"Health & Medical News"

U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey is asking Congress to reverse a decision by the U.S. Sentencing Commission to apply reduced sentences for crack-cocaine offenses retroactively, Reuters reported Feb. 6.

The commission recently voted unanimously to reduce the crack penalties to bring them more into line with those for powdered-cocaine offenses and to apply the reduced penalties to individuals already in prison. The policy takes effect next month.

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Washington — In the closing days of the 2007 session, Congress prevented a Medicare payment cut and kept the State Children’s Health Insurance Program alive, but both moves are only temporary.

By unanimous consent on Dec. 18, 2007, the Senate passed the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007. The House passed the same legislation 411-3 the next day, and a White House official indicated President Bush would sign the measure.

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Washington — Congressional patience with the pace at which physicians are adopting electronic prescribing seems to be wearing thin. House and Senate lawmakers have introduced legislation that would mandate e-prescribing for Medicare beginning in 2011.

At a Dec. 4, 2007, Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, lawmakers also expressed frustration with the lack of movement toward allowing e-prescribing of controlled substances.

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By Bob Curley

An omnibus federal budget for FY2008 has been passed by the U.S. Senate and House and is headed for the president’s desk; the bill includes funding for addiction treatment and prevention programs as part of $555 billion in appropriations.

The consensus among addiction-field advocates seems to indicate that treatment, prevention and research programs fared reasonably well in another difficult budget year, despite some significant cuts in certain programs.

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A U.S. District Court judge dismissed a lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration centering on cultivation of industrial hemp and said that the issue needs to be decided by Congress, not the courts.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported Nov. 29 that Judge Daniel Hovland denied a bid by a pair of North Dakota farmers to force the federal government to allow them to legally grow hemp, a close cousin of marijuana.

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Saying he is “concerned that Major League Baseball does not have in place a sound policy addressing steroid use in the sport,” Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) is calling for new hearings in the wake of home-run king Barry Bonds’ recent indictment on perjury charges, AFP reported Sept. 18.

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Washington — In what is becoming an annual rite, physicians are again fighting to prevent a reduction in Medicare payments. This time, however, the cut is in the double digits and is the largest ever.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services final 2008 Medicare physician fee schedule rule institutes an average 10.1% pay cut effective Jan. 1, 2008, although the percentage will vary by specialty, practice and geography.

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After months of secret negotiations, the Bush administration announced that it will seek $500 million from Congress for a joint anti-drug campaign with the Mexican government, the Washington Post reported Oct. 23.

The money would be used to buy helicopters, communications gear and inspection equipment, and pay for training and canine units in Mexico as that country’s military and police battle powerful drug cartels. The funding request will be included in a $46-billion supplemental budget request for fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The total aid package to Mexico would total $1.4 billion over several years, if approved.

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The House Committee on Education and Labor heard emotional testimony about abuses at so-called boot-camp programs for troubled youth, and members vowed to step up regulation of the programs, USA Today reported Oct. 11.

A Florida jury last week acquitted guards and a nurse of manslaughter charges over the death of a 14-year-old boot-camp resident, but Congress heard many other stories about children who died while enrolled in similar programs. “I can’t think of any testimony that we have heard in this committee that has caused a greater sense of anger and sorrow,” said committee chairman Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.).

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