Pharmacy Execs Visit Capitol Hill to Discuss Medicaid Access Issues
Washington — In a major collaborative effort, more than 70 pharmacy executives and industry representatives visited Members of Congress to address issues that could likely affect the access to health care by Medicaid recipients. Two of the key discussion topics included average manufacturer price (AMP) and the implementation of a new tamper-proof prescription paper requirement for Medicaid prescriptions. Represented associations included the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, the Food Marketing Institute, and the National Community Pharmacists Association. The overall message delivered was that new policies aimed at reducing cuts from Medicaid pharmacy will result in driving pharmacies out of business, thus reducing Medicaid recipients' access to prescriptions at their local chain, supermarket, or independent drug store.

U.S. Life Expectancy Hits New High
Atlanta — A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that a child born in the United States in 2005 can expect to live nearly 77.9 years. Over the past decade, life expectancy has increased from 75.8 years in 1995 and from 69.6 years in 1955. "This report highlights the continued reduction in deaths from the three leading killers in the U.S., heart disease, cancer and stroke, which is most likely due to better prevention efforts and medical advances in the treatments of these diseases," said Hsiang-Ching Kung, a coauthor of the report and survey statistician with the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

Consumer-Driven Health Plans Gain in Popularity
Chicago — A survey conducted by Aon Consulting and the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists shows that greater than 7% of employees are embracing the idea of a consumer-driven health (CDH) plan when offered at their workplace. "There is a growing recognition that most employees do not want a medical plan with high out-of-pocket costs," said Bill Sharon, Aon Senior Vice President and coauthor of the survey. "Employers like [CDH plans] because they are seeing a reduction in health care cost increases." Sharon said the analysis uncovered that a company can achieve a first year savings of 8% in their health care premium if an effective CDH care strategy is implemented.

Poor Drug Compliance by Seniors Linked to Drug Plan Spending Caps
Santa Monica , CA — According to a recent RAND Corporation study published in the journal Health Affairs, many seniors quit taking drugs for chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure when they exceed their drug plan's yearly spending limits. The study also revealed that even when drug benefits resume at the start of a new health plan year, a significant number of seniors do not resume their prescription medications. High spenders in the capped plans were more likely to discontinue use of their medications than people enrolled in a plan without spending limits.

Top Online Pharmacies Rated
Yonkers , NY — Experts at HealthRatings.org, a joint project of Consumer Reports and the Health Improvement Institute, ranked Walgreens.com as "very good" regarding its health care information for online shoppers. Rite Aid's Web site, RiteAid.com, earned a score of "good," while CVS earned a "fair." All three sites were rated as "excellent" on their privacy polices. However, raters gave all of the sites a score of "poor" on disclosure of advertising and sponsorship policies and on policies for correcting wrong, misleading, or outdated information. Overall, raters found that the three sites were useful in enhancing the experience they might have at a walk-in store.