Hospital Bottom Lines Rebound

Hospital finances in Pennsylvania fared better in 2010 than they have since 2008.

The latest report from the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) finds total operating margins at hospitals statewide rebounded last year to 5.26% after falling to 2.03% in 2009. PHC-4 spokesperson Stephanie Suran says more of the increase can be traced to a stronger economy and a rebounding stock market than to more stable operations. “Most of the increase can be attributed to an $883 million increase in non-operating income,” says Suran. That was about three quarters of the total increase in income.

Non-operating income includes, among other things, charitable contributions and growth in endowment investments. Looking solely at operating income, margins moved from 3.53% in 2009 to 4.36% in 2010. Operating margins at southwestern Pennsylvania hospitals were slightly lower overall than the statewide numbers.

Suran says many hospitals work on such tight margins that the small increase on average was enough to push many hospitals into the black. “About one quarter of hospitals in Pennsylvania lost money in 2010, this is an improvement from the previous year when 45 percent of the state’s hospitals had negative bottom lines,” says Suran.

The cost of uncompensated care continued to pull down the margins. Pennsylvania hospitals lost $891 million dollars to uncompensated care last year. Suran says much of that can be traced to uninsured patients. Rates for uncompensated care were slightly lower in the counties surrounding Allegheny County than in the rest of the state.

PHC4 began tracking hospital data in 1996. Since then the trend has been for increased operating margins with dips from 1997 to 2001 and again from 2007 to 2010. Uncompensated care dipped through the first part of the 2000’s but has been steadily rising since it hit a trough in 2005.

The study also includes hospital stay data. Statewide inpatient days dropped from 9.39 last year to 9.14 in 2010. The statistic has been on a steady decline since 1996 when it stood at nearly 11 days. The same trend can be found when it comes to length of stay. The average hospital stay in Pennsylvania was 6.04 days in 1996 and has fallen to 5.22 in 2010.

The full report can be found here.

Field Hearing on Healthcare Leans Right

A year after the federal health care overhaul was signed into law, the measure remains a partisan lighting rod. On the legislation’s one-year anniversary, Republican Congressman Joe Pitts held a Harrisburg field hearing on the measure’s impact. The press release announcing the event included phrases like “broken promises” and “Obamacare” and the first few questions of the event followed suit. An early question from Republican G.T. Thompson was directed at acting Pennsylvania Public Welfare Secretary Gary Alexander. “Mr. Secretary, the new law creates a trillion dollar entitlement program, expands Medicaid, imposes new taxes and regulatory burdens on American employers and workers. In your view, does the new law control and reduce the trend of increasing public health care expenditures in Pennsylvania?” Sec. Alexander’s response, “Absolutely not.”

On the other side of the spectrum was the Democratic group Organizing for America. The group is holding several events across Pennsylvania celebrating the law’s passage. Organizing for America argues the measure has already expanded coverage options by letting people stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26, and barring companies from denying coverage to those with preexisting conditions. OFA’s PA Director, Elizabeth Lucas says, “It includes free preventative care, that can change things down the road for them significantly. It also lowers the cost of prescription drugs that they have to pay, the Medicare they can count on.”

In the meantime, Governor Corbett is asking President Obama to speed up legal challenges, so the Supreme Court can rule on the case. “Pennsylvania and all states need clarity. Our businesses, our health care providers and our citizens deserve quick action, and frankly, we need to know what our options and obligations will be.” says Corbett.

Anniversary For Health Care Law

It's been one year since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the health care overhaul legislation and supporters are touting its success.
Families USA, a national organization for health care consumers, has issued a study that examines the numbers of people: children, young adults, and seniors, plus small businesses that are eligible for benefits.
In the first year of the law, uninsured young adults were allowed to stay on their parents' health insurance plan until age 26. Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, says nationwide 3.4 million young adults are eligible including 89,100 in Pennsylvania...
"How many have done so, it's hard to say. The reason it's so important to let people know how many people might be eligible is that people might not be aware they are eligible. When they learn about it, they're more likely to talk to their parents to see if their parents are willing to put them back on."
The law also prevents insurance companies from denying coverage to children who have pre-existing conditions. That affects about 178,000 children in Pennsylvania.

According to Pollack, nearly 217,000 seniors in Pennsylvania, who fall into the so-called "doughnut hole," received a $250 prescription drug rebate check but this year, "these folks when they fall into this coverage gap will be eligible for 50% discounts in brand name drugs. So, I suspect there will be more people who benefit from this."

