News in brief - Nov. 30, 2009

Illinois abortion notification law on hold

An Illinois trial court temporarily blocked enforcement of the state's abortion parental notification law on Nov. 4, the day it was set to take effect.

The statute requires physicians to notify a minor's parent or guardian at least 48 hours before performing the procedure. Doctors found in violation of the law risk losing their licenses.

Abortion-rights advocates suing over the law contended that it was unconstitutional, largely because a set of rules allowing minors to bypass parental notification through the courts do not adequately protect their rights to privacy and abortion access. State officials argued that the law provided adequate protection and was intended to help minors make more informed medical decisions.

The state medical board had delayed initial enforcement of the law in August over concerns that doctors were not prepared for the new rules. Now a Cook County Circuit Court has put the law on hold while the case, Hope Clinic v. Adams, is being litigated. The state has asked the court to dismiss the suit. A preliminary hearing was set for Nov. 19.

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Drug prices rise while inflation falls, report says

An AARP report concludes that prices for brand-name and specialty prescription drugs widely used by seniors continue to rise substantially, despite a negative total price trend for all consumer goods and services.

The report, released Nov. 16 by AARP's Public Policy Institute, concludes that brand-name drug prices have increased 9.3% since October 2008, with a 10.3% increase for specialty drugs. This is despite the rate of general inflation dipping by 0.3% during the same period. In contrast, average manufacturer prices for generic drugs fell by 8.7% during that time.

"This report confirms [that] drugmakers are raising their prices and enjoying windfall profits, even as the rest of the economy is suffering," said AARP Executive Vice President John Rother. "The pharmaceutical industry should be embarrassed when it sees its own price increases put side by side with the general inflation rate."

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New medical home project in Kansas City

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and TransforMED launched a pilot program Nov. 12 under which 13 primary care physician groups in the Kansas City area will adopt a medical home model of patient care.

TransforMED, a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Academy of Family Physicians, will work with the practices chosen for the two-year pilot to create a collaborative health care setting that they say will build stronger partnerships between patients and their personal physicians. Physicians will use electronic medical records to facilitate coordinated care with hospitals, home health agencies, nursing homes and other entities in the health care continuum.

The pilot also will address how insurers can improve payment methods to participating doctors to help attain desired patient quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction goals.

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Indiana cuts Medicaid hospital pay by 5%

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration announced on Nov. 10 that the state is cutting hospital Medicaid fees by 5%, or $10.6 million, because of increased Medicaid enrollment and declining state revenues.

"Our commitment is to the 1.2 million Hoosiers that receive benefits from us, and the cuts announced today will not take away from our clients receiving the benefits to which they are entitled," said FSSA Secretary Anne W. Murphy. The agency is also saving $13.6 million in part by leaving positions vacant and cutting $9.8 million by ending or renegotiating contracts.

"Hospitals will be forced to make difficult decisions about what types of services they can provide," said Indiana Hospital Assn. President Douglas J. Leonard. He said Medicaid sometimes pays hospitals less than 50 cents for every dollar of care provided patients.

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Genome institute leader appointed

Eric D. Green, MD, PhD, on Nov. 17 was appointed director of the National Human Genome Research Institute by Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health.

Effective Dec. 1, Dr. Green will lead an institute conducting a broad range of studies examining "the structure and function of the human genome and its role in health and disease," according to its mission statement. NHGRI was created in 1989 to carry out NIH's role in the international project to sequence the human genome, completed in 2003. Dr. Collins led NHGRI from 1993 to 2008.

"I am very fortunate to be given the opportunity to lead NHGRI while its previous director leads all of NIH -- and in an administration that has tremendous support and appreciation for scientific research," said Dr. Green, who has been the institute's scientific director and director of the its Division of Intramural Research.

This content was published online only.

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