$1.3 B Penalty for Bextra Fraud
Pharmacia & Upjohn Co., a subsidiary of Pfizer Inc., has agreed to pay $1.3 billion in criminal penalties to resolve charges that it illegally promoted the arthritis drug Bextra (valdecoxib) for off-label uses such as general acute pain and surgical pain. The company had originally sought approval from the Food and Drug Administration to market the NSAID at a higher dose for general pain relief, but the agency rejected the application because of safety concerns. The U.S. Attorney's Office charged that from February 2002 until Bextra was removed from the market in April 2005, Pharmacia & Upjohn continued to promote the drug for the unapproved uses without mentioning the FDA's safety concerns. Under a plea agreement, Pharmacia & Upjohn agreed to pay a fine of nearly $1.2 billion and forfeit an additional $105 million. In early September, Pfizer agreed to pay $1 billion plus interest to settle civil claims that it had fraudulently promoted Bextra and three other drugs.
VA Links Bone Loss, POW Status
The federal government has officially recognized a link between being a prisoner of war (POW) and developing osteoporosis. As of August, the Department of Veterans Affairs established a presumption of service connection for osteoporosis among former POWs who were interned for at least 30 days and whose osteoporosis is at least 10% disabling. The VA also established the connection for POWs, regardless of length of imprisonment, who have a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder and osteoporosis that is at least 10% disabling. Creating a presumption of service connection means that these veterans won't have to prove that their condition was caused by their military service in order to receive VA benefits. The VA said that several studies have shown that POWs have suffered serious bone loss because of dietary deficiencies during their imprisonments.
Boomers Ring Up Big Hospital Bills
U.S. hospitals spent nearly $56 billion caring for baby boomers in 2007, almost as much as they spent on older patients, according to a report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The agency reported that baby boomers (adults aged 55–64 years) were similar to adults aged 65–74 years in their lengths of hospital stays, costs, and percentages of elective hospitalizations. Overall, baby boomers had 4.7 million hospitalizations in 2007 and accounted for 16% of the total hospital costs in the United States. Osteoporosis ranked second on the list, with 6.9 stays per 1,000 patients.
Insurance Premiums Exceed $13K
The average premium for employer-sponsored health insurance rose again this year, reaching $13,375 for family coverage and $4,824 for an individual, according to a survey of employers. Over the past decade, family premiums have risen 131%, outpacing both wages (up 38%) and inflation (up 28%) during the period. The annual survey, released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust, included responses from more than 3,100 firms. About 60% reported offering health benefits to their employees in 2009. But some said they had to cut back because of the poor economy. About 21% of businesses that offer insurance said they reduced benefits this year or increased employee cost sharing. The trend could continue into 2010. About 21% of the firms said they are “very likely” to raise their employees' premium contributions next year, and 16% said they are “very likely” to raise deductibles.
Supplement Maker Fined $70 M
In a case brought by the Federal Trade Commission, a marketing group that used infomercials to tout calcium and herbal supplements as effective treatments for autoimmune conditions cancer, Parkinson's disease, and heart disease has been ordered to pay about $70 million in consumer refunds. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled in 2008 that the companies and individuals had falsely represented the supplements' safety and efficacy. Judge George O'toole considered financial penalties separately, and has now ordered the restitution in order to strip from the defendants all profits derived from the supplement sales.
MDs Lips Say 'No', Eyes Say 'Yes'
Despite concerns about physicians' willingness to accept new patients from public programs, most U.S. doctors say they're doing so, according to a Center for Studying Health System Change survey. About three-quarters of physicians reported accepting new Medicare patients and more than half took new Medicaid patients. The public programs provided nearly half of physicians' practice revenue in 2008, according to the survey. Other findings: Nearly one-third of physicians work in solo or two-physician practices. And the composition of the physician workforce by sex appears to be changing: Although nearly three-quarters of U.S. physicians were men in 2008, about 41% of those younger than 40 were women, a trend that the center says will continue.