which treat diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and cancer. Brand-name …

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt has unveiled a new initiative which would merge genetic and clinical data in an effort to individualize and improve patient care.  Leavitt's "Personalized Health Care" program would use the merged data to predict, and hopefully prevent, the onset of many diseases. Leavitt has said that this effort will be one of his top priorities for the next two years. The concept isn't as novel as it may sound--the VA is already combining …

The New Jersey state legislature should soon begin considering a measure under which it would become the first state to require both pregnant women and newborns to be tested for HIV disease. The pending measure, which was unveiled by state Senate President Richard J. Codey (D) yesterday, would require that all expectant mothers and newborns get the test unless the mother rejects the testing in writing. The pending bill would require providers to educate women on HIV, offering information …

Doctors taking more than $50,000 from a drug or medical device company would be banned from voting on approval for that company's products if a new FDA rule becomes final. Physicians with such strong financial ties to a company whose products are under consideration--or ties to a competitor--would not be allowed to serve on the committees that make approval decisions. This represents a significant change from existing rules which, while they bar advisers holding $100,000 or more of stock …

Two mental health parity bills, each designed to put psych treatment on the same footing as traditional medical care, are competing for mindshare on Capitol Hill. The two are each backed by a Kennedy, one by senior Democratic Senator Edward M. Kennedy (MA), and the other by his son, Democratic Representative Patrick J. Kennedy (RI). Sen. Kennedy has admitted that his bill is far more conservative, offering broader, less-specific requirements which have helped him win points with business …

Still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans health system still has such bad gaps in it that patients are dying needlessly, New Orleans medical executives told Congress this week. Among other problems, heart disease and cancer patients are getting inadequate care, psych patients aren't getting their meds, and deaths have increased by as much as 40 percent …