Source: Government Accountability Office
1. Civilian Agencies’ Development and Implementation of Insourcing Guidelines
New Guide Available from U.S. Government for Community and Faith-Based Organizations Working to Help Americans Stay Healthy from H1N1 and Seasonal Flu
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The new guide, which is available for download at flu.gov and www.hhs.gov/partnership or in hard copy from the Department of Health and Human Services, highlights ways organizations can contribute to flu response efforts by:
- Communicating health information effectively and quickly in a culturally relevant and trustworthy manner;
- Supporting vaccination efforts by encouraging people to get seasonal and 2009 H1N1 vaccinations according to federal recommendations and offering buildings and resources for vaccination distribution;
- Linking vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations to vital information and resources; and
- Expanding and adjusting organizational activities to help people stay healthy — for example, by supporting school-based flu response through child-care and youth programs, and ensuring healthy work environments for staff and volunteers.
Leafy Greens, Eggs, & Tuna Top List of Riskiest FDA-Regulated Foods
Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest
Leafy greens, eggs, and tuna are on the top of a list of the 10 riskiest foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Those and seven other foods account for nearly 40 percent of all foodborne outbreaks linked to FDA-regulated food. That’s no reason to forgo the occasional salad Nicoise, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which authored the report, nor need one pass up tomatoes, sprouts, and berries, even though those foods are also on the list. But the nonprofit watchdog group says the presence of so many healthy foods on such a list is exactly why the United States Senate should follow the House and pass legislation that reforms our fossilized food safety laws.
The FDA is responsible for regulating produce, seafood, egg and dairy products, as well as typical packaged foods such as cookie dough and peanut butter — nearly 80 percent of the food supply. More than 1,500 separate, definable outbreaks were associated with the top 10 riskiest FDA-regulated foods, causing nearly 50,000 reported illnesses. Since most foodborne illnesses are never reported, these outbreaks are only the tip of a large, hulking iceberg.
+ Full Document (PDF; 406 KB)
Hat tip: PW
Proposed Medical Device Tax Would More than Double Taxes Paid By Companies, Raise Costs for Patients and Harm U.S. Competitiveness
Source: Advanced Medical Technology Association
The proposed $40 billion tax on America’s medical device manufacturers would result in a doubling of the tax burden already faced by these companies and would likely contribute to health cost growth, according to a new analysis released today by the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed).
In addition, the study by Dr. Robert Carroll, former U.S. Treasury Department official in the Office of Tax Analysis and currently senior fellow at the Tax Foundation and executive-in-residence at American University’s School of Public Affairs, found the new tax would likely shift technological innovation abroad as the average tax rate for the device and diagnostics industry would rise from 23 percent currently to nearly 50 percent.
“These disturbing findings reaffirm that the $40 billion tax on medical devices over the next decade is neither sound health policy nor tax policy, will result in higher costs for patients and will cost jobs in this sector,” said Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of AdvaMed. “We urge Congress to reject the $40 billion tax.”
+ Full Report (PDF; 46 KB)
NOAA Reports Health of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
A new NOAA report on the health of California’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary indicates that the overall condition of the sanctuary’s marine life and habitat ranges from good (highest rating) to fair (moderate rating), but identifies several threats to sanctuary resources, such as growing coastal populations, agricultural and urban runoff, vessel traffic and marine debris.
“The sanctuary was designated because of its extraordinary resources and qualities, and this report confirms its continued vitality,” said Paul Michel, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary superintendent. “But it also reveals that expanding human population and activities require adaptive management strategies to preserve the sanctuary today and into the future.”
Prepared by NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Condition Report rates the current condition of three marine environments: offshore, nearshore and estuarine. Four resource categories were considered for each of those environments: water quality, habitat, living resources and maritime archaeological resources.
+ Full Report
Monthly Labor Review — September 2009
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Articles (PDFs) include:
+ Health care industries and the New York City labor market
+ Employment growth in the Kansas City, MO-KS, Metropolitan Statistical Area
+ Fifty years of BLS surveys on Federal employees’ pay
As Economy Impacts Halloween, Americans Get Creative
Source: National Retail Federation
One of the spookiest parts of Halloween this year may be the amount people plan to spend on their celebrations. According to the National Retail Federation’s 2009 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, consumers are expected to spend an average of $56.31 on Halloween, down from $66.54 last year. Total spending on the holiday is expected to reach $4.75 billion.
