сентября 2012

воскресенье, 30 сентября 2012 г.

Arsenic Levels Not a Health Threat, Washington State Toxicologist Says. - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

By Sean Robinson, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Aug. 22--The letters from Asarco offer free medical tests, but Elaine Wagner, 63, never takes them.

'I've probably got arsenic in me,' she said, 'but I'm really afraid to go check. I'm afraid to know.'

On Thursday, Wagner's hands were stained with dirt. She was building a deck in the Highland Park neighborhood, not far from a site where state inspectors recently tested soil and found concentrations of arsenic that reached 475 parts per million.

That number exceeds the 230-ppm cleanup threshold set by the Environmental Protection Agency for neighborhoods around Asarco's former copper smelter in Ruston, and the state's lower threshold of 20 parts per million. But experts say the numbers don't present an immediate threat to public health.

'The levels found in these samples should not be an immediate health threat if people take proper precautions, but long-term exposure to the contaminants is a public health concern,' said Jim White, a toxicologist with the state Department of Health.

Precautions include mopping and vacuuming the house several times a week, taking shoes off at the door, and washing children's toys, bedding and pacifiers.

'These are just suggestions -- a way to minimize the amount of dust in the home,' said Glenn dfRollins of the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. 'It's up to the individual lifestyles.'

The latest samples collected by the state Department of Ecology and the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department continue a $1.65 million study of wind-borne arsenic and lead contamination from the smelter, which closed in 1985. The study is scheduled for completion next spring.

Earlier tests conducted in King County showed concentrations ranging from 260 parts per million on the mainland to 460 parts per million on Vashon and Maury islands.

'We're just picking up the rest of the footprint,' said Marian Abbett, project manager for the Department of Ecology.

The new samples from Pierce County, taken with the permission of property owners, came from 116 undisturbed sites and residential properties with homes built before 1970 within the prevailing wind direction of the smelter. Each property owner received their results by letter.

DOE officials would not release the names of individual property owners who participated in the study, but test results show arsenic ranging from 2.46 ppm up to 475.

Officials note that a high result from one sample does not mean adjoining properties will show the same contamination level.

Asarco sends letters to residents in the neighborhoods around the smelter, offering free tests for arsenic contamination. Wagner has received several.

An avid gardener who calls herself a plantaholic, she has lived in the area since 1995. She rarely wears gloves, but she's getting more careful. She jokes about trying to avoid eating dirt.

Officials worry more about people swallowing arsenic-tainted dirt than breathing it. Children who play in dirt are believed to be at highest risk.

A child whose yard contains 200-400 ppm of arsenic could swallow 40-80 micrograms (millionths of a gram) of the toxic metal each day. According to the National Research Council, a lifetime of such exposure could lead to a cancer risk of about one in 100.

Erin Swortz, 29, brought her two children and her nephew to Vassault Park on Thursday, near an area where state test results show an arsenic concentration of 233 ppm. Swortz lives near the park, and her husband has worked as a soils engineer.

'I'm not too concerned with what's going on,' she said. 'If it was high risk, I think my husband would be moving his family. My kids aren't eating enough dirt to get sick.'

When the soils study is complete, the state and the area health department plan to take more tests in child-use areas, such as playgrounds, schools and day-care centers. The state hopes to find enough money to remove or cap arsenic-tainted soil in those areas.

In Tacoma, the EPA ordered Asarco to clean up yards with arsenic concentrations of 230 ppm or greater. The state's cleanup standard is 20 ppm, based on natural background levels.

Though some samples show results higher than the acceptable concentration, state officials admit there is little they can do about it other than offer advice. Asarco is trying to avoid bankruptcy, and federal and state toxic cleanup funds are scarce.

'The state does not have sufficient funds to do it all,' Abbett said. 'That's the million-dollar question. That's what we're grappling with, is how to deal with this large area.'

Ruth Brewster, 83, lives near an area where the state found arsenic concentration of 440 parts per million. Like Wagner, she received Asarco's letters. Unlike Wagner, she got herself tested.

'I came out all right,' she said. 'I suppose I should be concerned, but at my age, I'm not.'

To see more of The News Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tribnet.com

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суббота, 29 сентября 2012 г.

EHR adoption challenged by obstacles: daunting issues abound; will financial incentives ultimately spur interest in a universal electronic health record?(WASHINGTON INSIGHTS) - Behavioral Health Management

A universal, simple, portable electronic health record (EHR) is one of the most promising potential benefits of the information age. An ATM card provides standardized access to information on a bank customer's financial accounts; it's no great technologic leap to envision a similar electronic key unlocking access to a patient's medical history. The EHR could provide a single standardized reporting mechanism for third-party payers, offer critical data to emergency room doctors confronted with an unfamiliar patient in crisis, and reduce the likelihood of adverse medication interactions. Above all, the EHR, using current technology, could slash healthcare administration's soaring costs.

The EHR's appeal has brought it to the forefront of healthcare policy. The National Institute of Medicine, the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, and Newt Gingrich's healthcare reform action group all have endorsed the mantra that rapid IT deployment is critical for healthcare quality improvement and cost savings. On April 27, 2004, President Bush issued an executive order calling for a ten-year timeline for the development and implementation of health information technology to help achieve substantial improvements in healthcare safety and efficiency. David J. Brailer, MD, PhD, was appointed the federal government's first national coordinator for health information technology less than a month later.

Private-sector behavioral healthcare has moved rapidly to adapt electronic record keeping to patient billing and service records. Public-sector payers generally have moved more leisurely. However, in September 2005, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services convened a two-day National Summit on Defining a Strategy for Behavioral Health Information Management and Its Role Within the National Health Information Infrastructure. Unfortunately, the summit's unwieldy name was only too fitting for an implementation process that appears to be cumbersome and weighed down with bureaucratic baggage.

In their meeting presentations, summit participants identified some of the reasons for the slow adoption of electronic records. Claudia Roth, PhD, president and CEO of the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC) at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, related the arrival of health IT at her facility over a four-year period. After unsuccessfully attempting to acquire a commercially available system during the early 1990s, WPIC made a significant investment in developing its own electronic health information system, Clinical Progress Notes. One year later, WPIC abandoned continued development of the Clinical Progress Notes system in favor of purchasing a new system that would incorporate clinicians as system designers. Leaving clinicians out of the development and acquisition process had proven to be an expensive mistake because an EHR deployment's effectiveness depends largely on clinicians' willingness to use the system.

Adoption of a truly universal EHR that includes behavioral healthcare is likely to be even more difficult than the WPIC experience because many behavioral healthcare providers are solo-practice professionals. This is most often the situation in public-sector behavioral healthcare in smaller communities, where therapists generally operate on the basis of individual contracts issued by the local mental health, education, and criminal justice authorities. These solo-practice therapists lack the infrastructure support--and frankly the time--to commit themselves to learning new computer-based health information systems.

Beyond these practical issues, summit attendees recognized the existence of a cultural gap between the clinician's perception of therapy as 'art' and the expectation that an EHR will need standardized definitions that might well produce artificial segmentation of interventions into neat but inaccurate care descriptions. This already has become a problem in efforts to establish uniform billing codes for mental health therapy, in which practices such as peer interventions and family therapies give auditors heartburn as they try to distinguish services for the patient from services for the patient's support system. Summit participants voiced platitudes about the need for 'strong leadership' and 'workforce training on a national scale,' but they ultimately agreed that the only way to overcome clinician prejudices about oversimplification of the description of care in an EHR will be to achieve widespread practical use of a universal record in clinical settings.

Mental health consumers have their own reservations about the deployment of a universal EHR. The summit briefly acknowledged that patients and their families will insist on control over the records' contents, as well as protection against the misuse of information that would become available through the system. Sylvia Caras, a spokesperson for the consumer movement, explained that the fears relate more to the potential for stigmatization of behavioral health patients. 'There is a real concern that an inappropriate diagnosis or inaccurate information could remain in the record for years, without the consumer having any way to edit the misinformation,' she said.

Other attendees added that effective behavioral healthcare requires confidential information about consumers that falls outside of the 'normal' health record, including sexual preferences, financial supports, and experiences with employers and government authorities. Achieving a balance between what therapists need to know and what other healthcare professionals should not learn about behavioral healthcare patients is going to be a serious challenge in implementing a truly universal record.

The challenges confronting a universal EHR may become complicated by the fact that SAMHSA has assumed responsibility for federal leadership in this arena. SAMHSA already has been heavily involved in its own 'universal' behavioral healthcare information system: the National Outcome Measures (NOMs). SAMHSA applies NOMs to behavioral healthcare services in ten domains:

* abstinence

* employment/education

* crime and criminal justice

* stability in housing

* access/capacity

* retention in care

* social connectedness

* consumer perception of care

* cost-effectiveness

* use of evidence-based practices

These domains might be reasonable measures for public-sector care, in which reduction of dependence on taxpayer support is a major issue, but they have much less relevance to the reasons private-sector consumers become patients. For example, the NOMs offer no assessments of therapy's ability to produce satisfying sexual relationships or to help consumers overcome problems of grief that may not directly affect their 'life in the community.' Nevertheless, SAMHSA officials at the summit effectively endorsed the NOMs as the core of a behavioral healthcare EHR.

In truth, SAMHSA's ability to influence public-sector behavioral healthcare is sharply undercut by its relatively minor role in financing direct care. Medicaid and Medicare--financing systems that lie outside of SAMHSA's purview--today fund the vast majority of public-sector behavioral healthcare. The federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) maintains electronic records for behavioral healthcare that are far more influential than SAMHSA's NOMs for the simple reason that their use influences the financial viability of thousands of behavioral healthcare providers. The summit paid only minor attention to this issue, perhaps because SAMHSA representatives vastly outnumbered CMS participants. Adoption of a universal EHR undoubtedly will have significant benefits for quality, the dissemination of evidence-based practices, and even the accountability of SAMHSA's grant-funded interventions. Ultimately, however, changes in healthcare in the United States are driven by financial realities and incentives. The federal government's policy of supporting better use of health IT must acknowledge this fundamental principle before it can escape the hothouse atmosphere of summits and seminars.