161,000 small businesses in Pennsylvania, 4 million nationwide, with fewer than 25 employees are eligible for a tax credit to help cover the cost of health insurance premiums for their workers. It's uncertain how many companies want to provide the coverage in order to get the tax credit.
Pollack says even though most of the big provisions of the legislation don't take effect for a couple of years, it's already providing help to children, young adults and seniors.

Valentine's Day Becomes National Organ Donor Day

The Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE) hopes that this Valentine’s Day, people considering becoming an organ donor and giving a true gift of affection.

Misty Enos, Associate Director of Community Outreach for CORE says that the number of organ donations needed remains high, but the list of providers is still very low.

“Last year we transplanted a little bit over 27,000 organs but over 110,000 people are waiting,” Enos says. “So the demand is very high, the need is very high, but the list of people who are actually registered as donors or who say yes is actually pretty low.”

Enos encourages those considering becoming an organ donor to do the research and educate themselves about the reality of donation. She asks the people on the fence to imagine if the person in need of a donation was a close relative and what you would want others to do.

“For me I look at my son, my husband, my mother, my brothers and sisters, and I think to myself if there was ever a time where their lives depended on a lifesaving organ transplant, what decision would I want my family to make?” Enos says.

Only 44 percent of people choose to be organ donors in the state of Pennsylvania and Enos says that anyone interested in becoming an organ donor should visit www.donatelife-pa.org and register using the PA State Donor Registry run through the DMV. Another method would be including your decision to be an organ donor in a living will.

Legislative Surplus Could Fund adultBasic

Governor Tom Corbett says Pennsylvania's dire finances mean that his administration can't extend a low-cost health insurance plan for 42,000 working adults when the program
runs out of money in less than three weeks. Corbett is blaming his predecessor Ed Rendell for adding people to the rolls of adultBasic but not ensuring there was enough money in place.

However, some state lawmakers want to use the General Assembly's surplus to continue the health insurance program.
Senator Mike Stack, a democrat from Philadelphia, has introduced legislation that would sustain those who stand to lose health coverage at the end of the month when adultBasic expires. The program had been funded by contributions from the Blue Cross/Blue Shields across the state. Senate Bill 420 would allocate the General Assembly’s $188.5 million budget surplus to
fund operating expenses for adultBasic for another year.
Democratic State Senator John Yudichak of Luzerne County says there aren't many funding options..."There are few line items in the budget that have a surplus. Legislative leadership accounts have a surplus. I think this is an important step so that we can continue to provide services."

Stack, the bill's sponsor, says adultBasic must be more accountable....
"It's probably going to be necessary to change how frequently coverage is offered to people on the waiting list. We would also have to look at what's covered, how much is covered and also we may have to ask for folks to get involved with cost-sharing."

Assuming that adultBasic expenses remain at the current $14 million a month. The measure would give the state another year to determine how to help the program survive until federal health care coverage starts up in 2014.

Impact of Health Care Spending Caps

Family Hospice Launches ‘Transitions’

Three organizations on the north side of Pittsburgh are joining forces in an effort to bring more hospice and palliative care to the African American community. Family Hospice & Palliative Care CEO Rafael Sciullo says a few years ago it became clear that there was a disparity in access to hospice and palliative care. “We were finding, as has been the trend nationally, that access for African Americans to hospice and palliative care has been very limited and certainly not at the level it was for other populations,” says Sciullo.

The CEO says he knew he had to do something. “We began to formulate, what were the obstacles creating that and then how could we overcome them with a program that responded positively to support, responded to education, to outreach and to using the right language,” says Sciullo.

Family Hospice teamed up with the Northside Christian Health Center and the Bidwell United Presbyterian Church to form an initiative called “Transitions.” Sciullo says through focus groups, they learned that many African Americans felt hospice was only for rich white people and that they equated the word “hospice” with “the end.” He says the community did not want to see death as the end but rather as a transition to another life. Bidwell United Presbyterian Church Pastor De Niece Welch says many in the community did not even know what palliative care meant and others equated hospice with nursing homes, which she says carries a negative connotation in the community. She says she is often called to a member’s bedside as they near death and she sees pain and suffering that she knows is not necessary.

