Senior Prescription Savings

A Medicare pay-for-performance pilot project that rewards hospitals based on quality measures contributes to "modest" improvements in quality of care, according to a study published online Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Wall Street Journal reports (Tomsho, Wall Street Journal, 1/29). The project, which launched in October 2003, includes about 260 hospitals in 38 states. [click link for full article]

"Medicare for all is the only reform that has a prayer of providing universal coverage while containing costs," Marcia Angell, former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, writes in a Boston Globe opinion piece. [click link for full article]

Several recent editorials and opinion pieces addressed entitlement spending, including a bill passed last week by the House that would require the HHS secretary to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies on prices for medications under the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Summaries appear below. [click link for full article]

A succinct summary of the similarly titled AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Paper by Sophie Korczyk revealing lessons about expanding U.S. pension coverage to be learned from Irish, German and U.K. experiences in operating their new mandatory (on employers) 401(k)-type pension plans and comparing the plansÂ’ features with those of American 401(k)s. (1 page)

Features of the new mandatory (on employers) 401(k)-type pension plans in Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom are compared with American 401(k) plans in this AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Paper by Sophie Korczyk. The study includes lessons to be learned from the three countriesÂ’ experiences that are applicable to expanding U.S. pension coverage. (30 pages)

Health care advocates say that some insurance agents might have violated Medicare rules by soliciting fee-for-service plans to businesses door-to-door and that some agents are targeting beneficiaries with cognitive problems or limited English skills, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. [click link for full article]

The Utah Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill (SB 42) that would establish a preferred drug list for the state Medicaid program, the Deseret Morning News reports. The state [click link for full article]

New data, Statehealthfacts.org: Statehealthfacts.org recently posted new and updated information on Medicaid, SCHIP programs and Medicare Part B for all states and the nation. The updated information includes data from July 2006 on Medicaid eligibility for [click link for full article]

The Los Angeles Times on Sunday examined "a boom in vaccine discovery and development" prompted by advances in technology, "increased funding and higher profits." In 2006, vaccine manufacturers introduced new vaccines for human papillomavirus, rotavirus and shingles among elderly patients. [click link for full article]

The Medicare Rx Education Network applauded the new Medicare Part D enrollment numbers released today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that showed even more of America's seniors have chosen to take advantage of the Medicare prescription drug program, and that the second enrollment period has gone smoothly. This is a definitive indicator that the Medicare benefit is working as it enters its second year. [click link for full article]