To send comments to Dr. Stoil and the editors, e-mail stoil1105@behavioral. net. To order reprints in quantities of 100 or more, call (866) 377-6454.

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пятница, 28 сентября 2012 г.

Anxiety running high over budget and health reform. (Washington Notebook) - National Underwriter Life & Health-Financial Services Edition

The fate of the administration's health care reform bill seems inextricably linked to the outcome of the budget reconciliation bill, which at this writing is pending in the Senate.

The linkage is principally due to the fact that the only way the federal deficit can be reduced in the long run is to enact health care reform that significantly slows rising costs.

Contributing to the anxiety about the outcome of health care reform and the budget reconciliation bill are the recent political and public relations faux pas emanating from the White House.

'The President is going to have to recover substantially in the polls before he offers his health care proposal,' according to Gordon Wheeler, the Health Insurance Association of America's director of political affairs.

Mr. Wheeler said the President's withdrawal of his nomination of Lani Guinier as chief of the Justice Department's civil rights division 'has severely weakened him on Capitol Hill.'

President Clinton will have to do considerable fence-mending with members of the Congressional Black Caucus where 40 votes could be lost over a vote on budget reconciliation or health care, Mr. Wheeler noted.

The Guinier nomination was 'essentially, a Catch 22' situation for the President, he observed. 'All in all, it doesn't bode well for timely action on health care,' he said. However, he added that the President should be protected by his staff from having to read 'every piece of paper' before making a decision.

In going all-out to win House passage of the reconciliation bill by a narrow margin, President Clinton went to Capitol Hill and met with the House Democratic caucus and a joint meeting of House and Senate Democratic leaders. He argued against caps on entitlements, such as Medicare and Medicaid.

The President opposed a proposal offered by Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Texas, to impose caps on entitlements. The Stenholm provision, the 'Entitlement Discipline Agreement,' was passed as part of the budget reconciliation measure.

The Stenholm provision creates a mechanism to monitor total costs of entitlement programs and, if costs exceeded target levels set by the Office of Management and Budget, the President and Congress would be held accountable and be required to take action each year.

If the targets were exceeded by more than one-half of one percent, the President would have to recommend to Congress spending cuts, tax increases, or both to wipe out the overage, or to make no changes and raise the targets.

On the morning President Clinton went to Capitol Hill, he had lunch with a group of Chief Executive Officers to persuade them to support the budget reconciliation bill. He told them the energy tax is a good tax that would get interest rates down and have 'credibility in the markets.'

He pointed out that the bill has $100 billion in entitlement cuts. A reporter then asked the President during a photo opportunity with the business leaders, 'what about an entitlement cap, as some people on the Hill want? Wouldn't that help?'

President Clinton replied that he was not opposed to a cap on health care spending, but it should be done in the context of health care.

Noting that 'this is a good place to discuss this,' he said that 'the United States government has already contributed to the rising costs of health care for employers by squeezing Medicare and Medicaid and forcing those costs off onto private employers...

'If we did it now,' he said, 'it would run the risk of two or three years from now having another big increase in their costs, undermining their ability to hire American workers and to keep American competitive.

'So if we're going to have a health care cap, let's do it with health care. That's the way it should be done,' the President said.

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четверг, 27 сентября 2012 г.

Congress questions FDA authority over qualified health claims.(WASHINGTON) - The Food Institute Report

In a statement accompanying the recently enacted omnibus appropriations act for fiscal year 2008, Congress questioned the authority of the FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) to authorize qualified health claims, according to FI Counsel, OLSSON, FRANK, WEEDA, TERMAN, BODE & MATZ.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 (the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2008), signed by President Bush on Dec. 26, provides fiscal year (FY) 2008 appropriations for all federal agencies and departments, except the Department of Defense. In the Joint Explanatory Statement to the appropriations act, Congress cast doubt on whether FDA has the statutory authority to allow qualified health claims in food labeling:

The [House and Senate Appropriations] Committees are concerned that FDA may have exceeded its statutory authority when the agency decided to begin allowing the use of qualified health claims for conventional foods in 2003. Such claims are not based on the standard of 'significant scientific agreement' set forth in the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act [NLEA]. The agency has devoted literally thousands of hours of staff work to this undertaking at a time when the agency's ability to carry out its public health responsibilities are severely stretched.

While the consumer group CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST has alleged in a lawsuit that FDA's policy on qualified health claims violates the NLEA and the Administrative Procedures Act, this is the first time that Congress has suggested that FDA may have exceeded its legislative authority in approving qualified health claims.

The Congressional statement requests that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) prepare a report on qualified health claims, including their usefulness and their impact on public perceptions of conventional foods. Moreover, the statement 'urges' FDA not to use any FY 2008 appropriated funds to review petitions for qualified health claims or to issue letters of enforcement discretion allowing such claims until the GAO report is completed.

In a related development, FDA has announced its intent to reevaluate, in light of new information, the scientific basis for four health claims, including two qualified health claims for dietary supplements (i.e., antioxidant vitamins and certain cancers, selenium and certain cancers). 72 Fed. Reg. 72,738 (Dec. 21, 2007).

Qualified health claims are health claims about the relationship between a substance and a disease or health-related condition where there is emerging scientific evidence in support of a relationship but such evidence does not rise to the level of 'significant scientific agreement.' FDA implemented its policy to permit qualified health claims (as part of its Better Nutrition Information for Consumer Health Initiative) pursuant to the decision in Pearson v. Shalala, 164 F.3d 650 (D.C. Cir.1999), in which the court held that the First Amendment does not permit FDA to reject health claims that the agency determines to be potentially misleading unless the agency also reasonably determines that no disclaimer would eliminate the potential deception.

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среда, 26 сентября 2012 г.

GRANT WILL IMPROVE CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN WASHINGTON. - States News Service

OLYMPIA, WA -- The following information was released by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services:

The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services received a one-year, $800,000 grant to improve mental health services for children across the state. The grant was awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

'We will develop a comprehensive strategic plan to improve, implement, expand and sustain the system of care principles and philosophy, with an emphasis on developing an infrastructure for state-level funding, policy and practice changes'' said David Dickinson, director of the DSHS Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery.

A 'system of care' (SOC) is an organizational philosophy and framework that is designed to create a network of effective community-based services and supports to improve the lives of children and youth with, or at risk of, serious mental health conditions and their families. This system can build meaningful partnerships with families and youth, address cultural and linguistic needs, and use evidence-based practices to help children, youth and families function better at home, in school, in the community and throughout life.

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вторник, 25 сентября 2012 г.

GRANT TOIMPROVE CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN WASHINGTON - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

OLYMPIA, Wash., Nov. 16 -- The Washington state Department of Social and Health Services issued the following news release:

The grant will fund strategic planning to expand and sustain the number of jurisdictions and locations in Washington state that adopt an SOC. DSHS will collaborate with state and local child-serving organizations to plan and implement this project. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

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понедельник, 24 сентября 2012 г.

Highmark Chief Medical Officer Discusses Benefits of Meaningful Use Standards for Electronic Health Records at Washington, D.C. Forum. - Managed Care Weekly Digest

Dr. Donald Fischer, Highmark Inc.'s chief medical officer, will join representatives from two other leading health insurers today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. to discuss ways to improve health, increase patient safety and reduce health care costs through the use of electronic health records (EHR) (see also Electronic Medical Records).

With the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, eligible health care professionals and hospitals can qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments when they adopt certified EHR technology and use it to achieve specific objectives. In July, the Department of Health and Human Services announced the 'meaningful use' standards and technical capabilities required for certified EHR technology that physicians and hospitals must meet to qualify for the bonus payments.

'Meaningful use standards will ensure that physicians and hospitals are using EHR technology to achieve their goal of providing, high-quality, coordinated care to patients,' said Dr. Fischer.

Dr. Fischer was invited to be a part of Thursday's discussion based on Highmark's strong support of national efforts to advance EHR adoption. In fact, the company will be the nation's first insurer to include the adoption of meaningful use standards in its pay-for-performance program, QualityBLUE. Highmark network providers can qualify for financial incentives by incorporating meaningful use standards with the implementation of electronic health records technology.

Meanwhile, Highmark is supporting the adoption of health information technology in other ways. In 2008, the company joined with the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative to offer practice training and coaching to support primary care practices involved in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' EHR demonstration program and in the acquisition of EHRs to achieve quality targets.

In addition, Highmark promotes the adoption of electronic prescribing through its $29 million Health Information Technology Grant program. Highmark has provided 3,140 physicians with more than $19.6 million to assist with health information technology, including electronic prescribing.

Keywords: Data Management, Electronic Medical Records, Health Information Technology, Health Policy, Highmark Inc., Hospital, Information Technologies, Legal Issues, Medicaid, Medicare.

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воскресенье, 23 сентября 2012 г.

JAPAN NUCLEAR EVENTS AFTER QUAKE POSE NO HEALTH RISK IN WASHINGTON - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

OLYMPIA, Wash., March 17 -- The Washington State Department of Health issued the following news release:

State health officials have seen no increased radiation levels in local air samples after nuclear power plants were damaged in the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Air monitoring continues as a precaution, though no public health risks are expected in Washington due to the events in Japan.

Although the situation at Japan's crippled nuclear power plants continues to change, the risk to Washington has not.

'Dangerous levels of radiation are not expected to reach Washington,' said Secretary of Health Mary Selecky. 'The tragic events in Japan don't pose a radiation exposure risk to people in our state. And we urge people not to take potassium iodide or iodine pills; it's unnecessary and could be harmful to some people.'

Potassium iodide, also known as KI, is only needed by people who must work in or around nuclear power plants during an emergency, or who live nearby and cannot evacuate. KI should not be taken by anyone in Washington because of the events in Japan.

Public health, meteorology, and radiation experts continue to make that point. Because Japan is so far away, radiation would be diluted before reaching our state and levels would be so low no protective action, including iodine and other supplements, is necessary.

