Late Breaking News on the CML/Cancer Front + Health Insurance

[Guest guest]

(These are all current articles; however I realized that I had forgotten to put

the date before the cart on some. The dates will be listed at the website.)

Good News For The French, It May Be Too Early To Tell

" September 27, 2010 — Some patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) might be

cured by treatment with imatinib (Gleevec, Novartis), according to French

researchers. This suggestion of a possible drug cure for CML comes from the Stop

Imatinib (STIM) study, in which imatinib treatment was halted in 100 patients

who had been on the drug for at least 2 years and who had achieved complete

molecular remission during treatment.

" After stopping imatinib treatment, 41% of patients maintained complete

molecular remission for 1 year, and 38% continued in complete molecular

remission for up to 2 years, according to the investigators. The team, led by

François-Xavier Mahon, MD, from the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Bordeaux

in France, report their findings in a study published online October 19 in the

Lancet Oncology.

" There is now hope for drug-induced cure in CML, " writes Valent, MD, in an

editorial that accompanies the study. He is from the Medical University of

Vienna in Austria. "

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/731307

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NEW CANCER-CARE PAYMENT MODEL

" UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH)

company, is working with five medical oncology groups around the country to

advance a new cancer-care payment model that focuses on best treatment practices

and better health outcomes. UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual's

first-of-its-kind program is aimed at improving the quality of care for patients

with breast, colon and lung cancers, which are among the most common cancers in

the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/205490.php

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Aspirin use is associated with lower risk of cancer death for men with prostate

cancer

Men with prostate cancer who take anticoagulants like aspirin in addition to

radiation therapy or surgery may be able to cut their risk of dying of the

disease by more than half, according to a large study presented on November 3,

2010...

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/205646.php

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21 Oct 2010 - 1:00 (Do not underestimate the value of Vitamin D for overall

health)

" In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, physicians at University Hospitals (UH)

Case Medical Center who are Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

researchers are exploring the role of Vitamin D in preventing esophageal cancer.

Principal Investigator Cummings, MD, along with Amitabh Chak, MD, and

, MD, from the UH Digestive Health Institute, is recruiting

patients with Barrett's esophagus to measure the effects of Vitamin D on protein

levels that may influence the risk of developing esophageal cancer.

" Vitamin D is being studied for its role in possibly reducing the risk of

developing several types of cancer, such as colon, breast and prostate, " says

Dr. Cummings, a gastroenterologist with the UH Digestive Health Institute and

Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/205244.php

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WARNING:

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is warning people

of the dangers of taking unlicensed Payouji tea and Pai You Guo Slim Capsules

due to concerns over possible side effects.

These herbal products are being promoted for weight loss and have been found to

contain an undeclared pharmaceutical active ingredient, sibutramine. Sibutramine

has been withdrawn in the European Union on safety grounds and any product

containing it is considered harmful to public health. "

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/205402.php

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FOR OUR FRIENDS FROM AU:

" A University of Queensland researcher will serve on Australia's first

regulatory board for naturopaths and herbalists, which from next year will make

seeing a complementary medicine practitioner a lot safer. The Board for the

Australian Register of Naturopaths and Herbalists (ARONAH) is expected to begin

operation in mid 2011. "

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/205119.php

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MORE FROM AUSTRALIA (Diabetes):

" Australian researchers have developed the country's first diabetes specific

stem cell line, a major advance for patients suffering from the chronic disease.

Innovation Minister Gavin Jennings announced the breakthrough today to coincide

with the AusBiotech Conference being held in Melbourne. The new stem cell line

was generated through induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell technology using skin

cells from Type I diabetes patients without the use of embryos, eggs or

cloning. "

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/205538.php

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HEALTH INSURANCE FOR THE UNEMPLOYED:

26 Oct 2010 - 4:00

The Wall Street Journal, in a personal finance column: " With no job prospects

long before they can afford to retire -- and Social Security benefits still

years away -- many unemployed workers in their 50s and early 60s are struggling

to pay the bills. ... Of the 14.9 million unemployed, more than 2.2 million are

55 or older, according to the U.S. Labor Department. "

" As for their health insurance costs, " Most states have programs that offer

low-cost coverage, typically if one earns less than $30,000 a year. ...

