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Transparency In Medical Research And Education
U.S. Senators Mel Martinez (R-FL) and Herb Kohl (D-WI) of the Special Committee on Aging held a hearing to address the issue of transparency in physician-industry financial relationships. Among the hearing"s topics were the industry"s involvement in continuing medical education and its potential use as a method for promoting "off-label" prescribing. The senators heard from witnesses about different ways to achieve balance between appropriate industry involvement in continuing medical education while mitigating unethical and illegal promotion.

Exelixis And BMS Report Phase 2 Data To Be Presented At ASCO For XL184 In Patients With Previously Treated Glioblastoma Multiforme
Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq:EXEL) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) reported encouraging data from an ongoing phase 2 trial of XL184 in patients with previously treated glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) (study XL184-201).
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Blogs Comment On Tiller's Murder, Supreme Court Nomination
The following summarizes selected women"s health-related blog entries.~ "The Murder of Dr. Tiller, a Foreshadowing," Cristina Page, Birth Control Watch: Page writes, "For those who would like to think" that the "murder in church of Dr. George Tiller ... is an isolated incident, here"s the horrifying news: You are wrong." She continues, "The pattern is clear and frightening." According to Page, there were several murders of abortion providers and even more attempted murders during the administration of former President Clinton, the first president to support abortion rights. However, during the Bush administration, "not only were there no murders, there were no attempted murders," save for a single bombing of an abortion clinic, according to Page. She writes that Tiller"s murder occurred five months into the administration of President Obama, the nation"s second president who supports abortion rights. Page adds, "One can only conclude that like terrorist sleeper cells, these extremists have now been set in motion. Indeed the evidence is already there. The chatter, the threats, the hate-filled rhetoric, are abundant." According to Page, "The pro-choice movement, specifically our abortion providers, are in the greatest danger of violence when we take power." She adds, "The murder of Dr. Tiller suggests that violence against abortion providers may be far more linked to the power, or lack thereof, antiabortion groups have politically than to laws designed to increase penalties against such acts." Page continues that abortion-rights opponents "will put out carefully worded press statements condemning the murder of Dr. Tiller, as became routine for them during the Clinton years." Page concludes, "But unless the rhetoric they choose from now on becomes careful too -- they may be the enablers of murder and terror" (Page, Birth Control Watch, 5/31).~ "Where Will Women Go Now?" Kate Harding, Salon"s "Broadsheet": "If any good can come of the murder of Dr. George Tiller, ... perhaps it"s the opportunity to have a conversation about the reality of termination in the second and third trimesters," Harding writes. She adds, "Anti-choice activists often cast late-term abortions as the murder of a viable baby at the whim of a woman who doesn"t wish to be inconvenienced, carried out by a doctor who looks at her and sees only cartoon dollar signs." According to Harding, "such misinformation and outright lies about procedures that are in fact rare and only performed when medically necessary are what led anti-choice activists to call Tiller "America"s Doctor of Death" and accuse him of running a "murder mill."" The "reality" is that Tiller helped "women in absolutely desperate circumstances, when almost no one else would," Harding writes, adding, "Since the news of Dr. Tiller"s murder broke, personal narratives from people who used his services have been appearing around the Web." Harding talked to Susan Hill, president of the National Women"s Health Foundation, which referred girls and women to his clinic. Hill said, "We always sent the really tragic cases to Tiller." Harding reports that these included "women diagnosed with cancer who needed abortions to qualify for chemotherapy, women who learned late in their pregnancies that their wanted babies had fatal illnesses and rape victims so young they didn"t realize they were pregnant for months." According to Harding, "The trauma of receiving such a diagnosis is only compounded by the difficulty of obtaining a late-term abortion." Harding asked Hill "where women who need late-term abortions can go now," and says that Hill"s "response was bleak." Hill added that she doesn"t know where she will send "those really tragic cases"(Harding, "Broadsheet," Salon, 6/1). ~ "How I (and Other "Pro-Life" Leaders) Contributed to Dr. Tiller"s Murder," Frank Schaeffer, Huffington Post blogs: "My late father and I share the blame (with many others) for the murder of Dr. George Tiller," Schaeffer writes, adding, "Until I got out of the r
Cardiovascular