Nearly one in three (29.6%) consumers say the state of the U.S. economy will impact their Halloween spending plans. Of those who will be affected, the largest majority (88.0%) plan to spend less overall. Others say they will be buying less candy (46.5%), using last year’s decorations without buying new ones (35.4%), making costumes instead of purchasing them (16.8%), reusing last year’s costumes (15.8%), and not participating in as many Halloween activities such as haunted houses or fall festivals (26.4%).
+ View full report and sample charts. (PDF; 49 KB)
+ View 2009 top costumes.
+ Watch a CNBC interview about Halloween spending with NRF’s Ellen Davis.
New Rules Protect Patients’ Genetic Information
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Individuals’ genetic information will have greater protections through new regulations issued today by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury.
The interim final rule will help ensure that genetic information is not used adversely in determining health care coverage and will encourage more individuals to participate in genetic testing, which can help better identify and prevent certain illnesses.
…
The interim final rule with request for comments and the notice of proposed rulemaking implement Title I of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). Under GINA, and the interim final rule, group health plans and issuers in the group market cannot: increase premiums for the group based on the results of one enrollee’s genetic information; deny enrollment; impose pre-existing condition exclusions; or do other forms of underwriting based on genetic information. In the individual health insurance market, GINA prohibits issuers from using genetic information to deny coverage, raise premiums, or impose pre-existing condition exclusions.Further, under GINA and the new interim final regulations, group health plans and health insurance issuers in both the group and individual markets cannot request, require or buy genetic information for underwriting purposes or prior to and in connection with enrollment. Finally, plans and issuers are generally prohibited from asking individuals or family members to undergo a genetic test.
+ Full Document (PDF; 345 KB)
Taxing Soda Could Trim State Deficits (and Waistlines), Says Report
Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest
Even as 48 states and the District of Columbia are facing grim budget shortfalls, only 25 states currently impose special taxes on soda and other beverages with added sugar, and all of those taxes are very small. And according to a new paper from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, states could generate a total of more than $10 billion per year by levying a tax of 7 cents per 12-ounce can of Coke or Mountain Dew. If implemented by Congress in the form of a national excise tax, that $10 billion could make an important contribution toward paying for health coverage for all Americans.
Plus, says CSPI, the decrease in soda consumption due to a higher price would help reduce the incidence of obesity, diabetes and other costly chronic diseases. Americans spend approximately $147 billion a year on medical expenditures related to obesity, of which half is paid with Medicare and Medicaid dollars.
+ Full Paper (PDF; 225 KB)
New NPR/Kaiser/Harvard Poll Examines Public’s Views of the Role of Health Care Interest Groups in the Health Care Debate
Source: NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health
A new survey conducted jointly by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health examines the public’s views and opinions of the role of health care interest groups in the ongoing federal health care debate. The survey examines whether people feel their views are represented in the ongoing legislative process and their level of trust in different groups.
NPR is reporting the poll findings in its coverage of the continuing health care debate in Washington, DC. on its news programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
The poll, Survey on the Role of Health Care Interest Groups, is part of a series of projects about health-related issues by NPR, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and the Harvard School of Public Health. Representatives of the three organizations worked together to develop the survey questionnaire and to analyze the results, with NPR maintaining editorial control over its broadcasts on the surveys.
Changes in the Distribution of Workers’ Annual Earnings Between 1979 and 2007
Source: Congressional Budget Office
Understanding how the annual earnings of workers have changed over time is integral to projecting possible changes in such earnings in the future and considering government tax and spending policies that affect workers. Last week CBO released a paper documenting changes in workers’ annual earnings during the past three decades.
The paper first describes changes between 1979 and 2007 in the annual (inflation-adjusted) earnings of workers ages 25 to 54. CBO found, as depicted in the figures below, that men with relatively low, median, and relatively high earnings (specifically, men at the 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles of their earnings distribution) earned more than women in the same position of their own earnings distribution in 2007, and that those differences were smaller in 2007 than in 1979.
