Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/456595
ByRicardoAlonso- Zaldivar TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON With pa- tients facing more exposure to the cost of revolution- ary new medications, the budget President Barack Obama released Monday re- opened a debate on whether government should use its buying power to squeeze the pharmaceutical indus- try for lower prices. Obama called on Con- gress to allow the secretary of Health and Human Ser- vices to negotiate prices on behalf of Medicare benefi- ciaries for high-cost drugs and for biologics, which are medications derived from natural substances, ranging from insulin to some of the latest cancer treatments. "The administration is deeply concerned with the rapidly growing prices of specialty and brand-name drugs," stated Obama's bud- get. The move is politically significant because drug companies were allies in Obama's long struggle to pass his health care over- haul from 2009 to 2010. Fast forward to 2015, and it's insurance companies that are helping put the law's coverage expansion into place for consumers. Insurers have been loudly complaining about new drugs with eye-popping prices, such as Sovaldi, the $1,000-per-pill that can cure hepatitis C. Unlike the U.S., gov- ernments in many other countries play a central role in determining drug prices. While the Veterans Affairs department and state Medicaid programs have legal authority to ob- tain steep discounts from drug makers, that doesn't include the largest payer, Medicare. When the Medi- care prescription program was created, Congress ex- pressly denied HHS the authority to negotiate prices. Instead, that role is played by private insurers who deliver the prescription benefit to the more than 55 million Medicare beneficia- ries. But when it comes to new drugs with no generic competitors, insurers have limited leverage. As a re- sult such medications often wind up on coverage tiers that require patients them- selves to pay a big share of the price. It's unclear how hard the administration intends to push for Medicare nego- tiating authority. The bud- get line item did not specify a target for savings, and the pharmaceutical industry re- mains one of the most for- midable lobbying outfits in Washington. Some key players on the issue said the debate needs to go beyond Medicare. Matt Salo, executive direc- tor of the National Associa- tion of Medicaid Directors, said a comprehensive ap- proach is needed to address high drug prices across in- surance programs. "If in this competitive market, Medicare is able to drop the floor on prices, what is the ripple effect?" asked Salo. "Does Medic- aid get charged more?" Obama's $1.1 trillion health care budget also called for: • Increases, starting in 2019, in Medicare premi- ums for high-income benefi- ciaries, as well as additional charges for new enrollees. Those charges for new en- rollees include a home health copayment, changes to the Part B deductible, and a premium surcharge for seniors who've also pur- chased a kind of supple- mental insurance whose generous benefits are seen as encouraging overuse of Medicare services. Obama has proposed similar steps before, and many Repub- licans agree with the ap- proach. But AARP, the se- niors' lobby, is strongly op- posed. • A near-doubling of to- bacco taxes, to extend health insurance for low- income children. The fed- eral cigarette tax would rise from just under $1.01 per pack to about $1.95 per pack. Taxes on other to- bacco products also would go up. That would pro- vide financing to pay for the Children's Health In- surance Program through 2019. The federal-state pro- gram serves about 8 million children, and funding tech- nically expires Sept. 30. The tobacco tax hike would take effect in 2016. OBAMA Budget targets high cost of cutting-edge drugs By Mike Stobbe The Associated Press NEW YORK Some new evi- dence this is a particularly bad flu season: Flu-related hospitalizations of the el- derly are the highest since the government started tracking that statistic nine years ago. About 198 out of ev- ery 100,000 people 65 and older have been hospital- ized with flu-related ill- ness this flu season. That's roughly 86,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC officials released the new flu season numbers on Friday. It's the highest level seen since the government started tracking the sta- tistic in the 2005-2006 flu season. The previous re- cord was 183 per 100,000, during the flu season two years ago. That flu season and this one were dominated by a virus known as H3N2. This year, the flu vaccine is not built for the H3N2 strain, which is the one that's spreading most widely. Overall, the flu vaccine is only 23 percent effective this winter, CDC officials said recently. That's one of the worst performances in the last decade, since U.S. health officials started routinely tracking how well vac- cines work. In the best flu seasons, the vaccines were 50 to 60 percent ef- fective. Among infectious dis- eases, flu is considered one of the nation's leading killers. On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the CDC. The CDC doesn't do a national count of adult flu deaths. But a tally of deaths from 122 U.S. cities indi- cated that 9 percent of all deaths last week were at- tributed to flu and pneu- monia. That's not a record, but it's higher than what's been seen in the thick of most recent flu seasons. It reached 10 percent two winters ago. The good news is flu sea- son seems to have peaked, at least for much of the country, officials say. "Nationally, we're on the decline. But we're still going up in some areas," said Lyn Finelli, the CDC's flu sur- veillance chief. Flu seems is receding in the Southeast and South- west, for example. But it's surging in New England and the West Coast. VIRUS CDC: Flu hospitalizations of elderly hit record high By Jonathan Paye- Layleh The Associated Press MONROVIA, LIBERIA Large-scale human test- ing of two potential Eb- ola vaccines got under way in Liberia's capital Monday, part of a global effort to prevent a repeat of the epidemic that has now claimed nearly 9,000 lives in West Africa. Yet even as Liberians volunteered to take part, it remains unclear whether either vaccine ultimately will work, and if so how quickly they could be mass produced. There is currently no li- censed treatment for Eb- ola, a ghastly virus that has killed at least 60 per- cent of even its hospital- ized victims. The studies in Libe- ria are taking place after smaller tests determined that the vaccines were safe for human use. By com- paring them now with a dummy shot, scientists hope to learn whether they can prevent people from contracting the dis- ease. Despite the vaccine study's promise, author- ities must combat fear and suspicion that people could become infected by taking part. Each vaccine uses a different virus to carry non-infectious Eb- ola genetic material into the body and spark an im- mune response. On Sunday in one densely populated neigh- borhood of Monrovia, musicians sang songs ex- plaining the purpose and intent of the trial in a bid to dispel fears. B. Emmanuel Lansana, 43, a physician's assis- tant, was the first to re- ceive doses on Monday. Two shots were ad- ministered at differ- ent points on his right arm. His wife had ex- pressed apprehension about the vaccine trial, but Lansana said he still wanted to take part. "From the counseling, all of the reservations I have were explained, my doubts were cleared," he said in a room where he was being observed for 30 minutes afterward. Up to 600 volunteers are taking part in the first phase, and trial organiz- ers have said eventually as many as 27,000 people could take part. WORLD Ebola vaccine testing starts in Liberia HEALTH » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, February 3, 2015 MOREATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4