Dr. Cliff Mass of the University of Washington, professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, has been following the situation in Japan. 'There's little chance that a significant radiation threat exists for the Pacific Northwest from the Japanese reactor problems,' he said.

'Normal atmospheric mixing, radioactive decay, wash-out of particles, and settling will insure that concentrations would decline to very small amounts, even if highly favorable trajectories existed at the time of any major release,' Mass concludes.

State health officials provide additional information on the agency Newsroom page (http://www.doh.wa.gov/Topics/japan2011.htm), which is updated daily. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

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суббота, 22 сентября 2012 г.

JAPAN NUCLEAR EVENTS AFTER QUAKE POSE NO HEALTH RISK IN WASHINGTON. - States News Service

OLYMPIA, WA -- The following information was released by the Washington State Department of Health:

Although the situation at Japan's crippled nuclear power plants continues to change, the risk to Washington has not.

State health officials provide additional information on the agency Newsroom page (www.doh.wa.gov/Topics/japan2011.htm), which is updated daily .

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Mental health care in Washington turns 150 - The Columbian (Vancouver, WA)

Mother Joseph

Pioneer in care for the mentally ill

---

A jail inmate was released 150 years ago in Vancouver, a processthat has been repeated fairly regularly ever since.

What Tom Riedlinger finds notable is the person who sprung thisinmate from the local lockup. The troubled woman became MotherJosephs first mental health patient.

After researching the history of care in the state, Riedlingerpoints to June 5, 1861, as the opening of Washingtons first mentalhealth care facility.

Riedlinger, a mental health professional in Olympia, describes itas the start of a system of compassionate care in what was thenWashington Territory.

Mother Joseph already had a lot on her plate. She and the fournuns who had come with her from Montreal were pioneers in education,health care and social services.

But they expanded their work when a Vancouver woman was jailedfor disruptive behavior. It was too much for the Sisters of Charityof Providence to bear, according to The Bell and the River, ahistory of Mother Josephs work in the Northwest.

There was the poor woman under the supervision of a man who hadneither morals or principles of any kind, wrote Sister MaryMcCrosson, quoting the chronicles of the religious order. We weremuch afflicted at this condition of things.

They decided to use two buildings near the boys orphanage forhousing the mentally deranged, according to the chronicles.

The woman, identified in the book as Marie Comito, was the firstpatient. However, the nuns apparently were not rookies in thisfield. A 19th-century reference said that the Sisters of Providencefounded in Montreal in 1828 have charge of the insane asylum nearthat city.

McCrossons book explains that Sister Praxedes, who had worked atthe Montreal asylum for several years, took charge of the Vancouverfacility for the mentally ill.

In 1862, the Washington Territory assumed responsibility for careof the mentally ill, said a state human-services website. Lackingfunds to build a hospital, the state contracted for the care of thementally ill with the Sisters of Charity.

The St. John of God Asylum welcomed Washington Territorys mentalhealth patients the most serious cases, anyway.

The community tolerated more disruptive behavior, Riedlingersaid. The less severe were cared for by their families, or leftalone. Mother Joseph got the most acute.

While there is no record of treatment methods, It was not asprimitive you as might think, said Riedlinger, who works in theinpatient psychiatry unit at Providence St. Peter Hospital inOlympia.

With psychiatric medications almost 100 years in the future,environment had a lot to do with stabilizing, Riedlinger said. Thesisters provided a stable and nurturing environment which was notthe case with the subsequent low bidders.

In 1866, two businessmen from what is now the Kelso area underbidthe sisters for the state contract.

After the low-bid process proved to be a poor basis for a mentalhealth system, Washingtons first asylum was established in 1871 atan abandoned Army post, Fort Steilacoom.

Still, there were problems. The states Department of Social andHealth Services website reports: In 1875, complaints about brutalityand poor living conditions led to the territorial government takingdirect control, and legislative approval of its director.

Riedlinger discovered that Marie Comito Mother Josephs firstpatient was among those who were transferred to the state facility.

There is another link that connects many current state residentswith that original patient, Riedlinger said.

Its still true that a great number of people who are mentally illare in jail.

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пятница, 21 сентября 2012 г.

Maryland officials slam 'chaotic' health system in Washington, D.C. - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

By Jim McElhatton, The Washington Times Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Jul. 31--Maryland's top public health official yesterday called the D.C. health care system 'chaotic' and criticized the D.C. government's decision not to pay more than $5 million to Prince George's Hospital Center for the treatment of indigent city residents.

'Quite frankly, the District has been taking advantage of the Maryland health care system for years,' said Nelson J. Sabatini, secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

'They dump uncompensated care patients into Maryland because Maryland has a disciplined, regulated system [of reimbursement for charity care], and the District has nothing but a chaotic health care system.'

The criticism came in response to D.C. government's recent decision to refuse to pay a bill that Prince George's Hospital Center submitted in June for the treatment of indigent D.C. residents.

The Washington Times first reported Wednesday that the hospital's parent company, Cheverly-based Dimensions Healthcare System, is billing the D.C. government for treating city residents who don't pay their bills.

Company spokesman Bob Howell said Prince George's Hospital Center, which is just over the D.C. line in Cheverly, has been treating increasing numbers of indigent D.C. residents since the District closed D.C. General Hospital in June 2001.

Dimensions requested payment for the treatment of indigent city residents through the D.C. Healthcare Alliance, a $96 million city-funded insurance program for low-income individuals run through the D.C. Department of Health.

'The District government cannot provide money... for costs that were not directly provided to the city,' said Tony Bullock, a spokesman for D.C.

Mayor Anthony A. Williams. 'There is no basis to make this payment.'

Mr. Williams created the alliance program three years ago to fill the gap in health services created by the closure of D.C. General. However, city officials say the program doesn't pay providers outside of the District.

'We're sympathetic to their problems,' Mr. Bullock said, referring to Prince George's Hospital, which has lost $42 million in the past five years. 'But we can't just cut them a check.

'We had the same problem when we had D.C. General in operation, except the traffic was flowing in the other direction and tens of millions of dollars in services were being provided to non-D.C. residents,' Mr. Bullock said.

'But we never went to the county or the state of Maryland and said 'pay us for these services'.'

The District denied the payment claim in a July 14 letter to Dimensions from the District's Associate Chief Financial Officer Deloras Shepherd.

Mr. Bullock said city government can't control where residents seek hospital care. 'It isn't something that the government can monitor,' he said.

The hospital's demand for payment comes three months after Prince George's County and Maryland state officials agreed on a $45 million bailout for Dimensions, which also owns the 146-bed Laurel Regional Hospital.

To see more of The Washington Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.washtimes.com.

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четверг, 20 сентября 2012 г.

NUCLEAR EVENT IN JAPAN POSES NO HEALTH RISK IN WASHINGTON; STATE MONITORING - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

OLYMPIA, Wash., March 12 -- The Washington State Department of Health issued the following news release:

The state Department of Health is conducting ongoing air monitoring for radiation to see if the nuclear plant incident in Japan has affected radiation levels in Washington. There have been no elevated readings.

The agency's Radiation Protection staff expects no public health risk in Washington, and the monitoring is precautionary. If the situation changes in Washington, the Department of Health will inform the public.

State health officials are monitoring the events in Japan, and are in contact with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Environmental Protection Agency. An explosion took place at the Japan reactor site Saturday.

The nuclear plant incident in the wake of the earthquake in Japan has raised concerns among some people in Washington about windblown radiation coming to our state. Air sample readings in our state remain normal. The Department of Health Radiation Protection Program doesn't expect any change in environmental measurements taken in Washington.

Even in the event of a significant release from the reactor, radiation would be diluted before reaching our state and levels would be so low no protective action would be necessary. The state health department will continue its monitoring work as the situation in Japan develops and changes. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

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NUCLEAR EVENT IN JAPAN POSES NO HEALTH RISK IN WASHINGTON; STATE MONITORING. - States News Service

OLYMPIA, WA -- The following information was released by the Washington State Department of Health:

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Cardinal Health, University of Washington Create Innovative Partnership to Advance Use of Molecular Imaging in Clinical Trials. - Heart Disease Weekly

Cardinal Health and the University of Washington (UW) announced an innovative public-private collaboration designed to advance the use of molecular imaging in clinical investigations and trials (see also Molecular Imaging).

Molecular imaging is one of the most promising areas of development in biotechnology, where specialized radiopharmaceuticals, or Positron Emission Tomography (PET) 'imaging agents,' are injected into the body to detect and trace abnormal cellular functions that are associated with health issues such as heart disease, neurological disorders and many forms of cancer. These imaging agents, which are visible using sophisticated imaging scanners, make it easier for physicians to non-invasively diagnose, monitor and potentially treat disease at the earliest stages of onset.

Through this collaboration, the UW's Department of Radiology will relocate a portion of its on-campus molecular tracer laboratories into Cardinal Health's PET manufacturing facility located in downtown Seattle. The UW laboratories that are part of the move will include one operated by Dr. John Grierson, who developed the PET agent F-18 fluorothymidine (FLT), which is now distributed nationally through Cardinal Health and is being used in a wide array of clinical trials. UW's Department of Radiology will have access to Cardinal Health's cyclotron, radiopharmaceutical products and research support services, to aid in the efficient operation of its research facility.

By co-locating in the same physical space, the two organizations will combine the University of Washington's internationally-recognized PET research and development expertise with Cardinal Health's expertise in the FDA-compliant production and distribution of PET imaging agents to accelerate the research, development and commercialization of new molecular imaging agents.

'Consistent with the cycle of innovation, we look forward to collaboratively working with Cardinal Health to develop new uses for molecular imaging tracers - and the clinical applications of tomorrow,' said Dr. Norman J. Beauchamp, Jr., UW professor of radiology and chairman of UW's Department of Radiology. 'Cardinal Health's nuclear pharmacy expertise and its commitment to supporting the growth of molecular imaging through clinical investigations make it an outstanding partner to help us work toward our ultimate, shared goal: to lessen the impact of devastating conditions including cancer, neurological disorders and cardiovascular disease.'

