Diabetes drug costs in the United States have almost doubled in six years to $12.5 billion as more people are diagnosed and patients receive newer, more expensive treatments, a study has found. Researchers questioned whether these newer drugs are more effective than older, cheaper treatments. About 18 million people in the United States were diagnosed with diabetes in 2007, an increase from 8.1 million in 1994, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide sales of diabetes drugs may jump to $22 billion by 2016, analysts say.
Cigna is the latest to jump into the market for individual health insurance policies and is wooing customers with perks usually reserved for large company health plans. The features include discounts for fitness club memberships, coverage of acupuncture, and 24-hour health information lines. Prices can vary, depending on a person's medical history and state rules.
Rising blood costs and mounting safety concerns about transfusions are leading hospitals to adopt stricter measures to manage their blood supplies. A growing number of hospitals are developing guidelines for when transfusions are necessary, and they are making sure doctors are in compliance. Institutions also are increasingly checking patients for anemia before surgery and treating them with iron or red-blood-cell-boosting drugs to cut down on transfusions in the operating room.
HCA Inc. has announced it has set incoming Chief Executive Richard M. Bracken's salary at $1.33 million. Bracken will become chief executive on Jan. 1.
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has voted to approve a hardship application of St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan, clearing the way for the razing of a distinctive 44-year-old building. The building demolition is crucial to a controversial $1.6 billion plan to build a medical tower and condominium in the Greenwich Village Historic District.
A Kaiser Family Foundation poll conducted in April found that 28% of Americans reported that they or their families had had a serious problem paying health insurance or medical bills because of changes in the economy. Now, the connection between medical debt and the current credit crisis is strong enough to prompt Mike Leavitt, head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to declare at a recent news conference, "If we had any idea how many mortgages were foreclosed because people were crowded out by medical issues ... Healthcare costs are at the heart of many of the things happening."
Barack Obama's presidential campaign claims that comments by a top adviser to John McCain reinforced Obama's contention that millions would be worse off if they lose employer-sponsored health coverage and end up buying it themselves. McCain wants to change the current income tax treatment of health insurance, treating payments toward health insurance as taxable wages. In exchange, individuals would get a $2,500 tax credit and families would get a $5,000 credit when buying health coverage.
A Washington, DC, Council member who created a plan to provide healthcare to thousands of uninsured residents said he wants to delay it to help the District create a $20 million cash reserve in the face of continued economic uncertainty. David A. Catania, who sponsored the Healthy DC proposal that the council approved last spring, said he will formally ask his colleagues to postpone the program for at least a year. Instead, Catania said the cash reserve is necessary to prepare for a likely continued decline in revenue, which could swell the rolls of residents who seek healthcare under the D.C. Healthcare Alliance, a safety net for low-income residents.
The federal budget deficit is growing, forcing legislators to look at more limited and incremental ways to expand healthcare coverage for more Americans. In 2007, more than 47 million Americans were uninsured, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Both presidential candidates are also seeking to reform and expand the country's healthcare system.
Kuwait's largest bank guaranteed deposits and formulated a bailout last weekend. As a global financial crisis looms, this is the first bank rescue in the Persian Gulf. Previously unaffected by the crisis, the Gulf is now appearing vulnerable. And now, officials in Saudi Arabia plan to grant more than $2 billion in loans to low-income borrowers.
