U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has released a national plan to fight Alzheimer’s disease. The plan was called for in the National Alzheimer’s Project Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law in January 2011. The National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease sets forth five goals, including the development of prevention and treatment approaches for Alzheimer’s and related dementias by 2025.
The Obama Administration announced new efforts to fight Alzheimer’s disease on Feb. 7, including immediately making an additional $50 million available for Alzheimer’s research. In addition, the administration said that its FY 2013 budget will boost funding for Alzheimer’s research by $80 million.
The Supreme Court is filling its entire court calendar the week of March 26 with arguments relating to the impending review of the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA); totaling five and a half hours over three days with a decision expected in late June.
The FDA is seeking public comment on eight draft proposals aimed at increasing access to compliance and enforcement data. The proposals were made in compliance with President Barack Obama’s Memorandum on Regulatory Compliance, which requires federal agencies to make publicly available compliance information easily accessible, downloadable and searchable online.
Imaging cuts in the administration’s deficit reduction proposal would restrict patient access to care and may actually raise costs, according to the American College of Radiology (ACR). The college has urged the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to reject the Obama administration’s imaging recommendations and work with the ACR and other imaging stakeholders to create policies that ensure safe, appropriate care, promote quality and protect patient access.
Medicare cuts for imaging are restricting access to care for America’s most vulnerable while stifling innovation and jobs growth—a planned eighth round of cuts in five years must be stopped, wrote a group of U.S. senators in a letter to President Barack Obama.
Self-referring physicians are 2.5 times more likely to order imaging exams on patients than physicians without financial stakes in imaging orders, resulting in an estimated $3.6 billion in additional healthcare costs each year, according to a study published in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
Radiology benefit managers (RBMs) are assuming an increasing role in the utilization of imaging, but as the authorization system makes its way into more hospitals and national healthcare policy, a study published in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology questions the cost-effectiveness of RBMs and points to substantial cost shifting to providers.
The FDA has created a searchable database where users can research the enforcement activities of the agency, including inspection records, as part of its ongoing efforts to increase transparency.
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