CBO also compared the differences in earnings between low, median, and high earners of the same sex in a given year. For men, the ratio of the earnings of high earners to those of median earners was larger in 2007 than in 1979, whereas the earnings ratio for median and low earners was roughly the same in the two years. For example, in 2007 men in the 90th percentile earned 2.4 times what men in the 50th percentile earned; that ratio was 1.8 in 1979. For women, in contrast, the ratio of the earnings of high earners to those of median earners was roughly the same in 2007 as it was in 1979, but the earnings ratio for median and low earners was smaller in 2007 than it was in 1979.
+ Full Paper (PDF; 779 KB)
Health Care Reform in Massachusetts: The Employer Response
Source: Health Affairs/Commonwealth Fund
As Congress and the Administration debate health care reform, it is instructive to look at the Massachusetts model, now in its third year. Health Affairs, the leading health policy journal, today released a study of workers in the Bay State who were interviewed in fall 2008 about their employer-sponsored health care coverage, following up on similar surveys in 2006 and 2007. Despite predictions that employers could reduce coverage or benefits under health reform, the results suggest the opposite, although premiums and out-of-pocket costs have increased for some employees in smaller companies.
+ Massachusetts Health Reform: Employer Coverage From Employees’ Perspective
Availability of Less Nutritious Snack Foods and Beverages in Secondary Schools —Selected States, 2002–2008
Source: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (CDC)
Foods and beverages offered or sold in schools outside of U.S. Department of Agriculture school meal programs are not subject to federal nutrition standards (1) and generally are of lower nutritional quality than foods and beverages served in the meal programs. To estimate changes in the percentage of schools in which students could not purchase less nutritious foods and beverages, CDC analyzed 2002–2008 survey data from its School Health Profiles for public secondary schools. This report summarizes the results of those analyses, which indicated that, during 2002–2008, the percentage of schools in which students could not purchase candy or salty snacks not low in fat increased in 37 of 40 states. From 2006 to 2008, the percentage of schools in which students could not purchase soda pop or fruit drinks that were not 100% juice increased in all 34 participating states. Despite these improvements, in 2008, the percentage of schools among states in which students could not purchase sports drinks ranged from 22.7% to 84.8% (state median: 43.7%), and the percentage in which students could not purchase soda pop ranged from 25.6% to 92.8% (state median: 62.9%). The percentage of schools in which students could not purchase candy or salty snacks also varied widely among states (range: 18.2%–88.2%, state median: 61.2%). School and public health officials should increase efforts to eliminate availability of less nutritious foods and beverages at school, as recommended by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) (2).
New Report, Documentary Debunk Myth; Show that Heartland favors Health Care Reform
Source: Center for Community Change
Today, rural Americans cleared the air about their position on health care reform at the “Rural Issues in Health Care Reform” congressional briefing hosted by Reps. Tom Perriello (D-Va.) and Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.). Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Rep. Steve Kagen (D-Wis.) spoke at the briefing. The antics of extremist tea baggers gave birth to the misconception that rural Americans were against health care reform when in fact the stories and findings of the new report and mini-documentary released at the briefing show otherwise.
“Rural communities have always been the geographic and moral heart of America,” said Sally Kohn, senior campaign strategist at the Center for Community Change. “What’s odd is that while members of Congress from rural states are wielding disproportionate power in the health care reform debate, rural voters have been largely invisible and ignored or portrayed as against reform. Not only do most rural Americans want health care reform, they need it even more than urban folks.”
According to the eye-opening report, “Sweet the Bitter Drought: Why Rural America Needs Health Care Reform,” rural Americans are more likely to be underinsured, less likely to have choices in insurance coverage, travel greater distances and often face shortages in health care providers, medical services and technology.
The briefing also included the release of a five minute documentary, “Health Care for the Heartland,” filmed at county fairs across the country this summer. Jean Chaud from Belgrade, Maine was among several rural community leaders to share her story with members of Congress. Jean talked about working at a small business in rural Maine, and trying to cover the costs for individual private insurance with two chronic medical conditions.
+ Full Report (PDF: 4.6 MB)