Welch says she tells those with life limiting illness, and their families, “You can live your best life until your transition from this life to the next.” But she says it is not enough to just talk about the benefits of hospice care. She says you need to be able to point to a provider who can help rather than forcing families to “call around looking for help.”

Welch says Transitions will allow African Americans on the north side to continue their tradition of caring for family members at home for as long as possible without having to put loved ones through undue pain and without having to make trips to the emergency room. She says people are dying in bright loud emergency rooms rather than at home with loved ones where they can be more comfortable. Most of Family Hospice’s clients stay in the homes. Last year Family Hospice cared for an average of 400 clients a day but have just 12 beds in its inpatient facility.

Sciullo says providing families with the needed training is a key part of the Transitions as well as recruiting volunteers from Manchester and other north side communities to help provide care and to spread the word.

Listen to an audio version of this story here.

PA House Committee Tries To Block Mandated Insurance

A state House panel has approved a bill blocking a key portion of the new federal health care law within Pennsylvania.

The health care legislation requires every American to purchase health insurance, or face penalties, beginning in 2014. The House Health Committee voted on straight party lines to void the mandate within Pennsylvania's borders.

Democrats on the panel argued the legislation is unconstitutional, since it would directly contradict federal law. Committee Chair and bill sponsor Matthew Baker countered that similar bills have been introduced in 42 states, and passed by six. "So it is the issue all across America right now: that this forced mandate is unconstitutional, and that states have the authority and the wherewithal under their constitutional construct to oppose a mandate that is unconstitutionally exacted upon them by Congress," he said.

Baker said President Obama and Congress were the ones who overstepped constitutional boundaries, by penalizing consumers who don't want to buy health insurance. "We need this bill in order to affirm and reassert our autonomy and freedoms. That what is not provided by federal law, the states have the ability to enact. And what this does is, it enacts an unconstitutional section of the federal health care bill called the mandate."

Democratic Committee Chair John Myers argued the 14-9 vote was a stunt. "What they're attempting to do today is to move forward their philosophical agenda, and not address the real issue. Because if they wanted to address the real issue we would be dealing with adultBasic today. And not dealing with this philosophical statement, anti-Barack Obama," he said. AdultBasic provides health insurance for more than 40-thousand low-income Pennsylvanians, but it's set to expire at the end of the month.

According to Baker, several constitutional elements are at play here. "The [Obama Administration] has to demonstrate that [the law] is derived from Congressional authority to regulate interstate commerce," he said, arguing regulation of "inactivity is an over-reach." (That's what a Florida federal judge recently found, in a lawsuit joined by then-Attorney General Tom Corbett.) Baker said the Tenth Amendment is also relevant. The language reads: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, not prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Whether or not Americans purchase health insurance, said Baker, is not Congress' responsibility.

So why not just let the federal courts decide the law's constitutionality, instead of pass a law that may violate another portion of the document, which reads, "This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States...shall be the supreme law of the Land; and the Judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding"? "This is an added hedge of protection against federal overreach," said Baker.

So what's next? It's unclear when the full House would vote on the measure, though GOP leadership supports its intent. It's also unclear when or where the next federal court action will happen, though nearly every political and legal observer in the country agrees the health care law will ultimately end up before the United States Supreme Court.

Allegheny General Hospital Embarks on Pharmaceutical-Company- Backed Study

Allegheny General Hospital will be taking part in an international study to determine whether the hormone progesterone may aid in the recovery following a severe head injury.

The study is being funded by pharmaceutical company BHR Pharma. About 100 medical centers around the world will take part in the study, scheduled to last three years.

Jack Wilberger, Chairman of The Department of Neurosurgery at Allegheny General Hospital will be a principal investigator on the study. He said the study came about because women appear to recover better from traumatic head injuries than men do even though they receive the same care.

The overall study will enroll 1,800 patients. Allegheny General Hospital sees about 75 people with severe head injuries a year. They estimate that about twenty percent of those will participate.

A severe head injury is classified as one that leaves someone in a coma. The most common cause of them are automobile accidents. Previous studies show that progesterone serves as a brain protector. It occurs in men and women but is best known as a female hormone that plays a role in maintaining pregnancies.

