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Pledges To Reduce Health Care Costs, Spending Growth Could Violate Antitrust Laws, Lawyers Say
U.S. antitrust laws could affect health care industry groups" efforts to work together to rein in health care costs, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 5/27). In a letter sent to President Obama on May 10, a coalition of groups -- the American Medical Association, the American Hospital Association, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, America"s Health Insurance Plans and the Service Employees International Union -- pledged to reduce the annual health care spending growth rate by 1.5%. The groups did not elaborate on what specific measures they would use to achieve such reductions, but the Obama administration has requested specific plans from the groups by June 1 (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 5/26). According to the Times, many of the plans being considered by the health care industry would require greater cooperation across health care providers. Robert Leibenluft, a former Federal Trade Commission official, said, "Any agreement among competitors with regard to prices or price increases -- even if they set a maximum -- would raise legal concerns." In addition, while Obama is asking for specific plans from the health care industry, the administration has not offered any relief from antitrust laws, the Times reports. Furthermore, during his campaign Obama pledged to increase enforcement of antitrust laws, according to the Times.Antitrust laws have had a negative effect on previous health reform efforts, the Times reports. In 1993, the drug industry established a voluntary cost control plan that limited each drug company"s annual increase in the average price of prescription drugs to the increase in the Consumer Price Index, but the Department of Justice ruled that the proposal would violate antitrust laws. DOJ officials said that the U.S. Supreme Court made it clear that setting price maximums was akin to setting price minimums, which is illegal. In a letter to the Senate Finance Committee, AHA wrote that uncertainty regarding the enforcement of antitrust laws "makes it difficult for a hospital and doctors to collaborate to improve care" and reduce costs. AMA has asked Congress to amend antitrust laws to allow physicians to collectively negotiate with insurers over fees and other concerns, but FTC repeatedly has designated the practice illegal price-fixing, according to the Times. FTC officials said that consumers could benefit from cooperation among health care industry groups but that cooperation also could lead to increased bargaining power for physicians and hospitals, making it easier for them to set prices and eliminate competition (New York Times, 5/27). Reform Developments Don't forget to buy zoloft online no prescription.

Shire Receives Fast Track Designation For Velaglucerase Alfa For Gaucher Disease
Shire plc (LSE: SHP, NASDAQ: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, announces it has received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for velaglucerase alfa, its enzyme replacement therapy in development for the treatment of Type I Gaucher disease. Shire is working with the FDA to determine subsequent steps and timing for the filing of its NDA.

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Proportion Of Fatal Crashes Increases
An emergency rule intended to reduce the number of deaths and injuries associated with Hawaiian air tours was followed by a 47 percent reduction in sightseeing crashes, according to a new study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health"s Center for Injury Research and Policy.
Diagnostics

Daily Potassium Citrate Wards Off Kidney Stones In Seizure Patients On High-fat Diet

Children on the high-fat ketogenic diet to control epileptic seizures can prevent the excruciatingly painful kidney stones that the diet can sometimes cause if they take a daily supplement of potassium citrate the day they start the diet, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children"s Center. A report on the work is published in the August issue of Pediatrics. "We can confidently say this is a safe and powerful way to prevent kidney stones, and it should become part of standard therapy in all ketogenic dieters, not just those who already show elevated urine calcium levels," says senior investigator Eric Kossoff, M.D., a pediatric neurologist at Hopkins Children"s. "If you wait, it might be too late." The ketogenic diet, believed to work by initiating biochemical changes that eliminate seizure-triggering short circuits in the brain"s signaling system, is given to many children whose seizures do not respond to medications. But the diet, which consists of high-fat foods with very few carbohydrates, causes a buildup of calcium in the urine and the formation of kidney stones in about 6 percent of those on it. Hopkins Children"s adopted the preventive treatment with potassium citrate two years ago, and doctors now believe this one major side effect of the diet is a thing of the past, allowing more children to remain on the diet for longer. Potassium citrate taken twice daily, either as powder sprinkled on food or dissolved in water, is believed to inhibit stone formation. In their study of 301 children treated for epilepsy with the ketogenic diet at Hopkins Children"s the researchers found that those who got potassium citrate twice daily were seven times less likely to develop kidney stones one of 106 (0.9 percent) developed a kidney stone compared to 13 out of 195 (6.7 percent) who were given potassium citrate only after testing positive for elevated levels of blood calcium. Most children received one 30-milliequivalent packet (about 1, 170 milligrams or 0.04 ounces) of potassium citrate twice daily. Although rarely serious, kidney stones can cause significant pain, along with kidney and urinary tract infections, and may require surgery. The research was funded in part by the NIH and the Carson Harris Foundation. Johns Hopkins Medicine


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