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Medicare Revamps Competitive Bidding Program
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is preparing to revive competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment that industry members helped sink last summer when it was originally scheduled to take effect, CQ HealthBeat reports. The agency had anticipated a 26 percent savings for wheelchairs, oxygen tanks and other pieces of equipment through the program. But a lobbying group for the suppliers, the American Association for Homecare, successfully urged Congress to shut down the program before it went into effect.
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FDA Issues Advertising Guidelines On Product Risk Information
FDA on Tuesday posted on its Web site advertising guidelines for drugmakers and medical device manufacturers, offering suggestions on how to present risk information to health care professionals and consumers, the Wall Street Journal reports. Agency officials said the industry had asked for guidance on how to comply with its rules, which require a balanced presentation of a product"s risk and effectiveness. Exclusion or minimization of risk information is the most commonly cited violation each year in FDA-issued warnings or enforcement letters. The new guidelines include detailed information on how aspects such as font, types of contrast and white space in print materials can appropriately present risk information. According to the Journal, the 24-page document is not binding. FDA will accept public comments for 90 days prior to issuing final guidelines (Corbett Dooren, Wall Street Journal, 5/27).
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Rotavirus Epidemics Affected By Falling Birth Rates
Fewer births in states such as California may be delaying the annual onset of a common intestinal virus in the southwest, according to epidemiologists. The timing of infectious outbreaks in other locations such as the northeast remains more or less unchanged.
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Lack Of Access To Contraception Persists In Nigeria, Study Finds

Nearly one-third of sexually active women ages 15 to 24 in Nigeria had an unmet need for modern contraception in 2003, according to a study from the Guttmacher Institute, BBC News reports. The study, which analyzed health data from Nigerian authorities and non-governmental organizations, found that 16% of pregnancies among women ages 15 to 24 in 2003 were unintended, compared with 10% in 1990. From 1990 to 2003, there was little change -- from 4% to 8% -- in use of modern contraceptives among young women who were sexually active. In addition, the proportion of sexually active young women who were aware of how to access family planning services decreased from 32% in 1990 to 18% in 2003, the study found. The study also said that although the proportion of girls and young women with some secondary education increased from 34% in 1990 to 50% in 2003, Nigerian authorities have inadequately promoted sexual health information, including contraceptive information, to the country"s youth. The report noted that Nigeria"s population is increasing by 2.2% annually and will double every 32 years if that rate is maintained.Friday Okonofua, the co-author of the report, said, "We are failing Nigerian adolescents when it comes to providing them with the information and services they need to delay marriage and avoid unintended pregnancies." She added that the lack of information leaves girls and young women vulnerable to unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections like HIV (BBC News, 6/16). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women"s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women"s Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company. © 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.


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