Casey: Health Care Repeal Doesn't Make Sense

A day after a Florida federal judge struck down the entire Affordable Care Act as "unconstitutional," the White House and Democratic lawmakers continue to warn about the negative impact of repealing the law.
U.S. District Judge C. Roger Vinson said through through the law, Congress exceeded its power to regulate interstate commerce. Vinson agreed with the plaintiffs that the law cannot force citizens to obtain health insurance or face a fine. He is the first judge to strike down the entire act while 2 other courts upheld the health care law. However, Vinson did not issue an injunction to prevent the law from proceeding pending appeal.
White House Deputy Senior Advisor Stephanie Cutter said the President has indicated that anything can be improved and he's willing to work to make the law better and care more affordable but not re-fight the battles of the last 2 years.
Pennsylvania's senior U.S. Bob Casey says he agrees with the President ...
"There are plenty of reasons to have discussions about changes we can make. But the idea of repeal and turning the clock back on families in Pennsylvania makes no sense, especially when we're trying to fully recover from a horrific recession."

Casey says repeal would mean insurance companies could again deny coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, and could deny or cap coverage unexpectedly.
Although the House voted to repeal the health care overhaul law, the Democrat-controlled Senate is highly unlikely to do so, and President Obama would veto it.
Casey says he's still reviewing the Florida judge's ruling....
"I just want to make sure that as we have a debate, it won't just be a debate that takes place in the courts with and among lawyers, that this is a debate across the country. I think it's important
that people understand the stakes."

Not Treating Some Breast Cancer May Be Okay

Researchers at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh are arguing that doctors may want to step away from testing and treating very small amounts of breast cancer. For decades, there has been a raging debate among oncologists as to what to do when a women who has had breast cancer treatments is found to have no cancer in her sentinel lymph nodes through normal testing but is found to have very small amounts of cancer known as micro metastases upon more intensive analysis. Sentinel nodes are normally the first lymph nodes to receive cancer cells from the breast tumor and can be removed with a surgical procedure. AGH Breast Care Center Associate Director Thomas Julian says their study found that women who had aggressive treatment for cancers under 2 millimeters have a survival rate after 5 years that is just 1.2 percent better than those who are not treated. “When you look at that one to one-and-a-half percent difference, it’s kind of hard to improve on that by giving more intense chemotherapy, so why go chasing for these teeny tiny amounts if you’re not going to treat the patient,” says Julian.

The study randomly assigned 5,611 breast cancer patients with clinically negative auxiliary lymph nodes to undergo either a sentinel node biopsy alone, or a sentinel node biopsy plus auxiliary dissection. Julian says studies done in the past used to argue for more treatment were riddled with poor testing procedures. They did a poor job of detecting the cancer in the first round of testing, says Julian. He says this shows the power of doing good, scientific based research.

While the debate may never be over, Julian says this study and another like it will swing the pendulum toward non-treatment. “For most [Doctors] it will give them satisfactory information so they can treat their patient adequately and not have to pursue things,” says Julian, “There will always be somebody who says, ‘you know, I’m really worried you have this teeny tiny little bit of cancer in there and
I think you should get more treatment.’” Julian says by not testing or treating, doctors will save women the negative side effects associated with such procedures. It could also save money. He says he expects the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network to issue new treatment guidelines in the coming years reflecting the new information.

IDs for Health Care Workers

A new state law will require health care workers to wear uniform ID's with their name, title and a photo in 2011. The Home Health Care Worker ID Act will was proposed by state Representative Jennifer Mann, a Democrat from Lehigh County. The law applies to health care workers who are delivering direct care to patients. "The idea actually stemmed from a home bound constituent of mine who had called with concerns to the fact that daily health care workers were coming to his door and he sometimes wondered if they really were who they said they were," said Mann. "What it really ultimately became was something much more expansive than that to include all health care workers whether they are in a physicians office, in a medical facility, in a hospital." The program will be implemented over a 5 year period.
　
　

Free Clinic Damaged

The free health care center operated by Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh remains closed after a sprinkler malfunction badly flooded the organization's downtown Pittsburgh headquarters. Spokeswoman Clare Kushma says the health center will remain closed until further notice and at this time they are not taking walk-in clients because the building is too badly damaged.
Kushma says the sprinkler flooded offices Tuesday but went undetected until Wednesday but by then, ceilings and walls had been destroyed or heavily damaged....

" We were told by the restoration company that anywhere from 10,000 to 12,000 gallons of water hit the basement. So we're looking at damage on the third floor, the second floor, the first floor and into the basement."