Democrats Hone August Health Care Message, Republicans Plan Counter-Offensive

Democrats are finding points they agree on in a tenuous accord for the message they want to relay to constituents during the August recess: The health insurance industry is the bad guy, The Washington Post reports. "With the House already gone and the Senate set to clear out by Friday, the terms of the recess battle are becoming clear. Republicans will assail the government coverage plan that Democrats and President Obama are advocating as a recklessly expensive federal takeover of health care. And Democrats will counter that GOP opposition represents a de facto endorsement of insurance industry abuses" (Murray and Kane, 8/3). Kaiser Health News reports: "Health insurers are clearly the target of a "pocket card" distributed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Overhauling the nation"s health care system will "hold insurance companies accountable" and guarantee "stability, lower costs, higher quality and more choice of plans."" The Republican packet "says the Democrats" health plan includes more than $800 billion of new taxes that will eliminate up to 5.5 million jobs. A one-page description says the Republican version of health care legislation will "expand access to affordable health care" and allow families "the freedom to choose the health care that bests fits their needs"" (Carey and Pianin, 7/31). Roll Call: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California "suggested Democrats will need to spend August in campaign mode against the insurers if they want to salvage a strong public insurance option. "You have to address the opposition," she said. "You cannot let them define you without telling the public who is doing the defining"" (Newmyer, 8/3). The Washington Post in a second story: During the recess, Pelosi "plans to stump for health-care reform in San Francisco, Denver and other cities. At stake is legislation that could define her legacy as speaker and shape President Obama"s political future. Pelosi called health-care reform with a public insurance option "the issue of an official lifetime"" (Rucker, 8/2). The New York Times: "The (Democratic) effort will feature town-hall-style meetings by lawmakers and the president, including a swing through Western states by Mr. Obama, grass-roots lobbying efforts and a blitz of expensive television advertising. It is intended to drive home the message that revamping the health care system will protect consumers by ending unpopular insurance industry practices, like refusing patients with pre-existing conditions. ò€¦ The drumbeat will begin Monday, when Kathleen Sebelius, the health and human services secretary, travels to Hartford to talk about what the White House now calls "health insurance reform"" (Stolberg and Herszenhorn, 8/2). Bloomberg: "The lawmakers will face a public skeptical about the plan"s effect on quality of care, costs and medical options. A New York Times/CBS News poll found that 69 percent of Americans say they are concerned their care may get worse. The July 24-July 28 poll of 1,050 adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points" (Jensen and Gaouette, 8/3). Politico suggests Republicans may have an easier time of the message war for a while: " The Republicans have a relatively easy task in fighting health care reform - paint a vision of a post-reform health care apocalypse, rationed services and power-mad government bureaucrats taking away individual choice and even determining the quality of end-of-life care for seniors. The two main Democratic points - that reforms will save money and insure the 47 million uninsured - haven"t taken hold" (Thrush, 8/3). The Los Angeles Times reports: "Healthcare touches virtually every constituent and interest group directly, unlike more abstract issues like global warming. And though 47 million people have no health insurance, most Americans do. Voters may have responded well to the general idea of improving healthcare during the 2008 campaign, but many are less sanguine about the legislation"s effect on them as Congress begins to fill in the details" (Hook, 8/3). Labor unions and liberal advocacy groups are getting in on the action, to pressuring lawmakers into voting for health reform. The Hill reports they "will spend between $10 million and $20 million this month to twist lawmakers" arms over the stalled healthcare reform effort in Congress. Much of the grassroots activity and television ads will be aimed at persuading centrist Democrats and Republicans to support the creation of a robust government-run health insurance program." "Many centrists have balked at the cost of pending healthcare proposals and are reluctant to embrace government competition in the insurance markets. The AFL-CIO and affiliated unions are planning a massive dual offensive on healthcare reform and labor law reform in August, budgeting $10 to $15 million on the effort, according to a senior labor official. The labor unions" advocacy will consist of mass mailings, running phone banks and distributing policy fliers at worksites" (Bolton, 8/1). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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