Miss the CNN Presidential Debates...
But interested in knowing the candidates' views on health care?
The Kaiser Family Foundation has offered snippets of the CNN debates that highlight the candidates views on health care. Check them out!
Barack Obama Unveils Health Care Reform Plan
Last week, Barack Obama announced the details of his plan to reform the American health care system. The Kaiser Family Foundation has made available the video of Barack Obama's speech about health care reform online.
2008 Presidential Campaign Update: A Survey of Candidates' Web Sites
Following up on my earlier promises to track the 2008 presidential candidates as they make their bids for the White House, this post provides a list of the leading candidates, along with links to their web sites and the specific pages on their sites that discuss health care.
When creating the chart that follows, I had a simple mission--to provide my readers with the names of candidates and links to their pages that deal with health care. I found, however, that, generally speaking, the candidates' statements about the issues (not only health care, but many of the other leading issues as well) tend to be short and underdeveloped. Indeed, there are a few who do a better job than others (for the sake of objectivity, we won't name names). While I generally avoid opining on these issues, I must say that, for the most part, the posts are, well, pathetic Let's hope that the candidates come forward with substantive ideas as we get closer to the election so that we actually have something to talk about!
Please note that we were unable to located specific pages that deal directly with health care for a few of the candidates. If you are able to locate these pages, please contact me at jjuvan@bfca.com.
Continue Reading...Potential Presidential Candidate Newt Gingrich Takes on Health Care Reform
According to Newt Gingrich, a likely presidential candidate, his competition is afraid to take the impending health care crisis on directly. Quoted in Crain's Cleveland Business, Mr. Gingrich stated before a group of health care executives at a forum sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, “It’s not a high-profit area for politicians. It’s too complicated.” Politicians, he said, are concerned that by voicing their views, they will alienate everyone, including individual voters, doctors, insurance companies and hospitals. While the article doesn't provide a lot of details about Gingrich's plan to reform the system, it does say that Gingrich recommended that the system be "changed to resemble the airline and automotive industries, where pricing, quality and accessibility become the greater factors, and negotiated contracts between insurers and health care providers do not determine how a patient is treated. "
Juvan's Health Law Recap--April 29, 2007: Universal Health Care
With the presidential campaign full speed ahead, coverage of the candidates' views on health care has dramatically increased. Unfortunately, though news coverage has increased, according to leading news organizations, as is often the case, many of the candidates are weary about presenting too defined of a plan for universal health care in fear that they may turn off certain supporters they desperately need to win. Focusing on the lackluster attention universal health care has gotten by the candidates in recent days, USA Today reports that
- Mitt Romney has refrained from highlighting plans for universal health care in speeches;
- Hillary is cautious in approaching the subject because of the negative press she received over her 1993-94 attempts at reform; and
- Others are concerned about balancing the need for universal health care against the backlash they might receive from insurance interest groups.
Attempting to differentiate himself from other candidates, John Edwards has gotten positive press for his calls to cure the system. Recently, as quoted by the Associated Press, Edwards stated, "I believe this in my soul: That no matter who your daddy is or where you live, or what the color of their skin is, every single one of us has value." He continued, "But if we believe those things, we have to act on them. If we believe that, we should have universal healthcare in our country."
Perhaps the subject of universal health care hits closest home to Edwards, whose wife Elizabeth was recently diagnosed with an incurable recurrence of breast cancer. When I asked Ms. Edwards about the Edwards plan for universal health care at a campaign stop to Cleveland after the news hit, Ms. Edwards stated that she understood that the worries from a devastating diagnosis are significantly exacerbated by financial woes when a patient lacks health care coverage.
While some of the candidates are unwilling to be forthcoming with their plans, a few with less to lose politically took significant steps to reform the system last week. Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Representative John Dingell introduced a bill that would extend Medicare coverage to all Americans, including those who are currently not eligible because of their age. In a press release, Kennedy stated, "The nation's health care has reached such a crisis point that the American people are looking for bold action. . . . I believe that the best plan for the nation is to build on a program that all Americans know and respect by creating Medicare for All. Medicare administrative costs are low. Patient satisfaction is high . . . . And all Americans will be free from the fear of medical expenses that enable them to seek the best possible care when illness strikes."
If you are interested in the subject of universal health care, see also Does Universal Health Care Have a Chance?
**Though this article provides a positive note about the Edwards campaign, Juvan's Health Law Update will aim in future posts to also highlight positives for the other candidates.
Juvan's Health Law Recap--April 15, 2007
Last week, I attended and presented at the Pharma IQ conference entitled "e-Pedigree and Business Strategies for Drug Supply Security" held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the conference, Tim Marsh from Pfizer, Inc. discussed Pfizer's anti-counterfeiting strategies, Dennis Luken, a detective with the Warren county, Ohio drug task force and the National Treasurer of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators reviewed the problem of drug diversion and counterfeiting in 2007, while Jim Christian from Novartis AG emphasized that RFID and track and trace technologies are not "solutions" to the counterfeiting problem. Shay Reid, Vice President from Amerisource Bergen Corp., discussed Amerisource Bergen's attempts to become compliant with California's pedigree laws by 2009, and Robert Drucker from Rx USA Wholesale informed the audience about events that caused him to sue the FDA to prohibit the enforcement of regulations requiring secondary wholesalers to provide pedigrees tracing back to the manufacturer that fail to impose a concomitant obligation on authorized distributors. Attorney Michael Levine also discussed his involvement in the case and the status of the injunction. For those of you who are following the case, if you haven't already, I urge you to review the Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act of 2007, which includes language that, if implemented, would require manufacturers and authorized distributors of pharmaceuticals to likewise pass a pedigree.
While I was away in Philadelphia, the following stories made headlines:
- CMS Issues Proposed Decision Memorandum for Medicare National Clinical Trial Policy. CMS has proposed revisions to its coverage policy for items and services furnished in a clinical trial. As stated in the press release, the changes would include the following:
- Renaming the policy as the Clinical Research Policy;
- Adding FDA post-approval studies and coverage with evidence development (CED) to studies that would qualify under this policy;
- Requiring all studies to be registered on the NIH ClinicalTrials.gov website before enrollment begins;
- Requiring studies to publish their results;
- Paying for investigational clinical services if they are covered by Medicare outside the trial or required under an CED through the NCD process; and
- Expanding the “deeming” agencies to all DHHS Agencies, the Veterans Administration, or the Department of Defense. Deeming agencies are agencies that can “deem” whether a trial has met the general standards outlined in the policy.
See also the Proposed Decision Memorandum, available on the CMS web site.
- Kaiser Family Foundation Reports that Health Care Has Become an Important Campaign Issue. The Kaiser Family Foundation summarized articles in leading newspapers reporting that health care has become a focus on the 2008 presidential campaign trail. I would also recommend that readers review the New York Times Article "For Democrats, Health Care is a Rite of Passage." As the election nears, Juvan's Health Law Update will begin tracking the views of the candidates on both sides of the aisle.
