News in brief - Nov. 17, 2003

Physicians, Humana settle lawsuit - Alliance, med students to put on fun run - Human stem cell trials might be 5 years away, but some doubt - California resident program given breathing room

Physicians, Humana settle lawsuit

Greater Cincinnati area doctors in October settled a lawsuit they brought against Humana Inc. for the way the company reimbursed physicians. The company denies any wrongdoing but agreed to specific reimbursement increases for physicians in metropolitan Cincinnati and northern Kentucky that should total at least $100 million over the next three years, said the Academy of Medicine of Cincinnati. The settlement also establishes a compliance panel to monitor reimbursement rate negotiations between 2007 and 2010.

"There are significant issues affecting physician supply and patients' access to care in this community, and this settlement is a positive step toward solving those problems," said academy President Esly Caldwell, MD.

The Academy of Medicine of Cincinnati, the Butler County (Ohio) Medical Society, the Northern Kentucky Medical Society and several physicians sued Humana and its Humana Health Plan of Ohio and Humana Insurance Co. subsidiaries in 2002. A judge still must approve the settlement. Physicians who are part of the class-action lawsuit will have an opportunity to opt out of the settlement after a judge gives preliminary approval.

Lawsuits that physicians in Greater Cincinnati filed against Aetna, Anthem and United HealthCare in state courts are still proceeding.

Alliance, med students to put on fun run

The AMA Alliance and AMA Medical Student Section (AMA-MSS) are sponsoring Hawaii 5-K, a noncompetitive fun run at the AMA Interim Meeting on Honolulu's Magic Island from 6:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. Dec. 6. The run is open to anyone participating in the AMA House of Delegates activities, including physicians, spouses, children, guests and staff, but is not open to Hawaii residents or tourists.

The AMA Alliance's Extinguisher will serve as the grand marshall of the event and will distribute anti-tobacco information to participants.

Once the run starts, individuals are invited to proceed at their own pace, either by running, walking or pushing strollers. All participants will receive a certificate of appreciation.

Registration is $20. Proceeds will benefit an AMA Alliance healthy lifestyles initiative and the AMA-MSS anti-tobacco project, No Butts About It ... Tobacco Stinks. To register, visit the Alliance's Web site (www.ama-assn.org/go/alliance).

Human stem cell trials might be 5 years away, but some doubt

During a recent press conference in Washington, D.C., pioneering stem cell researchers James Thomson, PhD, and John Gearhart, MD, told reporters human clinical trials for stem cell treatments might be only five years away, but other experts said this might be too optimistic.

"To quote Yogi Berra: 'Predictions are tricky -- especially when they're about the future,' " said National Institutes of Health Stem Cell Task Force Chair James Battey, MD, PhD. "Many of us certainly hope that clinical trials begin in five years, but none of us knows for sure." Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Associate Director Marc S. Hurlbert, PhD, said five years would require "a real aggressive timeline," but that it was not unreasonable to expect trials some time in five to 10 years. "You never know where the real breakthroughs are going to happen," he said.

For trials to begin, Dr. Battey said these breakthroughs are needed:

Scientists have to learn how to direct stem cells to form a specific type of cell. (For example, into a dopamine-producing neuron for Parkinson's disease patients, or an insulin-producing cell for a diabetic.)
Stem cells appear to be infinitely self-renewing, and this process will need to be "turned off" once cells are transplanted. Otherwise, there is a concern they could become a tumor.
There has to be certainty that transplanted cells will not be rejected by the host patient.

"The NIH is committed to fund research in all three of these areas," Dr. Battey said.

California residency program given breathing room

The Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center recently discovered that it will have at least two years to get its residencies up to snuff. The Los Angeles hospital had feared a more immediate revocation of its accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

The ACGME put all 18 of the hospital's resident programs on probation earlier this year. The hospital recently failed a second assessment it had hoped to pass to retain its accreditation, which triggered confusion over the center's status. Originally administrators feared they would have to begin shutting down some programs as soon as July 2004. But the hospital has two years to correct issues related to substandard oversight of physician training.