The University of Washington is one of the nation's leading research institutions, receiving more research dollars from the National Institutes of Health than any other public university in the United States.

Cardinal Health's Nuclear Pharmacy Services business operates the nation's largest network of radiopharmacies. The company has also strategically located its nationwide network of cyclotrons to enable many of its radiopharmacies to compound and dispense high-energy PET imaging agents in unit-dose form.

Its vast network of 'PET-enabled' pharmacies, combined with its broad nuclear pharmacy scale, comprehensive fleet and logistics capabilities enable it to play a critical role in supporting clinical trials of both proprietary and non-proprietary imaging agents.

Cardinal Health has already begun the process of expanding its Seattle radiopharmacy facility to accommodate UW's new radiochemistry laboratory, where UW researchers will work alongside Cardinal Health staff and technicians. Renovations to the expanded facility are expected to be completed by the beginning of 2011.

'We are very proud to partner with the University of Washington - one of the nation's preeminent research institutions - to advance the future of molecular imaging with the development of this innovative, world-class facility,' said John Rademacher, president of Cardinal Health's Nuclear and Pharmacy Services business. 'This collaboration will provide us with exciting new opportunities to partner with innovators and pharmaceutical research organizations to enable the research, development and commercialization of new molecular imaging agents that have the potential to dramatically improve patient health.'

Keywords: Cancer, Clinical Trial Research, Emerging Technologies, Imaging Agent, Marketing and Licensing Agreements, Medical Device, Molecular Imaging, Nanotechnology, Oncology, Therapy, Treatment, Cardinal Health Inc.

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среда, 19 сентября 2012 г.

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES HOLDS FOREST HEALTH MEETINGS ACROSS WASHINGTON STATE - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

The Washington state Department of Natural Resources issued the following news release:

Today the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced that the Forest Health Strategies Working Group is holding a series of public meetings about forest health. The meetings will be conducted from August 14 through 31 in eight different locations throughout the state.

'The health of Washington's forestlands is an issue that affects all of the state's citizens. Over the past few years, overcrowded forests have led to an increase in diseases and insect infestations and susceptibility to wildfire,' said Public Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland.

'These meetings are designed to provide the public with information about the health of Washington's forests, particularly those near their communities, as well as what we can do to improve forest conditions,' he concluded.

The meetings will be held at the times and locations indicated below:

* August 14 - 6:30 pm in Longview at Cowlitz County PUD, 961 12th Ave.

* August 15 - 2:00 pm in Aberdeen at Aberdeen Timberland Library, 121 E. Market St.

* August 16 - 6:30 pm in Yakima at Yakima Valley Regional Library, 102 N. 3rd

* August 24 - 2:00 pm in Walla Walla at Walla Walla City Hall, 15 N. 3rd

* August 28 - 6:30 pm in Colville at Colville Public Library, 195 S. Oak St.

* August 29 - 2:00 pm in Omak at Omak City Hall, 2 N. Ash St.

* August 30 - 6:30 pm in Mt. Vernon at Best Western Cottontree Inn, 2300 Market Pl.

* August 31 -6:30 pm in SeaTac at Radisson Hotel Gateway SeaTac Airport, 18118 International Boulevard

The meetings have two purposes. The first of these is to provide the public with an opportunity to learn about current forest health issues and possible approaches to improve forest health conditions. The other purpose is to allow the public to comment on proposed legislation drafted to prevent or control insect and disease outbreaks.

In June, Commissioner Sutherland reassembled the Forest Health Strategies Working Group, consisting of 14 individuals knowledgeable about forests, forest ecology, or forest health issues. The 2006 Working Group is building on the work of a similar group that met in 2004 to identify opportunities to improve Washington's forest health conditions and report its findings to the State Legislature. The 2004 group's December 2004 report describes findings and recommendations for a desirable forest health program for Washington's forests.

The State Legislature asked the 2006 Forest Health Strategies Working Group to hold meetings across the state to listen to the public's concerns about forest health and proposed legislation. They are to use this information to craft a comprehensive forest health bill for the legislature's consideration in the 2007 session.

As drafted, the proposed legislation seeks to improve forest health conditions by authorizing DNR to monitor forest conditions and changes over time in coordination with universities, landowners, and state and federal agencies. It would also authorize DNR to provide technical and informational assistance to landowners, and would authorize the Lands Commissioner to establish technical advisory committees, as needed, in areas threatened by forest health conditions. The draft legislation calls for DNR to establish cooperative forest health projects to control and contain outbreaks of insects and disease.

The draft legislation and public meeting details are available at www.dnr.wa.gov/htdocs/rp/forhealth/ . Additional information regarding DNR's forest health program is also available on the website.

DNR - land manager and protector of natural resourcesAdministered by Public Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland, DNR provides wildfire protection and supports the state Forest Practices Board in protecting public resources on 12.7 million acres of private and state-owned forestland. DNR geologists regulate surface mine reclamation; DNR staff provide technical assistance for forestry and mining; and provide financial and grant assistance for urban forestry to state and local communities.

Sutherland is Washington's 12th Public Lands Commissioner since statehood in 1889.Contact: Patty Henson, 360/902-1023, patty.henson@wadnr.gov.

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JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER EXPRESSES CONCERN WITH PROPOSED CRITICAL HABITAT PLAN LOCKING UP STATE AND PRIVATE LAND "DOUBLES DOWN" ON APPROACH THAT HAS FAILED NORTHERN SPOTTED OWLS, FOREST HEALTH AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON JOBS. - States News Service

Vancouver -- The following information was released by the office of Washington Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler:

In a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) sent this week, Jaime Herrera Beutler said that the agency's proposed critical habitat plan would 'double down' on a forest management approach that for 20 years has failed to protect forests, the Northern Spotted Owl, and jobs.

The USFWS Revised Critical Habitat proposal would more than double the amount of land designated as critical habitat for the Northern Spotted Owl under the Northwest Forest Plan established in 1992, essentially grinding to a halt any economic activity generated from those lands.

In her letter that served as her formal comment on the proposal, Jaime points out that this approach has failed to preserve Spotted Owl populations: 'Yet even with all that has been taken, we continue to see the decline of the [Northern Spotted Owl] at nearly 3% per year, and now the USFWS is proposing to double-down on a plan that has failed to achieve its desired goals.'

She also highlights an increased threat of wildfires in northwest forests: 'There has been an explosive fuel build up in our PNW forests over the last two decades and without bringing about rational management we stand to suffer the same fate that Colorado is experiencing. Doubling the critical habitat boundaries within our PNW forests will not only fail to serve the [Northern Spotted Owl], it will ensure future catastrophic wildfires that will threaten our clean water, our forests and the wildlife within them, and our communities.'

Jaime also urges that the full economic impact be understood before any expanded plan moves forward, given the severe impact the Northwest Forest Plan has had on jobs throughout Southwest Washington: 'The cumulative economic impacts that have been experienced by our rural communities must not be ignored, and must be taken into consideration. No changes to the Critical Habitat boundaries should be made without a full economic study of the cumulative impacts that have taken place since the listing of the NSO.'

The full text of the letter is below:

Dan Ashe, Director

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Department of the Interior

1849 C Street NW, Room 3331

Washington, DC 20240

Dear Director Ashe,

The Pacific Northwest is unique for its beauty, its way of life, and the richness of our resources. Unfortunately, since the listing of the Northern Spotted Owl (NSO) in 1990, many of our rural communities have lost much of what makes our region so special, and several, including some within my district, are struggling to survive. Yet even with all that has been taken, we continue to see the decline of the NSO at nearly 3% per year, and now the USFWS is proposing to double-down on a plan that has failed to achieve its desired goals.

State and Private Lands

In an unprecedented action, the USFWS is proposing to add significant amounts of state and private land under the revised critical habitat plan. The state of Washington Forests and Fish Law already provides the most environmentally protective standards of forestry in the nation. The forestry practices carried out on our state and private lands have yielded results that put our federal forests to shame. Our private and state lands, which have been managed to provide healthy, diverse forest acreage, are rich with a variety of wildlife, clean water, and much needed jobs for our communities. To further put these lands under the same strictures of mismanagement that our federal forests have experienced will lessen, not increase, the abundance that is found on these lands. The USFWS should exclude all private and state lands from the final rule.

Single Species Management

To its credit, the USFWS has acknowledged in the proposed rule the need to manage for a variety of habitats, and that management for a single species is harmful to the broader ecosystem. Regrettably, our federal forests are in serious decline and provide ample proof of that harm. Actions over the last two decades to develop a landscape of primarily Late Successional Reserves for the NSO, while virtually ignoring other species, has caused great harm to the wildlife that is dependent upon Early Seral habitat. My office has been approached by a variety of conservation organizations, academia, and wildlife biologists, including current and retired US Forest Service employees, who have seen the damage caused by the single species management approach that has been employed in our forests since the listing of the NSO.

They have noted numerous species that are facing serious decline due to the forced creation of unnatural and unhistorical conditions within our forests. Our forests and the species within them are sounding the alarm. It is time to end single species management, and to adopt science-based, sustainable forestry that will benefit our forests, our wildlife, and our communities.

Forest Health/Fuel Load

The devastating fires currently taking place in Colorado provide a heartbreaking demonstration of the end result if we continue on the path of mismanagement we have chosen for our federal forests. There has been an explosive fuel build up in our PNW forests over the last two decades and without bringing about rational management we stand to suffer the same fate that Colorado is experiencing. Doubling the critical habitat boundaries within our PNW forests will not only fail to serve the NSO, it will ensure future catastrophic wildfires that will threaten our clean water, our forests and the wildlife within them, and our communities.

Impacts to Communities

The Endangered Species Act was never intended to decimate our rural communities, but it has been misused in a manner that has accomplished just that. Congress intended for economic impacts to be considered as part of the equation when considering the steps necessary to protect an impacted species. The cumulative economic impacts that have been experienced by our rural communities must not be ignored, and must be taken into consideration. No changes to the Critical Habitat boundaries should be made without a full economic study of the cumulative impacts that have taken place since the listing of the NSO.

