Letter from the Editor #547: FDA Fallout and Medicare/Medicaid Reimbursement Rates

The fallout from recent FDA decisions concerning new medications for diabetes and obesity continues to be a topic of discussion among medical professionals. Last week I was at the annual meeting of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists in Orlando and  noticed that a lot of attention on diabetes care in the LTC setting along with discussion about the postponed approval of Bydureon. Many of the attendees felt this medication would have made an immediate impact on patient care. The thought of one shot a week and a decreased need for glucose monitoring was a big draw to these consultants as they struggle to care for more and more diabetes patients. During the program I delivered we spent considerable time examining the benefits of GLP-1 agonists and how best to use these with LTC patients. The discussion after the program centered on the value of the once daily injection Victoza and how choosing that medication could improve outcomes and reduce hypoglycemia.

Although FDA disapprovals are hitting the headlines there may be something else going on in Washington that will have a bigger effect on diabetes care in this country. We all know that there is a shortage of primary care physicians and endocrinologists and unless there is a sudden change in Congress, reimbursement rates for these medical professionals  will decrease significantly in the next couple of months.

I spoke with some endo’s in my area and the general consensus is that many will simply quit taking Medicare and Medicaid or just retire. In addition the head of the American Medical Association (AMA), Cecil Wilson, MD, told a lame-duck Congress in the strongest terms to get moving and avert the “catastrophic” 23% cut in Medicare reimbursement to physicians scheduled for December 1, as well as another cut of 1.9% set for January 1 or many physicians are bound to close their doors to new Medicare patients to avoid closing their practices.

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Announcements:

San Diego Latino TCOYD Conference & Health Fair, Saturday, November 20, 2010
The TCOYD team will be in San Diego for a special Latino conference from 9:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. For conference details, please go to TCOYD.org.

dLife.com: November 14, 7PM ET on CNBC
Topics: dLife’s Benno Schmidt reports on the controversial topic of medical alert tattoos, and gets inked himself. Plus, a look at how diabetes may impact memory, and how to keep yours sharp; and a low carb chocolate treat from the dLife kitchen. Special Guest: Darren Brass. Sundays on CNBC at 7 PM ET, 6 PM CT, and 4 PM PT. Catch up on dLife.com.

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Dave Joffe, Editor-in-chief