News in brief - April 11, 2005

Supreme Court rejects appeal of Idaho abortion law - EMTALA reform group meets - Spending on mental health drugs outpaces overall drug expenditures - Patients seek medical information, but feel a lack of control over quality of care

Supreme Court rejects appeal of Idaho abortion law

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal late last month to reinstate an Idaho law that would require girls younger than 18 to obtain parental consent before undergoing an abortion.

The court chose not to hear the appeal for the law, which was struck down by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year. The appellate court ruled the measure didn't create an adequate exception for medical emergencies, such as when pregnancy endangers the teen's life or health. The statute required teens younger than 18 to get written consent from a parent or permission from a judge to obtain an abortion.

EMTALA reform group meets

The rules governing how physicians in hospital emergency departments must screen and treat their patients were the focus of the inaugural meeting of a federal technical advisory group last month.

As mandated by the 2003 Medicare reform law, the 19-member group is responsible for examining the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act's regulations. The panel will meet at least twice a year and will advise the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on ways to change the rules to ensure patients' rights while minimizing bureaucratic hassles for doctors and hospitals.

Spending on mental health drugs outpaces overall drug expenditures

The past decade has been marked by a dramatic rise in spending on prescription drugs. But while overall spending on prescription drugs grew an average 12% a year between 1991 and 2001, spending on mental health-related medications increased 17.1% a year, according to a new study in Health Affairs.

The report attributed that growth to a combination of factors, including the introduction of many new psychotropic medications, the closure of psychiatric hospitals and a managed care-driven shift away from inpatient services.

Spending on mental health and substance abuse services grew on average 5.6% over the same period compared with 6.5% for all health care services.

Patients seek medical information, but feel a lack of control over quality of care

The majority of patients independently seek information to help them make treatment decisions, according to a new survey conducted for the BlueCross BlueShield Assn. Meanwhile, many patients believe that they have little influence over the quality and cost of care they receive, a separate Blues survey showed.

Sixty percent of patients searched for treatment information in the past 12 months, one survey found. About 52% of respondents said they wanted to make a treatment decision for themselves or their families, while 38% said they would rather make the decision together with their physician.

"This report demonstrates that consumers -- as patients -- are actively seeking information about appropriate medical care options for themselves and their families," said Maureen Sullivan, senior vice president of Strategic Services for BCBSA.

In the second survey, 50% of consumers said they did not think that they had much control over the quality of care they receive, and 65% said they could not affect the cost.