With the declining state of the NSO, our forests, our wildlife, and our communities it is obvious that the NSO Recovery plan has failed. More specifically, it has failed to: protect the Northern Spotted Owl, enrich our ecosystems, sustain our wildlife, and promote forest health. It has also crippled the economies of our rural communities.

We have 22 years of results to show that the current plan is unworkable. Rather than double down on this approach, it is time to develop a plan that is science-based and takes all of our wildlife and our communities into account. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Jaime Herrera Beutler

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WOMEN-HEALTH: APRIL 25 WASHINGTON MARCH TO BACK ROE V. WADE - Inter Press Service English News Wire

Lenora Lapidus for WomensENews
Inter Press Service English News Wire
03-26-2004
NEW YORK, Mar. 26 (IPS/GIN) -- March is women's history month
and it gave women much to celebrate.
Since the 1970s, a hard-won set of federal and state laws have
banned sex discrimination in the workplace, in the nation's
classrooms and the housing sector.
Likewise, since the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973,
the Constitution has guaranteed women the right to decide--free
from government interference whether to end a pregnancy.
These protections ensure that girls can aspire to build
independent lives for themselves and their families.
Despite the gains, women -- and in particular women of color -
- still earn far less than men for the same work. For every dollar
earned by a white man, white women earn 72 cents, while
African-American women earn 65 cents and Hispanic women earn 53
cents.
On April 25, at the March for Women's Lives in Washington, D.C.,
women will have the unique opportunity to collectively say to the
nation and the world: Women's equality depends on reproductive
freedom for all. Without meaningful access to contraception,
abortion, prenatal care and childbearing assistance--as well as
quality child care, secure housing and educational and economic
opportunities--equality for women will remain an empty promise for
too many.
The earning gap is only the beginning. Girls do not always have
access to the same educational, athletic and leadership
opportunities as boys.
Victims of domestic violence can be kicked out of public housing
simply because they have been abused. Immigrant women working in
service industries such as restaurants, hotels and garment
factories are often exploited and face discrimination. And for many
poor women, young women and those living in rural areas, the right
to make decisions about their own reproductive lives is a phantom
right, promised to all, but enjoyed by only a privileged few.
Yet, the ACLU Women's Rights Project works every day with women
whose dreams are derailed by injustice. Many of the roadblocks
women face in employment, housing, and education are linked either
directly or indirectly to reproductive rights issues. Some recent
cases make this connection clear.
Pregnant Officers at Risk A group of female officers in Suffolk
County, N.Y., came to the project seeking relief from a department
policy denying pregnant officers the opportunity to go on 'light
duty.' Instead the department forced pregnant officers to either
take leave or remain on 'full duty' even though they were not given
maternity-sized bullet-proof vests or gun belts.
The policy placed women in an untenable position: They could
continue to work and risk their health and safety or they could go
on leave and lose salary and seniority. The Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission in June 2003 agreed with our challenge and
found that the policy discriminated against pregnant officers.
Despite this finding, the county has yet to settle the case and we
await a hearing in federal court.
Welfare Excludes Some Children Since the passage of the 1996
welfare law, federal law permits states to deny public assistance
to children born into a family already receiving benefits. The
policy, known as a child exclusion policy, effectively coerces poor
women's reproductive choices, discriminates against children based
on the circumstances of their birth and, as research shows, does
nothing to help move women from welfare to work.
The Nebraska Supreme Court recently struck down that state's
child exclusion law as applied to disabled parents who are unable
to work. A legal challenge in New Jersey arguing that the state's
policy interfered with poor women's right to choose to bear a child
failed, however, leaving poor women on public assistance who become
pregnant with few options and scant resources. We are now pursuing
a legislative advocacy strategy to repeal this harmful law; similar
child exclusion laws were repealed in Maryland and Illinois in 2002
and 2003.
Honor Society Bars Teen Mothers When two high school girls in
Kentucky were denied membership in the National Honor Society
simply because they were teen mothers, the ACLU's Women's Rights
Project in 1998 sued the local school district. Both girls had
maintained a 3.5-grade-point average and had been involved in other
school activities, as required by Honor Society guidelines. The
case eventually was settled, and the school district was barred
from discriminating on the basis of gender or pregnancy in
selecting students to become members of the society. After
monitoring compliance with the settlement for several years, the
case was finally closed last month.
Without reproductive freedom, women cannot fully participate in
the work force, fully provide for their families or get the
educations they need.
The Women's Rights Project will be marching in April because
reproductive rights are fundamental to women's equality.
(WomensEnews, a service of news that matters to women, is
distributed by Global Information Network and available at
www.womensEnews.org)

Copyright 2004 IPS/GIN. The contents of this story can not be duplicated in any fashion without written permission of Global Information Network

FLRA DECISION: AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES LOCAL 12 (UNION) AND DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, D.C.(AGENCY) - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

The Federal Labor Relations Authority issued the following decision:

61 FLRA No. 95

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES LOCAL 12 (Union)

and

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, D.C. (Agency)

0-AR-4003

DECISION

February 10, 2006

Before the Authority: Dale Cabaniss, Chairman, and Carol Waller Pope and Tony Armendariz, Members

I. STATEMENT OF THE CASE

This matter is before the Authority on exceptions to an award of Arbitrator Earle William Hockenberry filed by the Union under Sect. 7122(a) of the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute (the Statute) and part 2425 of the Authority's Regulations. The Agency filed an opposition to the Union's exceptions.

The Arbitrator found that the Agency did not violate the parties' agreement by not placing the grievant in an Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Specialist position when she completed the Agency's Career Enhancement Program (CEP). Therefore, the Arbitrator denied the grievance. For the reasons that follow, we deny the Union's exceptions.

II. BACKGROUND AND ARBITRATOR'S AWARD On February 3, 1997, the grievant completed the Agency's CEP and, pursuant to the guidelines of that program, was promoted from a GS-5 position to OSH Assistant (GS-6), a bridge position to the target position of OSH Assistant (GS-7). On October 11, 2000, the grievant was promoted to the target position. In 2001, the grievant filed an informal equal employment opportunity (EEO) complaint alleging age and gender discrimination. The EEO complaint was settled with the Agency agreeing to promote the grievant to OSH Assistant (GS-7, step 9).

In 2004, the Union filed the instant grievance alleging that the Agency had violated the parties' collective bargaining agreement and the settlement agreement by failing to promote the grievant to the position of OSH Specialist (GS-11 or GS-12). Unresolved, the grievance was submitted to arbitration. At the outset, the Arbitrator explained that the matter would be resolved using the parties' expedited arbitration process. The parties were unable to stipulate the issues to be resolved. Therefore, the Arbitrator framed the issue as follows: 'Did [m]anagement violate Articles 3, 16 and 19 of the [parties' agreement] when it did not place [the grievant] into an [OSH] Specialist position . . . after her completion of the . . . [CEP]? If so, what shall be the remedy?' Award at 3.

The Arbitrator reviewed the vacancy announcement for the CEP, witness testimony, and documentary evidence concerning other employees who had completed the CEP. Based on this evidence, the Arbitrator found that the grievant's successful completion of the CEP entitled her to 'a two level opportunity to move from her then GS-5 position to a GS-7 position as a Safety and Occupational Health Assistant, and not a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist[.]' Id. at 9 (emphasis in original). In addition, after reviewing the settlement agreement, the Arbitrator found that the grievant was entitled to 'nothing more tha[n] a retroactive promotion to the position of Safety and Occupational Health Assistant, GS-7, step 9 . . . .' Id.

The Arbitrator noted 'the requirement of the [s]ettlement [a]greement that `management will work with [the grievant] on development of an Individual Development Plan'' (IDP) and found that the Agency had attempted to fulfill this requirement 'without success due to the inability of the [g]rievant to provide essential training credentials.' Id. In this regard, the Arbitrator explained that '[a] clear reading of . . . the IDP indicates that there is an obligation on the part of both parties' and he found that the grievant's failure to provide necessary documentation 'erodes any argument of bias or discrimination on the part of the Agency in not completing the plan.' Id.

Based on the foregoing, the Arbitrator denied the grievance. [ v61 p508 ]

III. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES

A. UNION'S EXCEPTIONS

The Union argues that the award is deficient because the Arbitrator incorrectly permitted the Agency to invoke the expedited arbitration process under the parties' 2005 agreement rather than the process under the parties' 1992 agreement. The Union also argues that the Arbitrator incorrectly relied upon Sect. 3 of the parties' settlement agreement as one of the grounds for denying the grievance. In this connection, the Union claims that Sect. 3 precludes the grievant from initiating 'new grievances on the facts or circumstances' of the informal EEO complaint. Exceptions at 7. The Union claims this provision is inapplicable because the informal EEO complaint and the instant grievance concern different facts and circumstances. In any event, the Union argues that the Arbitrator's reliance on this provision is inconsistent with his decision to hear the grievance on the merits.

Finally, the Union argues that the Arbitrator improperly relied on Sect. 4(b) of the settlement agreement, which requires management to work with the grievant on the development of an appropriate IDP because that provision, according to the Union, is irrelevant. Even assuming the provision is relevant, the Union argues that the Arbitrator misinterpreted it as requiring the grievant and management to jointly develop the IDP. See id. at 8.

B. AGENCY'S OPPOSITION According to the Agency, the Arbitrator did not err in deciding to use the expedited arbitration process because the parties agreed to use that process. In this connection, the Agency asserts that both the parties' 1992 and 2005 agreements permitted the parties to use the expedited arbitration process 'based on mutual agreement.' Opposition at 6 (citing Article 44, Sect. 7(c) of the 1992 agreement and Article 48, Sect. 7(b) of the 2005 agreement). In addition, the Agency asserts that the Arbitrator correctly found no violation of the parties' agreement.

