Right now, the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee is hearing about medication therapy management. Sounds dry, but the figures are sobering:

- More people die in Washington from opiate overdose than traffic accidents.
- Chronic disease is a major cost driver: Half of health care dollars are spent on 5 percent of patients.
- There are 10,000 prescription medications and 300,000 over-the-counter medicines. That causes confusion.

“We have patients taking more and more meds, we have poor health literacy — or, just literacy,” said Jeff Rochon with the Washington State Pharmacy Association. Rochon said a goodly percent of elderly patients cannot read beyond a fifth grade level, yet prescriptions are written at a ninth or tenth grade reading level. That means: 40 percent of Medicare patients do not use their medications as directed.

The concept they’re considering — medication therapy management — puts more responsibility on pharmacists to counsel patients on the drugs they’re taking. In a test trial, this type of counseling increased the amount of prescription drugs that were being taken — because people started taking them correctly — and, in turn, decreased overall health care costs.

Tags: drugs, health care, pharmacies

On TVW right now (or below), you can watch Ken Shachmut from Safeway.

The name may not ring a bell — unless you were listening to NPR this morning, too. Safeway has, over the past five years, kept their health care costs flat — while others’ costs have skyrocketed.

How? Shachmut shared his company’s insights with the Association of Washington Business at their 2009 policy summit. One big way: Safeway offers incentives to employees who maintain a healthy Body Mass Index, quit smoking or keep their cholesterol in check.

In his talk, you’ll hear what Safeway has done, what’s worked for them, what he thinks should be done and how long you’ll have to spend shopping at Safeway to burn 250 calories.

Here it is:

Tags: health care

This morning, insurance commissioner Mike Kreidler said that 21 percent more people in Washington are uninsured this year compared to last. One in five Washingtonians currently has no health insurance, he said.

That’s 876,000 people without health insurance — compared to 726,000 last year. About 150,000 more will become uninsured this year, Kreidler said. Of those, he predicts about 95,000 of those will have lost their jobs and 15,000 will be dependents. He also includes 40,000 who would have been kicked off the Basic Health Plan — though they’ve since decided to increase rates, so no one will be cut.

“As staggering as 876,000 uninsured sounds, this number does not include people with jobs, but whose employer no longer offers insurance, or those who drop coverage because they can no longer afford their employer’s health plan,” he added. “The rising number of uninsured has always been a moral issue, but today it’s clearly an economic issue.”
The office has launched a new web site, but Kreidler says it’s not enough. “For many people there are no options. The only meaningful solution is health care reform,” he said in a release.

Kreidler says he’s counting on Washington, D.C. to delivery healthcare reform. “But I’m not sitting back and waiting. I’ve been meeting with leaders in our nation’s capitol and will continue to do so. Everyone needs to do their part. If we fail to act, we will see one million people living without health insurance in our state.”

Tags: health care, insurance

This week, there’s quite a bit going on that you may want to know about. Here’s what TVW will be covering:

- This morning, we covered the Health Care Authority announcement on the Basic Health Plan. We’ll air that at 6 p.m.

- Also today, we’re covering the annual Washington High School Musical Theatre Awards at the Seattle 5th Ave. Theatre. We’re webcasting it live, and televising it Tuesday at 7 p.m.

- Tuesday we’ll be live with the Supreme Court at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Notable: Michael Morgan v. City of Federal Way and the Tacoma News Tribune Tuesday at 2:30.

- Wednesday we’re live with the state Board of Health from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. – one item on the afternoon agenda is further discussion of the school health rule. (Details to come.)

- Wednesday on The Impact, Jennifer Huntley will interview HCA administrator Steve Hill on the increased Basic Health Plan premiums. Don’t miss The Impact at 7 and 10 p.m.

- Thursday we’re back at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. with more live Supreme Court action. This time, oral arguments will feature Federal Way School District et al v. State of WA/Gov. Gregoire/Brad Owen/Terry Bergeson/Frank Chopp et al. That’s at 10 a.m. Don’t miss it!

- Thursday at 7 and 10 p.m. on Inside Olympia, Austin Jenkins will interview Ryan Crocker, Spokane Native, Whitman grad, and former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Pakistan, Lebanon, Syria, and Kuwait.

- Also on Thursday, the Clemency and Pardons Board meets, we’ll tape it and air in its entirety Friday.

Throughout the week we’re televising events taped last week, including Transportation Commission’s tolling workshop, Board of Natural Resources, WA Policy Center’s health conference, Washington Research Council’s panel discussion on the economy with Dave Ross, and the Washington Economic Development Association’s “Focusing on the Future” Conference. Check here for times (or watch them all now online!).

Tags: clemency and pardons, health care, supreme court, TVW

There are about 500 programs designed to help the uninsured pay for prescription drugs. And this week, a bus equipped with computers and mobile phones is traveling the state to help people figure out which of those 500 programs they may qualify for.

For example: If you’re uninsured, the Washington Prescription Drug Program is free and has no age or income limits. It provides savings on average of 60 percent for generics and 20 percent on brand-name drugs. Find out more here.

And this web site, for the national Partnership for Prescription Assistance, has a more comprehensive list of programs across the United States.

But: If you live near Seattle, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Prosser, Yakima, Everett, Olympia, Longview or Vancouver, the bus is coming to you. Click to read the full schedule after the jump: (more…)

Tags: health care, insurance, prescription drugs

Here’s what Jennifer Huntley has to say about tonight’s edition of The Impact (airs at 7 and 10 p.m., anytime at TVW.org):

- A new ad campaign highlights the proposed budget cuts to healthcare in Washington State. Is it the first step toward gaining support for a tax increase? We’ll talk with lawmakers from both sides with experience in the healthcare field.

- Also we’ll have more details on a measure to unionize childcare workers and find out exactly where the bill stands now.

- And, the legislative session is starting to wind down – we’ll bring questions on the end of session to key lawmakers in the House. House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler and House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt will join us. We’ll get their thoughts on whether the Legislature will wrap up on time — Sunday, April 26.

Tags: Budget, health care, taxes, The Impact

The Senate Ways & Means Committee is considering Senate Bill 5892, which would attempt to encourage generic drug swaps in state-purchased health care programs.

The bill is the result of a 2003 study by the Legislature that aimed to find ways to cut costs in state-funded health care. The bill would require that generics within a similar class be substituted for “name-brand” drugs, among other things.

The problem: Some say generic swaps aren’t always a good idea (and not just the pharmaceutical companies). Take for example: If your doctor has written a new prescription for one type of anti-psychotic, but another generic is cheaper — not a generic of the same drug, but a generic in the same class — the bill says the cheaper drug should be issued (if certain other provisions are met). One person testified that swapping — even if drugs are in the same class — can mean that patients don’t get the drug that their own doctor thinks is best.

They’ve finished testimony for now, but I’ll update if they take any action.

Update: The Ways & Means Committee passed the bill yesterday. It now heads to the House.

Tags: drugs, health care