Prevention Matters

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius today announced the establishment of the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Health Reform. This office will spearhead the department’s efforts to pass urgently needed health reform this year and coordinate closely with the White House Office of Health Reform. Jeanne Lambrew, Ph.D., will direct the office.

A Senate committee takes up a bill this week that would allow the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tobacco. The House has already approved the legislation, and the Washington Post's Lyndsey Layton reports that both advocates and opponents of the bill "say they believe Congress is finally ready to regulate tobacco. Even so, skeptics are not comforted by the fact that tobacco manufacturer Altria supports the bill and spent $4.29 million on lobbying in the first quarter of 2009.

Representatives of major health trade associations will present a plan to President Obama to reduce the growth of health costs for the next 10 years, which — if effective — could save the nation $2 trillion or more, White House officials estimate. The proposal, which was brokered by Service Employees International Union, will be laid out at a White House meeting between Obama and associations representing health insurers, hospitals, drug companies, doctors and medical device makers.

The New York Times' Robert Pear reported over the weekend that Congress is planning to put language in the health reform bill to give employers "sweeping new authority to reward employees for healthy behavior, including better diet, more exercise, weight loss and smoking cessation."

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-MT, and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-IA, are taking the lead in devising such incentives. Harkin recently re-introduced his legislation to provide tax credits or other subsidies to employers who offer wellness programs that meet federal criteria. In addition, Pear reports, "lawmakers said they would make it easier for employers to use financial rewards or penalties to promote healthy behavior among employees."

A Chicago project for homeless people shows strong results from a program that uses social workers find them housing and secure medical services, Judith Graham writes in Triage.

Chicago researchers reported in JAMA that an 18-month study showed that homeless people who got assistance had 24 percent fewer emergency department visits and 29 percent fewer hospitalizations than homeless people who received “usual care”—discharge to a homeless shelter or the city’s only respite center for the homeless.

"Put another way, the study shows that for every 100 homeless adults offered assistance, expected benefits include 49 fewer hospitalizations, 270 fewer hospital days and 116 fewer emergency department visits," Graham writes.