Concerned that rising costs could jeopardize Massachusetts' landmark health insurance initiative, a state panel has voted to press insurers to hold premium increases to 5 percent next year for unsubsidized plans. The panel is proposing several ways insurers can hold down prices, including steering patients to doctors and hospitals that provide lower-cost, high-quality care.
A new advertising campaign seeks to promote a heart stent, the Cypher, to doctors and patients. The campaign has stirred criticism among doctors who oppose direct-to-consumer advertising of drugs and devices, and especially among doctors who contend that stents are being implanted too often in patients who might do better with other treatments.
Insurers UnitedHealth and Humana are betting heavily on the federal Medicare program. In the Medicare sign-up period now under way, Humana hopes to add at least 200,000 Medicare Advantage enrollees, while UnitedHealth already has 1.3 million Medicare Advantage customers and is pushing for more.
According to a study, antibiotics and nasal steroids work no better than a placebo in combating sinus infections. An editorial accompanying the article noted that sinus problems account for 25 million doctor's office visits in the United States each year.
A new public service campaign that coincides with World AIDS Day on December 1 aims to educate Hispanic teens on the link between non-injection drug use and HIV transmission. The campaign features includes a television spot in a blend of English and Spanish; a Webisode series that will launch soon on www.hiv.drugabuse.gov, outdoor, transit, and print placements and community events and partnerships.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the new Hispanic spots build on an earlier English series, but continue the storyline from the point of view of a teen who used drugs and alcohol, engaged in risky behavior and now has HIV. In the new series, a young woman calls on her aunt for comfort and support.
Rather than simply translating the original spots that were launched in 2005, NIDA incorporated culturally relevant scenarios that would resonate with the Hispanic audience--in this case, turning to family in times of distress. There are two versions of the new series--one set for Spanish-language television stations and a bilingual set for English-language stations located in markets with large Hispanic populations.