IV. PRELIMINARY ISSUE

Under Sect. 2429.5 of the Authority's Regulations, the Authority will not consider issues that could have been, but were not, presented to the arbitrator. See, e.g., United States Dep't of the Air Force, Air Force Materiel Command, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., 59 FLRA 542, 544 (2003). There is no indication in the record that the Union argued below that the Arbitrator should apply the parties' 1992 agreement rather than the 2005 agreement. In fact, the Union concedes that 'the parties agreed to an expedited proceeding' before the Arbitrator. Exceptions at 5. As such, the Union's argument is not properly before the Authority, and we will not consider it.

V. ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS

Under both Authority and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission precedent, 'a settlement agreement constitutes a contract between the employee and the agency, to which ordinary rules of contract construction apply.' SSA, Balt., Md., 57 FLRA 181, 184 (2001) (quoting Stone v. Summers, 2001 WL 27624 (E.E.O.C.)). Therefore, we apply the deferential 'essence' standard to review the Arbitrator's interpretation of the parties' settlement agreement. See, e.g., United States Dep't of the Navy, Naval Weapons Station, Yorktown, Va., 57 FLRA 917, 920 (2002). Under this standard, the Authority will find that an arbitration award is deficient as failing to draw its essence from the settlement agreement when the appealing party establishes that the award: (1) cannot in any rational way be derived from the agreement; (2) is so unfounded in reason and fact and so unconnected with the wording and purposes of the collective bargaining agreement as to manifest an infidelity to the obligation of the arbitrator; (3) does not represent a plausible interpretation of the agreement; or (4) evidences a manifest disregard of the agreement. See United States Dep't of Labor (OSHA), 34 FLRA 573, 575 (1990). The Authority and the courts defer to arbitrators in this context 'because it is the arbitrator's construction of the agreement for which the parties have bargained.' Id. at 576.

The Union's argument that the Arbitrator incorrectly relied on Sect. 3 of the parties' settlement agreement to deny the grievance does not establish that the award fails to draw its essence from the parties' agreement. Section 3 precludes the grievant from initiating grievances against the Agency 'relating to the facts and circumstances which gave rise to this informal complaint.' Joint Exh. 4. While the Arbitrator referred to this provision in a footnote, he did not rely on it in denying the grievance. See Award at 9 n.9. That is, the Arbitrator did not find that the grievance concerned the same facts and circumstances involved in the informal EEO complaint, as such a finding would have resulted in a procedural dismissal of the grievance. Rather, the Arbitrator considered, and ultimately denied, the grievance on the merits. Consequently, the Union has not shown that the award fails to draw its essence from Sect. 3 of the parties' settlement agreement.

The Union also disputes the Arbitrator's application of Sect. 4(b) of the parties' settlement agreement, [ v61 p509 ] claiming that the provision is not 'relevant' to the grievance. We reject this claim on the ground that, under longstanding Authority precedent, a party's disagreement with an arbitrator's determination regarding the relevance of the evidence is not a ground for finding an award deficient. See United States Dep't of Housing and Urban Dev., Denver, Colo., 53 FLRA 1301, 1318 n.8 (1998). Moreover, the Union has not shown that the Arbitrator's interpretation and application of Sect. 4(b) otherwise fails to draw its essence from the parties' agreement. In this regard, the Arbitrator's interpretation of Sect. 4(b) as imposing obligations on both the Agency and the grievant comports with the plain wording of that provision, which provides that management will 'work with' the grievant in developing an IDP. The Arbitrator found, as a matter of fact to which we defer, that the grievant did not provide necessary documentation to the Agency in order to develop the IDP. As such, the Union has not demonstrated that the Arbitrator erred in his interpretation or application of Sect. 4(b).

Based on the foregoing, we deny the Union's exceptions.

VI. DECISION

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ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION ISSUES PUBLIC NOTICE OF PROPOSAL TO ISSUE AN AIR QUALITY CONTROL MINOR PERMIT, PROVIDENCE HEALTH SYSTEM WASHINGTON, PROVIDENCE ALASKA MEDICAL CENTER - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

JUNEAU, Alaska, July 7 --The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation issued the following public notice:

Body of Notice:

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) proposes to issue Air Quality Control (AQC) Minor Permit AQ0486MSS02 to Providence Health System-Washington for Providence Alaska Medical Center. ADEC is authorizing the installation and operation of an emergency power supply system. This permit is classified under 18 AAC 50.502(c)(3)(A)(iii) and 18 AAC 50.508(5).

Applicant:

Providence Health System-Washington

Providence Alaska Health Center

P. O. Box 196604

Anchorage, AK 99519

Location:

Anchorage, Alaska

This action complies with all applicable requirements of 18 AAC 50. ADEC is issuing this preliminary permit decision under AS 46.14 and 18 AAC 50.

Copies of ADEC's preliminary decision documents are available for public review at: ADEC, Air Permits Program, 410 Willoughby Avenue, 2nd Floor, Juneau, AK 99801-1795;

ADEC Air Permits Program, 619 E. Ship Creek Avenue, Suite 249, Anchorage, AK 99501-1677; or the ADEC website:

http://www.dec.state.ak.us/air/ap/calendar.htm. For inquiries and copies of documents, you may contact Kwame Agyei at the Juneau address listed above, or call (907) 465-5124.

Please direct written comments about the proposed permit to Kwame Agyei by 5:00 pm August 9, 2010, at the Juneau address listed above; by facsimile at (907) 465-5129 or send e-mail to kwame.agyei@alaska.gov.

ADEC complies with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

If you are a person with a disability who may need a special accommodation in order to participate in this public process, please contact Deborah Pock at (907) 269 0291 or TDD Relay Service 1-800-770-8973/TTY or dial 711 within 30 days of publication of this notice to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.

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Nation's top retail execs bring wish list to D.C.; pass NAFTA, cut health costs. (Washington, D.C., North American Free Trade Agreement) - Daily News Record

WASHINGTON (FNS) -- CEOs of several of the nation's leading retailers conveyed their concerns about the costs of health-care reform, liberalization of worldwide trade laws under GATT and passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in meetings Wednesday with congressional Democratic leaders and top Administration officials.

The meeting of the National Retail Federation's executive board was organized by its president, Tracy Mullin.

'We made our points,' said Jack Shea, vice-chairman, president and CEO, Spiegel, Inc., in an interview after spending almost 30 minutes with Sena te Majority Leader George Mitchell (D., Maine). 'Our points are focused and targeted. We offered our help on getting NAFTA passed, and discussed our concerns about what health-care reform could cost us.'

Joseph E. Antonini, chairman, president and CEO of Kmart Corp., said his chief concern was pending health-care reform and possible mandates on employers to cover all workers. Stressing that cost containment was vital in any health-care package, Antonini said that almost half of retailing's 20 million national work force is part-time, and estimated that 80 percent of all retail workers have health-care coverage provided by another family member.

'That is something I think Senator Mitchell was surprised to hear. That's why it's important we make these visits. They listen to CEOs,' Antonini said. He added that he told House Speaker Thomas Foley (D., Wash.) in an early afternoon meeting that Congress 'needs to be careful with health-care reform and international trade. It's important for retailing not to be hurt.'

Allen Questrom, chairman and CEO, Federated Department Stores, Inc., said his primary message was the importance of getting NAFTA passed because it represents potential job growth for U.S. business. He added that the group told Chief Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Rufus Yerxa in a morning meeting that NAFFA would be of little benefit to retailers unless the Multifiber Arrangement currently under negotiation in the Uruguay Round was held at a 10-year phaseout.

The textile industry is forcefully pressing the Administration to reopen the textile segment of the current GATT draft and is seeking a 15-year phaseout.

Complaining that lawmakers seem to listen more to smaller groups when drafting legislation, Questrom said, 'The textile industry is not one that is hard-pressed. Retailers are more hard-pressed.'

Barbara Rackes, CEO of Rackes, with three stores in North and South Carolina, said she was concerned that Yerxa would not make a commitment on the MFA phaseout.

'It's a concern on our part that the Administration's position on this is not firm and this could be an issue on the negotiating table at the eleventh hour,' she said.

USTR Mickey Kantor on Capitol Hill to organize the pro-NAFTA effort among House Democrats and Republicans, said in an interview after a press conference that 'the two issues are not linked.' He added that retailers have not told him they wanted to link NAFTA and GATT. On the MFA phaseout, Kantor said he could not discuss matters under negotiation.

Later, Questrom told DNR retailers got assurance that the Administration would stick with a 10-year phaseout of MFA.

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Politics of health and wealth. (Washington's week). - Insight on the News

Florida is at the center of another contentious battle, but this time it is pulp and not chad that is at issue. On April 24, consumer advocates from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the Center for Florida's Children, the Children's Foundation and Florida's Department of Citrus announced an alliance to battle what they characterize as 'deceptive marketing practices' employed by the advertising agency for Procter & Gamble to promote the Sunny Delight juice drink as a 'real fruit beverage.'

Bob Crawford, executive director of the Department of Citrus, brought his complaints to Washington and demanded Sunny Delight market itself differently or increase its juice content above 5 percent. Otherwise, a complaint or lawsuit would be filed with the Federal Trade Commission.

The fight about faux fruit juice was not the only marketing melee in Washington this spring. With seven months before congressional midterm elections, and complaining about too little media coverage, Democrats convened a press conference to unveil their new agenda, Securing America's Future for all of our Families. With prescription drug costs, protecting Social Security, saving the environment and pension reform atop their list, the message was not exactly new. In fact, neither was the marketing. Republicans giggled as they noted the striking similarity between this Democrat slogan and the one used by the House Republican Conference since 1999 (see news alert!, p. 6).

Meanwhile, with President George W. Bush and Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle both traveling to the South Dakota senator's home state to help their respective party's Senate candidates and posture about 'benefit' of the farm bill, politicians inside the Washington Beltway began behaving as if they remember this is an election year. Well aware that it is issues and not marketing slogans that deliver votes at the polls, the GOP focused on what was being obstructed by Daschle, while Democrats moaned about what Bush hath wrought.

