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Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Feature Highlights Recent Blog Entries
"Blog Watch" offers readers a roundup of health policy-related blog posts.Bloggers are tentatively reacting to a report and blog post released by the Congressional Budget Office that summarizes the agency"s approach to estimating the cost of any health overhaul bills. At issue is how CBO will count different stipulations of legislation -- like an individual mandate or a public plan -- and whether their conclusions will result in a heftier price tag. Douglas Elmendorf explained on the Director"s Blog: "In CBO"s view, the key consideration is whether a proposal would be making health insurance an essentially governmental program, tightly controlled by the federal government with little choice available to those who offer and buy health insurance -- or whether the system would provide significant flexibility in terms of the types, prices, and number of private-sector sellers of insurance available to people. The former -- a governmental program -- belongs in the federal budget (including all premiums paid by individuals and firms to private insurers), but the latter -- a largely private-sector system -- does not." Janet Adamy of the Wall Street Journal"s Washington Wire notes that the report doesn"t address the cost estimates of the scenarios. Alan Katz on his Health Care Reform Blog concludes, "the message is clear: the looser government"s hand grips the new health care system the smaller its budgetary impact." Liberal bloggers had a variety of reactions -- some found the report too vague, while others saw it as good news. The New Republic"s Jonathan Cohn says, "you may need a Talmudic scholar to figure out what those implications are." Cohn continues, "Other passages in the briefing are [similarly] vexing and, for what it"s worth, the reactions I"ve gotten from insiders familiar with the report have ranged from sighs of relief to statements not suitable for a family blog." Ezra Klein agrees the report lacks specificity, but says, "Even so, I"m cheered by the simple existence of this ruling. The fact that CBO is explaining its thinking before legislation arrives [is] yet more evidence that CBO appears, insofar as it can, to be trying to help out on health reform. ... That"s an important change from past years." Interesting Elsewhere:

Diabetes: It's Connection To Oral Health
According to the American Diabetes Association, nearly 24 million people have diabetes. Of that number, unfortunately, 5.7 million people are unaware that they have the disease. Diabetes can affect multiple parts of the body, including the kidneys, nerves, heart and even the mouth.
News of the day
Shire Launches New UK Adherence Programme Aimed At Patients Taking Daily Calcium And Vitamin D3 Supplementation
Shire plc has launched a new UK adherence programme, called "Be Active", to support patients who have been prescribed Calcichew D3 Forte (1250mg calcium carbonate and 400IU colecalciferol). Current guidance highlights the importance of calcium and vitamin D supplementation in the elderly at risk of falls and fractures.1 2, 3 However, adherence to calcium and vitamin D supplementation in the UK is low, with 30% of UK patients regularly reporting missing a dose of calcium/vitamin D supplementation.4 This may contribute to more falls and fractures among the elderly 5, 6 and increase the burden on the healthcare system. 7, 8, 9
Sexual Health

Common Migraine Pain Condition Also Prevalent In Cluster Headache

A pain condition common in people with migraines also has a high prevalence in patients with cluster headache, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Jefferson Headache Center at Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience. Approximately half of a group of patients with cluster headaches experienced cutaneous allodynia, a condition that causes patients to have pain as a response to normally inconspicuous sensations, according to Michael Marmura, M.D., assistant professor of Neurology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. The study, which was published in the Journal of Headache and Pain, included 41 patients with either chronic or episodic cluster headaches. The researchers tested for allodynia by brushing a gauze pad over the forehead, neck and forearms. Patients then reported if the gauze was painful or unpleasant, or not. Twenty of the patients experienced allodynia, with the most common site of pain being the forehead. There were no significant differences between patients who experienced allodynia and patients who did not. The majority of patients were using preventive medications, which is a limitation of the study. According to Dr. Marmura, allodynia has typically been described in migraines, but this is the largest study to date showing that allodynia occurs in cluster headache. "It was surprising to find that allodynia was so common in patients with cluster headaches," Dr. Marmura said. "This could have important treatment implications, and suggests that there may be overlap in mechanisms for pain between migraines and cluster headaches." Thomas Jefferson University


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