Kushma says staff are on hand and taking calls from clients who need help with basic needs such as utility bills but this is still hard on the clients.....
"We had great need prior to this happening. So, that's the unfortunate part for those that we serve. There was so much need and our being closed a couple of days, it's very difficult for an agency that is always quick to respond to needs of others to not be able to do so because of something like this occurring."

Nearly 1 in 8 Births in PA Is Premature

The percentage of premature births in Pennsylvania is declining but not enough to prevent the state from earning a "D" on the third annual report card from the March of Dimes. This latest report card studied births from 2008. In Pennsylvania, 11.6% of the births in 2008 occurred before 37 weeks gestation. That compares to 11.8% in 2007. Still, Dolores Smith, State Director of Program Services for the March of Dimes, says that in Pennsylvania more than 17,000 babies are born too soon each year before their lungs, brains and other organs are fully developed.

Pennsylvania's rate of women of childbearing age who smoke did fall to 23.4%. Smith says a leading cause of preterm birth is smoking while pregnant.

“If women smoke during their pregnancy they tend to have lower birth-weight babies even if their babies are full term. But there also is a risk of preterm birth related to maternal smoking while pregnant.”

Smith says preterm births bring serious health risks to the baby and can be prevented by being healthy and planning pregnancies while maintaining a relationship with one’s OB/GYN.

According to Smith, there are many problems that arise out of preterm births.

“Some have really very serious long-term issues, cerebral palsy, blindness, vision and hearing loss, difficulties in swallowing or breathing. There are some very serious complications simply because a baby is born too small and too soon.”

Smith also says that different health factors in different races can also affect pregnancy, and African-American women should be aware they face a higher possibility of having a child preterm.

“We look at all the disparities in health outcomes, you know heart health, diabetes, hypertension related to being African-American particularly. We also see that some of those same factors can negatively impact birth outcomes.”

The March of Dimes Report Card gave the nation a grade of "D" because the rate of premature births is still far from the Healthy People 2010 goal of 7.6%.

Auditor General: Waste in DPW Medicaid Payments

With the incoming administration open to his ideas, Auditor General Jack Wagner is laying out ways he thinks Pennsylvania can save money and bridge a likely multi-billion dollar deficit next year.
Governor-elect Tom Corbett is a Republican and Wagner is a Democrat, but again and again during the campaign, Corbett said he’d look at Wagner’s audits for ways to save money.
The Auditor General says he believes the Department of Public Welfare (DPW) is wasting 15 percent of the monthly payments it makes to healthcare providers on behalf of Medicaid patients, by using out-of-date information.

"If, in fact, their status changes and there’s no notification or use of data to update the change in status, the managed care organization continues to receive the monthly payment for months or for years."

Wagner says DPW typically only updates information once a year. He says relevant data can be refreshed quarterly or even monthly.
However, a DPW spokesman tells the Harrisburg Patriot-News federal regulations restrict how often state officials are able to update their information about Medicaid patients.

Wagner stresses he’s not talking about money going directly to patients.

"90 percent of the people receiving medical assistance are getting that not through a fee for service, when they show up at a doctor or hospital and there’s a direct reimbursement. It is through a managed care organization and a monthly capitation payment."

The Auditor General points out a ten percent reduction in Medicaid payments could save more than 400 million dollars.

RMU Doctor of Nursing Program Gets Boost from Grant

Students researching clinical care, patient safety, and quality of patient care At Robert Morris University will son have access to a quarter of a million dollars to aid their efforts. The Robert Morris University's Doctor of Nursing Practice program (DNP) accepted a five year, $250,000 grant from the Jewish Healthcare Foundation (JHF). The grant will help to establish the Alvin Rogal Research Award in Safety and Quality Improvement, named after a founding chairman of the JHF and a member of the Robert Morris Board of Trustees who died in 2007. The Research Award will allow $10,000 annually to DNP student research.

Jonathan Potts, spokesperson for Robert Morris, says that the program is working hard to bring nursing students an education that prepares them for the challenges they may face in their field. "By 2015 The American Association of Colleges and Nursing is recommending that advanced practice nurses...receive doctorate level education. They're taking on more and more of the duties that physicians have taken on in the past, so they need to have that level of education."

Potts also says that he is grateful JHF endowed the Research Award in Alvin Rogal's name. He says that he was a great philanthropist and beloved during his time on the board.

The DNP graduated its first class last May with another cohort graduating this December. Clinical projects launched by the program include the use of insulin pumps to control type 2 diabetes, educating parents about the use of CT scans on children with head injuries, and the use of vitamin D on patients with spinal stenosis.

