AARP

Now that some time has passed, we're finally beginning to make sense of how Part D is impacting the healthcare industry. As expected, the impact for insurers and pharmaceutical companies has largely been positive. Of the major insurers, UnitedHealth Group has signed up the most new customers, adding 3.9 million thanks to partnerships with AARP and the PacifiCare acquisition. Following not far behind are Humana and WellPoint. Smaller insurers, are seeing only "limited gains" the paper …

In a reversal intended to address criticism that some Medicare Part D participants are falling through the cracks, CMS will allow pharmaceutical companies to restart charity programs that provide low-income patients with subsidized and low-cost prescription drugs. Many companies had temporarily suspended programs after government attorneys argued that they could theoretically lead to abuses if drug companies used them to steer patients toward their own products. The result was a wave of …

> The AARP released a report on pharmaceutical prices that notes that the cost of brand-name prescription drugs rose 6.5 percent in 2005. Article

> Years after September 11, a majority of those who survived the attack on the World Trade Centers are experiencing problems rangina from respiratory illness to severe mental health issues. …

There are indications that the some of the problems with the enrollment process for Medicare Part D may have been sorted out. Two months after the benefit launched, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt says the average waiting time for the national hotline is down to 47 seconds. Meanwhile, AARP, which runs a popular Medicare information line for seniors, said that it is averaging 300 calls a day, down from 1,600 a day in January.

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Today, the House is expected to vote on a controversial budget bill that would reduce government funding for Medicaid and Medicare. The cuts would scale back spending on Medicaid by 0.4 percent and Medicare by 0.3 percent over the next five years. Conservatives argue the cuts are necessary to put a halt to out-of-control spending. Democrats respond that the changes will hurt those least able to make the sacrifice. This will be the second time the legislation has come up before the House. …

> A third member of a Turkish family has died of bird flu in the town of Dogubeyazit, close to the Iranian border. The World Health Organization says a quarantine has been imposed on the town. These are the first bird flu deaths outside of Asia. Article

> Louisiana, which faces an uninsurance crisis after Hurricane Katrina, granted Affiliated Computer Services' a 20-month, $11 million contract extension to …

Congress approved a package of budget cuts that would trim spending on Medicaid and Medicaid by billions over the next decade. The Congressional Budget Office said the budget bill would save the federal government $26.5 billion on Medicaid and $22.3 billion on Medicare over the next 10 years. Critics say the cuts would unfairly target the poor and other disadvantaged groups, including senior citizens. The Senate must still approve any major changes, however, so many analysts see the vote …

(From our sister publication FierceBiotech...) Drug prices moderated somewhat over the past year, but brand-name prescription prices are still soaring far ahead of inflation, according to AARP. Their report on the wholesale prices of 200 brand name medications commonly used in the US shows a 6.1 percent price hike in the 12 months through June. That's down slightly from 7.1 percent a year ago. One bright spot: The prices of 75 generic drugs remained flat. PhRMA called …

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services selected the companies which will be allowed to market their own versions of Medicare Part D. They include: Aetna, Connecticut General, Memberhealth Inc., Pacificare, Silverscript, Unicare, United Health Care Insurance Company and Wellcare Health Plans.The Part D calendar as it stands now: The marketing phase (possibly the ugly part) is set to start October 1st. Enrollment begins Nov. 15. The benefit itself officially goes live Jan. 1st. …

The argument over Medicare Part D appeared to gain strength on Wednesday in Washington, as House Republicans continued the push to defer the program for a year, arguing that doing so would save at least $32 billion. The group says that the government simply cannot afford to implement the program at a time when an estimated $200 billion--and possibly more--is needed to cover the costs of damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. 

Many analysts have argued that it is unlikely that the …