News in brief - Jan. 24, 2011

Preexisting conditions affect at least 50 million Americans

Between 50 million and 129 million Americans have at least one preexisting health condition, according to an estimate released Jan. 18 by the Dept. of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.

HHS estimated that 50 million nonelderly people have a health condition -- such as cancer, cirrhosis of the liver or chronic pancreatitis -- that allows them to qualify for coverage in high-risk insurance pools created by HHS and the states last year. The 129 million projection includes people with other conditions that may lead to higher insurance premiums, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity.

HHS commissioned the report as a counterpoint to House Republicans' assertions that the health system reform law should be repealed because of its $1 trillion cost and its regulations. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the law will prohibit health insurers from denying coverage to anyone with a preexisting condition beginning in 2014. "Americans living with preexisting conditions are being freed from discrimination in order to get the health coverage they need."

GOP lawmakers claimed that the administration was exaggerating the numbers of people who have conditions that currently might disqualify them from coverage. The HHS report is available online (www.healthcare.gov/center/reports/preexisting.html).

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ED admissions for prescription drug problems up again in 2009

The number of people admitted to emergency departments for abusing, misusing and having adverse reactions to prescription drugs in 2009 continued to increase faster than those admitted for abusing illegal drugs. That's according to a Dec. 28, 2010, report by the Drug Abuse Warning Network, a data-collection project of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Adverse reactions to prescription drugs were the leading cause of drug-related ED admissions in 2009, with 2.29 million -- 130,000 more than in 2008 and nearly twice as many as in 2005. Abuse or misuse of pharmaceuticals was the second-leading reason for such admissions in 2009, with more than 1.24 million, or 117,000 more than in 2008. Illicit drug misuse, the third-leading cause, was linked to 970,000 admissions in 2009, or nearly 20,000 fewer than in 2008. The DAWN report is available online (dawninfo.samhsa.gov/pubs/shortreports/).

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Tricare to cover dependents to age 26

Dependents of members of the military can remain on their parents' Tricare coverage until age 26 if they are not eligible for employer-sponsored health insurance, according to a provision in the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011, signed into law by President Obama on Jan. 7.

"Extending this benefit to America's military families is certainly the right thing to do," said Sen. Max Baucus (D, Mont.). He supported a national health reform law provision allowing dependents to stay on their parents' private health insurance until age 26.

The print version of this content appeared in the Jan. 31 issue of American Medical News.

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