Access to Health Care for Women with Disabilities

People with disabilities, particularly women are less likely to access routine health care.

Disparities in health care for women with disabilities are well-documented. Studies have shown that people with disabilities are twice as likely to go without medical care as people without. And women with disabilities are more likely than men with disabilities to go without health care.

People with disabilities are twenty percent of the population –a percentage that will grow as the baby boomer generation ages.

The Americans with Disabilities Act might have required that ramps allow people with physical disabilities to get into buildings – but many say compliance stops there. Getting unto an examination table is difficult. Scales can’t always accommodate a person with mobility issues. And radiology equipment isn’t always especially built for the disabled. The ones that are aren’t readily made or distributed. And working with a person with a disability might take more time and resources – something medical professionals may lack. And spending hours with a patient goes against the grain of a culture that focuses on productivity.

There is also a dignity issue – for a patient, as uncomfortable as something might be - nobody wants to ask for accommodation.

Some of this is likely to change with health care reform. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act calls for removing barriers and improving access to wellness for people with disabilities. It authorizes the United States Access Board, a federal agency whose mission is accessibility for people with disabilities, to develop new standards for medical diagnostic equipment – including exam tables, chairs, weight scales, x-ray machines and mammography equipment.

In Pittsburgh, last week, a forum was held last week in Pittsburgh regarding this issue.

Listen to the story here.

Symposium on Aging

A symposium exploring social justice and health care options for the elderly is being held in Pittsburgh.

Aging issues in this country aren’t new- but as the baby boomer generation gets older they are taking on a new urgency.

There are health care issues. There is policy that must be tailored for this growing population. And there is the question of housing. People want to live in communities - not institutionalized nursing homes.

A symposium addressing those issues is being held this week at Duquesne University.
Eileen Sullivan-Marx, a Dean at The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing was among the speakers. She spoke about community based long-term care facilities.

"Pennsylvania has grown the best range of community based long term care facilities. They are called living independently for elders program and Pennsylvania has more of these programs than any other state in the country and they are very effective. It’s like turning a nursing home inside out. So we’re providing all of the services that would be available in a nursing home but providing them in their homes and in their communities," she said.

Pennsylvania has the second largest elderly population in the country –and that population is only expected to grow.

Applications Still Being Accepted for "FairCare"

There are still more than a thousand spots available in Pennsylvania's new high-risk health insurance pool.
Pennsylvania's Insurance Department received more than a thousand bids to join its new coverage plan for people with preexisting conditions during the first day of its application window.
But since then, things have slowed down, and fewer than two thousand people have applied for its 35-hundred spots.
Spokeswoman Melissa Fox says the department will launch radio and Internet ads over the next few weeks, in order to spread the word about the program.

"We're not going to do Philly or Pittsburgh, only because we're still seeing a steady stream of interest in those counties. In addition, those are the two most expensive media markets out there. So we hope to get some advertising out within the next few weeks, in early September."

The PA Fair Care program will run until 2014, when the new federal health care law kicks in.
Fox says there are more than 800-thousand uninsured Pennsylvanians, though the department doesn't know how many of them have preexisting health conditions.

You can apply at PAFairCare.com.

Study Reveals Increased Use of Antibiotics by Seniors

A University of Pittsburgh study of spending on antibiotics under Medicare Part D shows an increase in antibiotics use by seniors with pneumonia, which is an improvement, but also an increase in broad-spectrum antibiotics, which could mean an overuse of inappropriate drugs.
The study’s lead author, Yuting Zhang, of the Graduate School of Public Health says there’s been a major improvement for those with pneumonia who did not have drug coverage before the implementation of Medicare Part D. “It’s important that they use antibiotics to control their condition.”
However, she says there is also a misuse of prescription antibiotics, and this could lead to excessive government spending and overdose.
Zhang says there are a few things that can be done to prevent the misuse of these antibiotics without changing Medicare Part D. “There could be different education programs or reimbursement policy changes.” For example, she says policymakers could consider using a different pricing strategy that may involve charging higher for certain drugs that may not be appropriate for certain patients.
The assistant professor of health economics says they maintain one goal: to find another type of reimbursement policy program to reduce the inappropriate use of antibiotics… “Which always has been a very important thing and we have made a lot of progress and probably still have some room to improve on that.”