Short-term insurance policies, which typically cover unexpected illnesses and

accidents, can run as low as $30 per person for a month. Catastrophic insurance

typically starts as low as $30 a month depending on a person's age and health. "

Those that have been denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition (and

who have been uninsured for six months) " can enroll in the federal Pre-existing

Condition Insurance Plan, a part of the new health-care law. ... You also may be

able to use out-of-pocket health-care costs to your advantage come tax time "

(Glazer, 10/24). 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

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/205777.php

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MORE ON INSURANCE: (10/26/10)

" Health system reform, in combination with economic factors and trends in play,

is expected to speed consolidation of health insurers and hospitals, leaving

physicians to figure out how they should adapt, " American Medical News reports.

" The prospect for mergers and acquisitions throughout the industry is high

thanks not only to health system reform, but also more access to financing to

buy up other companies. In addition, a change in the 2011 capital gains tax

means privately held companies will do better to sell this year, said Bill

Baker, a Dallas-based health care transaction consultant. ... Analysts expect to

see the major health plans buy small regional health insurers rather than try

blockbuster mergers of large companies " (Berry, 10/25). "

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/205772.php

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Health Law Implementation Hitting Snags (October 26, 2010)

Politico Pulse reports that state-run plans for people with pre-existing

conditions -- meant to provide coverage to such patients over until 2014, when

the exchanges become available -- are surprisingly underused. So states are

" gearing up to spend big on professional marketing campaigns. " In Missouri,

where an official said people were complaining because they thought the plans

were free, the experience has been typical of many states. " The monthly premium

in Missouri is as high as $972 a month; the program has only had about 140

enrollees since opening this summer. Second issue is finding the long-time

uninsured, who are often unfamiliar with enrollment processes or even that the

new program exists " (Haberkorn and Kliff, 10/25). "

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/205769.php

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October 21, 2010 (Check this out, Bobby)

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer: " Most Ohioans will face higher health insurance

premiums starting in January -- with hikes ranging from 8 percent to 18 percent

-- giving rise to fresh complaints about the White House-backed health care law.

Yet industry and regulatory authorities say the Patient Protection and

Affordable Care Act bears only a small part of the blame in most cases. ...

Insurers have to justify their increases to state regulators, and 'what we're

seeing is that the federal reforms are generally raising the rates less than 5

percent,' said Doug , chief policy officer for the Ohio Department of

Insurance. ... 'The other part of it is medical inflation and the continuing

trend of rising health care costs.' " Other experts put the increase caused by

the new health law is even lower, or closer to 1.5 percent to 3 percent (Koff,

10/20). "

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/205349.php

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October 20, 2010

" Putting The Brakes On Health Insurers The Los Angeles Times

Obama should - and can - issue an executive order freezing all health insurance

premium hikes until the companies comply with pricing provisions of the new

federal law ( Court and Carmen Balber, 10/19). Prognosis Grim For ObamaCare

The (Penn.) Times Herald ObamaCare is in serious condition. Its symptoms worsen

as its vital signs sink like U.S. job-growth figures. Even Democratic candidates

are fleeing in fear that its malady is contagious (Deroy Murdrock, 10/18). Old

Stealing From Young Under Obama's 'Reforms' Washington Examiner The current GOP

-- increasingly dependent on older voters and dead-set against Medicare cuts --

looks ill-suited to push the reforms needed. Let's hope that with age comes

wisdom because neither party will change until younger voters wise up and start

defending their interests (Gene Healy, 10/18). "

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/205212.php

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FYI,

Lottie Duthu