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Senate Finance Committee Discusses Funding For Health Reform In Final 'Walk Through' Meeting
The Senate Finance Committee met Wednesday to discuss potential funding mechanisms for health reform legislation but indicated that no concrete decisions had been reached, The Hill reports. The meeting was the third of three scheduled to "walk through" various aspects of health reform. Previous talks focused on the care delivery system and coverage. Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has said that he hopes for a bill to be approved for full Senate consideration by the end of July. He said of the talks so far, "We"ve got a lot of work ahead of us," adding, "Soon we have a mark up, soon we have a bill, and that realization is forcing us to make decisions." He also said, "Nothing"s pushed off the table. We"re looking at it all." Funding mechanisms discussed Wednesday included taxes on sugary and alcoholic beverages, as well as a limit on the tax-exempt status of employer-provided health insurance (Young, The Hill, 5/20). One proposal would raise the federal alcohol excise tax by 145% for beer, 233% for wine and 20% for hard liquor (Hurt, New York Post, 5/21). The committee also mulled a three-cent tax per 12-ounce container of sugary drinks, which would raise an estimated $50 billion over 10 years (Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/Houston Chronicle, 5/21). Baucus said he supports placing a cap on the employer coverage tax exemption based on income or the cost of premiums, or both. Congress estimates that about $194.2 billion in revenue is passed up each year by forgoing taxes on the insurance plans. The committee also discussed decreasing Medicare spending on home care, durable medical equipment, medical imaging and prescription drugs, as well as addressing regional disparities in health care costs (The Hill, 5/20). Members also brought up the possibility of charging higher-income seniors higher premiums for the Medicare prescription drug benefit (Wayne, CQ Today, 5/20). Members also discussed introducing new standards for not-for-profit hospitals that would require them to provide more no-cost care and serve more low-income patients in order to keep their tax-exempt status. In addition, they discussed cutting special Medicare payments to teaching hospitals, as well as requiring drugmakers to give larger discounts to state Medicaid programs (Pear, New York Times, 5/21).Baucus noted "convergence" on some issues, such as the need to include complete funding in a reform package, as well as the need to establish insurance exchanges that would facilitate the purchase of public or private insurance (The Hill, 5/20). Committee ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said, "There was a greater understanding of the issues we have," but there are "a lot of members who still want some more understanding." Grassley also said, "There"s just a lot of questions; there are -- I wouldn"t say misunderstandings, but there"s got to be a lot of understanding about what you"re talking about" (CQ Today, 5/20). Chances of Bipartisan Bill
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CuraGen Announces Expansion Of CR011-vcMMAE Phase II Trial In Advanced Breast Cancer
CuraGen Corporation (Nasdaq: CRGN) announced that its Phase I/II Trial evaluating CR011-vcMMAE for the treatment of patients with advanced breast cancer has met the efficacy criteria for advancement to the second stage of enrollment. To date, 29 patients have been enrolled in this trial, including 15 in the Phase II portion. Two of the first four evaluable Phase II patients were progression-free at 12 weeks, therefore, as part of the Simon 2-Stage design, the Phase II trial will now advance to the second stage and enroll a total of approximately 25 patients. The principal investigator of the study is Dr. Linda Vahdat, Medical Director of the Breast Cancer Research Program and Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, /Weill Cornell. CuraGen anticipates presenting updated results from this study during the second half of 2009.
News of the day
Dad's Overworked And Tired While Mom's Potentially Fired
If dad looks exhausted this Father"s Day it could be due to his job, suggests new research that found many male employees are now pressured to work up to 40 hours of overtime - often unpaid - per week to stay competitive.
Medical Devices

NMC Announces New Director Of Standards And Registrations

The NMC announced the appointment of Roger Thompson as its new Director of Standards and Registration. Roger has been Interim Director of Standards and Registration since the appointment of Kathy George as NMC Chief Executive & Registrar in March 2009. Roger will start his new role with immediate effect. The Director of Standards and Registrations is a key role at the NMC and is responsible for: - Ensuring delivery of Council"s policy objectives and effective operation of the Register for the UK"s 660,000 nurses and midwives; - Building strategic partnerships across the four countries of the UK; - Providing leadership to the Standards and Registrations Directorate and; - Contributing to the overall strategic management and business planning of the NMC. Commenting on the announcement of Roger Thompson as the NMC"s new Director of Standards and Registration, Kathy George, NMC Chief Executive & Registrar said: "I am delighted that Roger has accepted the position of Director of Standards and Registration. Having previously undertaken this role myself, I know that it is a challenging job which has a key responsibility for leading the development of policy in setting standards of education, training and conduct for the UK"s nurses and midwives and, by so doing, contributing to the safety of patients and the public which is at the heart of the work we do". Professor Tony Hazell, Chair of Council, said: "I know that my fellow Council members will join me in welcoming the appointment of Roger to this important post within the NMC"s Senior Management Team. We value highly the importance of an effective relationship between ourselves and the NMC staff and I am confident that Roger"s leadership will contribute significantly to that partnership approach". Commenting on his appointment as Director of Standards and Registration, Roger Thompson said: "I am proud to have been offered such a high profile role with the NMC. This role provides me with the opportunity to lead the work of the organisation on pre-registration nursing standards and the revalidation of nurses and midwives to name but two key areas. This is an exciting period of innovation for the NMC and I look forward to positive engagement with all our partners". Nursing and Midwifery Council


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