Mid Week Update

The Office of Personnel Management has posted Fast Facts on federal employee benefits for new federal employees on its website.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced today that

The majority of Medicare beneficiaries currently enrolled in Medicare drug plans will not see significant changes in their premiums in 2010, but some may need to take steps to ensure they have the coverage they need when open enrollment begins later this year.

“The majority of beneficiaries enrolled in prescription drug plans should see only small changes in their Part D premiums or benefits in the coming year,” said Jonathan Blum, acting director of CMS’ Center for Health Plan Choices. “Although most Part D plans should have relatively stable premiums, all beneficiaries should compare their current coverage with the plans that will be offered in 2010 when information becomes available in October.”

In particular, some beneficiaries who receive the low-income subsidy to pay for
their premiums will need to move to a new plan to ensure that they can remain in
a zero-premium plan in 2010 because the plan’s premium will be higher than the
2010 subsidy amount. CMS, working with its partners, will notify all individuals in this situation to make sure they are aware of their options.

Based on the bids submitted by Part D plans, CMS estimates that the average monthly premium that beneficiaries will pay for standard Part D coverage in 2010 will be $30, an increase of $2 over the 2009 average premium of $28. Premiums and benefits for Medicare Advantage plans and more details about the Part D plans will be announced in September, as well as the list of plans that are not renewing their contracts with Medicare for 2010.

In encouraging news, Bloomberg reports that

A drug that can selectively target and kill the stem cells that drive the growth of tumors has been identified for the first time by scientists who searched more than 16,000 compounds to find it.

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Broad Institute looked for compounds that could destroy the stem cells, which often resist conventional cancer treatment. One, salinomycin, cut the number of stem cells at least 100 times more than did Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s Taxol, a common chemotherapy medicine, according to a report on the findings published today in the journal Cell.

I reiterate my hope that the current health care legislation will not impair American ingenuity.

Finally, the Washington Post reports tonight that "With polls showing rising concern over the government's grim financial situation, key Republicans and a growing number of Democrats say it will be hard to push an ambitious health reform bill through Congress unless it reduces projected federal spending on medical care and begins to bring the national debt under control." Could common sense be returning to our fair city?