Yet again, it was back to the politics of health and wealth. As April faded the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP) released a report assembled by PriceWaterhouseCoopers identifying the causes of skyrocketing health-care costs during the last decade. The report paid especially close scrutiny to health-care spending between 2001 and 2002, finding the average increase in insurance premiums to be a bruising 13 percent. Inflation, prescription drugs and amortization of medical advances together accounted for 40 percent of the increase in health-care costs, while litigation (plus risk management), government mandates and waste/fraud were responsible for 27 percent of the increase. The study focused on private insurance plans, excluding Medicare and Medicaid.

'The pendulum has swung too far, and this report provides a road map for where to begin reforming the system,' says Karen Ignani, president of the AAHP. Ignani and Lee Launer of PriceWaterhouseCoopers both acknowledged the complexities of trying accurately to assign a price estimate to health-care costs, but assert the study highlights the 'disconnect' between the findings and what the legislators have been doing. Ignani pointed to the 89 new mandates in the House and Senate prescription-drug bills as increasing the already high level of concern among employers and insurance providers that they will be forced to increase premiums or drop employee coverage.

The fear of employers and employees was reflected by the number of health-related bills being introduced at a rapid pace. As Senate Democrats and liberal Republicans reacted to voter fears by reviving the drug reimportation movement, a new coalition examined the potential cost of cosseting those fears.

Speaking at an American Enterprise Institute conference examining America's system of medical justice, Phillip K. Howard, head of the bipartisan nonprofit policy coalition called Common Good, said the goal of his group is to address how the legal system affects the well-being of ordinary Americans and the decisions they and their physicians make. He said 'the crazy number of lawsuits' are relatively small in the grand scheme of things, but they are a telling tip of a huge iceberg. A big chunk of that iceberg is the fear of litigation. 'For every legal dispute there are probably millions of decisions made or not made because of the anxiety about possible lawsuits,' Howard told the audience.

According to Howard, as much as $50 billion could be saved by eliminating so-called 'defensive medicine'--prescribing unnecessary medicines and making unnecessary referrals out of fear of malpractice lawsuits--enough to pay for 25 million Americans to get health insurance. In making his case, Howard referred to a recent Harris poll of doctors which found the level of physician distrust is epidemic. As many as 96 percent of doctors believe most malpractice claims are not brought because of medical error, and 83 percent said they do not trust the courts to reach a generally reasonable result. In addition, 73 percent of these physicians report seeing colleagues protecting themselves by prescribing drugs not needed; 44 percent admit to doing it themselves.

That doctors would regard malpractice lawsuits as harassment isn't surprising, but a majority of Americans also display skepticism. A new nationwide poll released by the Health Care Liability Alliance and prepared by Wirthlin Worldwide found 78 percent of those polled expressed concern about the impact medical-liability costs have on access to care and 48 percent believe the number of malpractice lawsuits against providers is 'higher than justified,' compared with just 17 percent who felt the number was too low. This poll of 1,006 adults was conducted in April and had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.

Of those surveyed, 71 percent agreed that litigation is one of the primary causes of increasing health-care costs and seven of 10 were in favor of legislation to limit pain-and-suffering damage awards while guaranteeing full payment for medical costs and lost wages. More than three-quarters of Americans (76 percent) favor a law limiting the percentage trial lawyers can collect from settlements.

Noting the decision by Philadelphia's Methodist Hospital to stop delivering babies as a result of a doubling of insurance premiums, Reps. Jim Greenwood (R-Pa.) and Chris Cox (R-Calif.) introduced legislation to return some semblance of sanity to the health-care system. Based loosely on MICRA reforms passed in California in 1975, the Health Efficient Accessible, Low-Cost, Timely Health Care Act would cap punitive damages at $250,000 and place a time limit on the number of years an individual has to file a lawsuit. There would be no cap on medical benefits or loss of wages. Even if the bill gains enough support to pass in the House, any movement in the Senate is unlikely given the power of the trial-attorney lobby and the large contributions it makes to the Democratic Party. Most likely to lead opposition to such reform is former trial lawyer and prospective presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), whose New American Optimists political action committee received 89 percent of its donations from trial attorneys, according to Roll Call, a Capitol Hill weekly.

Democrats in the House may believe congressional Republicans and the Bush administration are vulnerable on health care and Social Security, but the GOP will be no pushover since it is focused on regaining control of the Senate to break the legislative logjam and free its initiatives and Bush-nominated judges trapped in the gnarled fist of Daschle.

Echoing a Nov. 30 editorial which contended Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) had 'offered no reasonable justification for stalling on these nominations' even the Washington Post, usually a liberal-friendly forum, again on its editorial page has called for Democratic action on Bush's judicial nominations with the one-year anniversary of several of the nominees looming.

Some action was taken on April 25 when the Senate voted to confirm Percy Anderson and John F. Walter to serve on the U.S. District Court of the Central District of California, but the unanimous votes belied the convoluted road the nominations took. The nominations of Anderson and Walter were the first to come out of a bipartisan state judicial nomination commission established by Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, both California Democrats, in cooperation and agreement with the White House. Similar commissions are in place to advance nominees for Wisconsin and Washington state.

The court situation in the Evergreen State is not running smoothly for the nominee for the Western District of Washington. The nomination of Ron Leighton is being held up by Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray of Washington for apparently partisan reasons.

'The tradition in Washington state for years and years has been to have a bipartisan commission review nominations. The senator didn't have an opposition to Mr. Leighton's nomination per se' says Matt McCarthy, a spokesman for Cantwell. Matters had been made confusing when Rep. Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash.) forwarded advocacy for Leighton's nomination to Bush, bypassing the commission system. Murray and Cantwell then refused to sign off on their home-state nominee. Recently, an agreement was reached with the administration to move all nominees through the commission. So where does Leighton now stand?

'I don't know the actual manifestation [under which his nomination] is being held, but it is not going to be considered until there is a bipartisan commission [approval]' McCarthy said, adding he 'would think that his credentials at first glance appear good, but it is important that this tradition is respected.'

For now Leighton, a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and named as one of the '10 Best Lawyers in Washington' by Washington Law & Politics, remains stymied by Democratic posturing.

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Federal funds begin flowing to states for public health improvements. (Washington report).(Brief Article) - Medical Laboratory Observer

State governments are starting to get an infusion of federal funds to help them improve their defenses against possible future biological attacks. The federal government recently moved to make the first installments of more than $200 million available to the states so they can help bolster public health infrastructure preparedness.

The funds are coming from a $2.9 billion supplemental bioterrorism appropriations measure signed into law by President Bush in January. The remaining 80 percent of the $1 billion in state funds will be awarded once the Department of Health and Human Services receives the state plans called for in the initial funding round.

State plans are due to HHS no later than May 15. In its plan, each state is to outline how it will respond to a bioterrorism attack and other outbreaks of infectious disease. Each will be reviewed and endorsed by the state's governor before being submitted to HHS.

Lawmakers moved quickly to boost funding for the public health infrastructure after the recent anthrax attacks revealed holes in the system.

How the money will be targeted

The initial round of funds will be used to upgrade infectious disease surveillance, expand public health laboratory and communications capacities, and improve connectivity between hospitals, and city, local, and state health departments to enhance reporting ability.

The Lab Network is one of the first areas to be targeted. The network consists of laboratories across the country that conduct tests for purposes of identifying outbreaks of disease, including disease from a bioterrorism attack. The funds in this category will be used to expand the network further and enhance lab capabilities.

Another area to be targeted is the Health Alert Network (HAN), a communications network used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). HAN communicates with state and local health departments regarding possible disease outbreaks and provides warning if a disease outbreak is known to exist somewhere in the country. The aim is to eventually have at least 90 percent of the U.S. population covered by the HAN network.

Some of the funds will also be used to increase the national supply of 'push packs' -- preassembled packages of life-saving medical supplies. These stockpiles include doses of smallpox vaccine and antibiotics that can be rushed to public health agencies within 12 hours in the event of an attack or infectious outbreak. Currently, eight 50-ton packages are available in various locations around the country. The new funds will make it possible to increase the number to 12. In addition, states will develop emergency plans to deal with receiving and distributing the stockpile, as well as vaccines or antibiotics.

Funding amounts for the Washington, D.C. area have already been announced. Maryland, for example, will ultimately receive $19 million; Virginia, $23 million; and the District of Columbia, $12 million. Public health officials in the area will use some of the funds to develop a regional medical surveillance system that will track symptoms reported at emergency rooms and then share the data with state and local health officials.

While public health officials are pleased with the increased funding, they worry that the funds will not be available over a sufficiently long period of time. It's important to avoid 'yo-yo funding, which ultimately results in fluctuations in health,' Dr. Georges Benjamin, M.D. said at a recent media briefing. Dr. Benjamin is secretary of Health and Mental Hygiene for the state of Maryland and president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

Sustained funding is needed if the capacity of the public health infrastructure is to be transformed 'from the capacity to deal with a single event to being able to deal with a broad range of events,' he added.

Public laboratories are now expected to handle more urgent responsibilities, noted Mary J. R. Gilchrist, Ph.D., director of the University of Iowa Hygienic Laboratory and president of the Association of Public Health Laboratories. For example, these laboratories 'need to be able to rapidly identify the whole breath of potential infectious agents with devices that are just becoming available,' she said.

Looking to the future, Dr. Gilchrist said public health laboratories 'need individuals to conduct tests, communicate to our clientele, educate and provide information technology. We need instruments to conduct tests, ensure safety of personnel, and provide rapid communication, and documents to archive our results.'

Increased and sustained federal funding, public officials say, will make these objectives possible. President Bush is already moving in that direction. It was recently announced by his administration that the President will ask Congress to approve $11 billion in funding over the next two years to improve our public health system and protect the country against biological terrorism.

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STATE MANDATES COVERAGE FOR ALTERNATIVE HEALTH CARE.(Washington state) - Business Insurance

OLYMPIA, Wash.-The cost impact of a Washington state law requiring insured health plans to provide access to alternative health care providers will be closely watched across the country, observers say.

