Our Health Policy Matters

A few weeks ago, we were tantalized by the news that a new treatment for leukemia might be on the horizon.   Three very sick patients were injected with a new drug.   It was made from – of all things – a modified version of the virus that causes AIDS.   After a year, two were disease-free and the third had a 70% reduction in disease tissue.   One researcher was quoted as saying that the results “exceeded our wildest expectations.” But the rest of the story pointed out that the discovery almost didn’t happen.   There wasn’t enough research money for a full trial.   Neither the National Cancer Institute nor pharmaceutical companies had funding for the research.   A family foundation stepped up, but that’s why there were only enough funds for three patients to participate initially. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the largest funder of biomedical research in the United States.   In requesting a budget of $32 billion for FY2012, it n...

A few weeks ago, we were tantalized by the news that a new treatment for leukemia might be on the horizon.   Three very sick patients were injected with a new drug.   It was made from – of all things – a modified version of the virus that causes AIDS.   After a year, two were disease-free and the third had a 70% reduction in disease tissue.   One researcher was quoted as saying that the results “exceeded our wildest expectations.” But the rest of the story pointed out that the discovery almost didn’t happen.   There wasn’t enough research money for a full trial.   Neither the National Cancer Institute nor pharmaceutical companies had funding for the research.   A family foundation stepped up, but that’s why there were only enough funds for three patients to participate initially. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the largest funder of biomedical research in the United States.   In requesting a budget of $32 billion for FY2012, it n...

Why is it so important that Florida has won a $35.7 million health reform act grant to participate in the federal “Money Follows the Person” program? A recent news story provides the answer.    It tells the story of a 20-something Florida resident who is a quadriplegic living in a nursing home.   He doesn’t want to live there.   But he doesn’t have a choice.   It’s the only option for which the Florida Medicaid program will pay.   We hope he’ll be alive for many years.   A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the cost of his care could approach $4 million by the time he is 65. A December, 2009, AARP Long Term Care Brief showed that Florida spent 86% of its Medicaid long term care dollar on institution-based services.   It spent about half the national average on home and community-based services (HCBS). The “Money Follows the Person” program offers a low cost remedy.   Enacted in 2007, the program has already provided over $1.4 bi...

Why is it so important that Florida has won a $35.7 million health reform act grant to participate in the federal “Money Follows the Person” program? A recent news story provides the answer.    It tells the story of a 20-something Florida resident who is a quadriplegic living in a nursing home.   He doesn’t want to live there.   But he doesn’t have a choice.   It’s the only option for which the Florida Medicaid program will pay.   We hope he’ll be alive for many years.   A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the cost of his care could approach $4 million by the time he is 65. A December, 2009, AARP Long Term Care Brief showed that Florida spent 86% of its Medicaid long term care dollar on institution-based services.   It spent about half the national average on home and community-based services (HCBS). The “Money Follows the Person” program offers a low cost remedy.   Enacted in 2007, the program has already provided over $1.4 bi...