Other states mandate access on a piecemeal basis for some alternative medical providers, particularly chiropractors. But Washington will be the first state to require access to a wide range of therapies, including naturopathy, massage therapy and acupuncture, as long as they are administered by licensed practitioners.

Consultants and others hope data from implementation of Washington's law will provide answers to long-held questions about the cost of alternative medicine coverage.

The Washington law also could increase the already-growing momentum nationally

to offer this coverage, leading either to mandates in some states or the voluntary introduction of coverage by health insurers eager to stand out in today's competitive market.

The Washington law was set to take effect in 1996 but was delayed by a federal suit brought by insurers that oppose the legislation. The way was cleared when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the state's favor last year and the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year refused to hear the insurers' appeal.

The hold placed on implementation of the coverage mandate while the federal litigation was resolved is expected to be lifted within the next few weeks, said a Washington Insurance Department spokesman. Meanwhile, regulations promulgating the law are tentatively set to be issued Thursday.

But there may be additional litigation. Two state lawsuits brought by insurers had been stayed pending resolution of the federal case; those cases are now expected to proceed, said a spokesman for one of the insurers, Regence Blue Shield in Seattle.

The Washington law essentially says insurance policies must provide coverage for treatments and services by every category of health care provider, which would include licensed alternative medical care practitioners. Washington provides licenses to a large number of alternative medical providers, including naturopaths, acupuncturists, midwives and massage therapists.

Managed care plans can continue to restrict access to providers in the plans' networks. But the law would require them to include all categories of health care within their network, meaning they would be unable to restrict access to, for example, a naturopath by claiming the network does not include the specialty, according to the Insurance Department spokes-man. Self-insured health plans would not be subject to the state law.

The law may not have a dramatic impact in Washington itself, because many insurers already have introduced at least some coverage for alternative medical therapies in anticipation of the law's implementation.

``I think it's a pretty mixed bag at the moment as to who's offering and who's not offering, and the types of coverage they're offering,'' said Beth Rutherford, a Seattle-based consultant with William M. Mercer Inc.

She noted that while the law applies only to insured plans, a number of self-insured businesses in the state also are offering at least some level of alternative care coverage.

Most of the insurers ``did implement on their insured plan some level of coverage'' when the legislation was originally passed, said Mary Greening, a senior vp with Aon Consulting in Seattle.

Anita Boser, executive director of the Seattle-based Employers Health Purchasing Co-op, which represents about 500 small companies, said her organization's members already offer coverage for alternative care.

Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee Co. already provides coverage for alternative health care, including chiropractic, homeopathic and naturopathic treatments, said a spokeswoman.

Implementation of the law, though, will expand the number of employers offering such coverage and could provide valuable insight into the cost of covering alternative medicine. One school of thought says employees will save employers money because they will go first to less-expensive alternatives to conventional medicine.

The theory is that when alternative care is available, costs will decrease because patients using it get better more quickly and therefore do not use conventional services.

``We haven't found it to be expensive,'' said Ms. Boser. She said her plan has controlled costs by requiring a physician referral to go to an alternative practitioner and by limiting coverage for spinal manipulation by chiropractors to 10 times per year.

But others believe employees will use these therapies as a last resort, which means the cost of covering these treatments would come in addition to the cost of conventional care, thereby increasing overall claims.

Which view is right may be settled in Washington state, consultants say.

The Washington program is likely to spur more research on alternative medicine costs, said Janice Stanger, a Mercer principal in San Francisco. Health plans in the state will begin to generate data, and ``the data will be very useful in determining when it's clinically appropriate and effective'' to offer alternative therapies, she said.

``I think it will also demystify alternative medicine,'' she said ``Right now, people think it's something that's totally inappropriate, or just something that's very `New Agey,' and that the people who do it are kind of kooky.'' That will change, though, if alternative medicine outcomes can be grounded in evidence and research and used appropriately, Ms. Stanger said.

The Washington program ``is going to create a test, if you will, for employers to see what kind of impact this is going to have on their costs, and what the utilization will look like, how many people are actually going to use the service,'' said Camille Haltom, a consultant with Hewitt Associates L.L.C. in Lincolnshire, Ill.

More employers may introduce coverage for alternative therapies ``if they like what they see in Washington,'' she said.

Many who are concerned about increased costs are likely to wait a year or two to see what happens in Washington before introducing alternative medicine coverage themselves, said Lee Launer, a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York. If it is found that the cost of broadening coverage is not excessive, then ``there will be others who will, in fact, follow that path,'' he said.

Rollout of the law also could increase momentum for health plans to provide coverage for alternative medical therapies.

``I think the country has already looked to Washington state as a leader in alternative medicine, perhaps because it's the location of a couple of schools of naturotherapy and this law has been in the news the past several years,'' said Nancy Hakes, a Phoenix-based health care benefits consultant with The Segal Co.

``We've had lots of inquiries from around the country about this law,'' said the Washington Insurance Department spokesman.

``I think coverage is definitely going to expand just through voluntary decisions made by employers and insurance companies and health plans such as HMOs,'' said Mercer's Ms. Stanger.

According to a Mercer survey of employer-sponsored health plans conducted last year, from 45% to 65% of employers with at least 500 workers now offer chiropractic coverage, depending on the type of health plan they offer. The percentage covering other alternative therapies drops precipitously, though. For instance, only 5% to 10% of large employers offer coverage for biofeedback.

``I think we're going to see those percentages growing over time, because alternative medicine is very popular among plan enrollees, and it also tends to be relatively low-cost, and it's a good way to maintain competitive advantages,'' said Ms. Stanger.

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Health Department Washington

Страницы

воскресенье, 30 сентября 2012 г.

Arsenic Levels Not a Health Threat, Washington State Toxicologist Says. - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

суббота, 29 сентября 2012 г.

EHR adoption challenged by obstacles: daunting issues abound; will financial incentives ultimately spur interest in a universal electronic health record?(WASHINGTON INSIGHTS) - Behavioral Health Management

пятница, 28 сентября 2012 г.

Anxiety running high over budget and health reform. (Washington Notebook) - National Underwriter Life & Health-Financial Services Edition

четверг, 27 сентября 2012 г.

Congress questions FDA authority over qualified health claims.(WASHINGTON) - The Food Institute Report

среда, 26 сентября 2012 г.

GRANT WILL IMPROVE CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN WASHINGTON. - States News Service

вторник, 25 сентября 2012 г.

GRANT TOIMPROVE CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN WASHINGTON - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

понедельник, 24 сентября 2012 г.

Highmark Chief Medical Officer Discusses Benefits of Meaningful Use Standards for Electronic Health Records at Washington, D.C. Forum. - Managed Care Weekly Digest

воскресенье, 23 сентября 2012 г.

JAPAN NUCLEAR EVENTS AFTER QUAKE POSE NO HEALTH RISK IN WASHINGTON - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

суббота, 22 сентября 2012 г.

JAPAN NUCLEAR EVENTS AFTER QUAKE POSE NO HEALTH RISK IN WASHINGTON. - States News Service

Mental health care in Washington turns 150 - The Columbian (Vancouver, WA)

пятница, 21 сентября 2012 г.

Maryland officials slam 'chaotic' health system in Washington, D.C. - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

четверг, 20 сентября 2012 г.

NUCLEAR EVENT IN JAPAN POSES NO HEALTH RISK IN WASHINGTON; STATE MONITORING - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

NUCLEAR EVENT IN JAPAN POSES NO HEALTH RISK IN WASHINGTON; STATE MONITORING. - States News Service

Cardinal Health, University of Washington Create Innovative Partnership to Advance Use of Molecular Imaging in Clinical Trials. - Heart Disease Weekly

среда, 19 сентября 2012 г.

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES HOLDS FOREST HEALTH MEETINGS ACROSS WASHINGTON STATE - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER EXPRESSES CONCERN WITH PROPOSED CRITICAL HABITAT PLAN LOCKING UP STATE AND PRIVATE LAND "DOUBLES DOWN" ON APPROACH THAT HAS FAILED NORTHERN SPOTTED OWLS, FOREST HEALTH AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON JOBS. - States News Service

WOMEN-HEALTH: APRIL 25 WASHINGTON MARCH TO BACK ROE V. WADE - Inter Press Service English News Wire

FLRA DECISION: AMERICAN FEDERATION OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES LOCAL 12 (UNION) AND DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, D.C.(AGENCY) - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION ISSUES PUBLIC NOTICE OF PROPOSAL TO ISSUE AN AIR QUALITY CONTROL MINOR PERMIT, PROVIDENCE HEALTH SYSTEM WASHINGTON, PROVIDENCE ALASKA MEDICAL CENTER - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

Nation's top retail execs bring wish list to D.C.; pass NAFTA, cut health costs. (Washington, D.C., North American Free Trade Agreement) - Daily News Record

Politics of health and wealth. (Washington's week). - Insight on the News

Federal funds begin flowing to states for public health improvements. (Washington report).(Brief Article) - Medical Laboratory Observer

STATE MANDATES COVERAGE FOR ALTERNATIVE HEALTH CARE.(Washington state) - Business Insurance

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воскресенье, 30 сентября 2012 г.

суббота, 29 сентября 2012 г.

пятница, 28 сентября 2012 г.

четверг, 27 сентября 2012 г.

среда, 26 сентября 2012 г.

вторник, 25 сентября 2012 г.

понедельник, 24 сентября 2012 г.

воскресенье, 23 сентября 2012 г.

суббота, 22 сентября 2012 г.

пятница, 21 сентября 2012 г.

четверг, 20 сентября 2012 г.

среда, 19 сентября 2012 г.

воскресенье, 30 сентября 2012 г.

суббота, 29 сентября 2012 г.

пятница, 28 сентября 2012 г.

четверг, 27 сентября 2012 г.

среда, 26 сентября 2012 г.

вторник, 25 сентября 2012 г.

понедельник, 24 сентября 2012 г.

воскресенье, 23 сентября 2012 г.

суббота, 22 сентября 2012 г.

пятница, 21 сентября 2012 г.

четверг, 20 сентября 2012 г.

среда, 19 сентября 2012 г.