THIS ISSUE AVAILABLE ONLINE WITH EXPANDED INFORMATION AND PHOTOS AT:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/newsletter/weekly
IN THIS ISSUE:
1) Medicare offers beneficiaries help with new tools for choosing Medicare-Approved discount card.
2) Ending Homelessness
3) NIAID Vaccine Protects Against SARS Virus Infection in Mice
4) Medicare Minute
5) Secretary Thompson's Public Schedule
Medicare offers beneficiaries help with new tools for choosing Medicare-Approved discount card.
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson recently announced that the Medicare program is offering help to beneficiaries in choosing among the Medicare-approved drug discount card that best meet their needs when they become available in May.
"Beneficiaries will have many options to choose from, and that means they will be able to select a plan that will truly serve them best," Secretary Thompson said. "Medicare will be there helping them navigate their choices and find the one that's right for their own circumstances."
To begin the process of helping beneficiaries, HHS' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today is expanding the Prescription Drug and Other Assistance Programs section of www.medicare.gov. By answering a few questions, users can get customized results information about the Medicare-approved drug discount cards including the names of cards available to them, the enrollment fees and ways to contact the card programs. Starting April 29, users will be able to compare drug prices and find out which pharmacies in their area accept the new Medicare-approved drug discount cards.
Other information available on the Web site includes links to new publications and related Web sites, text on understanding prescription drug coverage, and information on some ways to save on prescription drugs through generic alternatives and use of mail order pharmacies.
CMS is publishing a new four-page pamphlet describing the Medicare-approved drug discount card program and a new "Guide to Choosing a Medicare-Approved Drug Discount Card." The free publications are available at www.medicare.gov. Both can also be ordered by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
While Medicare-approved sponsors have one more month to finalize their products, they are planning to offer 48 general drug discount cards, including 27 available nationally to all eligible Medicare beneficiaries. Thirty-six of the general cards will charge a fee of under $30 to enroll in card, including five that will not charge a fee.
In addition, many Medicare Advantage health plans across the United States will offer Medicare-approved drug discount cards as an integral part of their benefit package for their Medicare enrollees.
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Ending Homelessness
As he ended his term as chair of the Interagency Council on Homelessness, HHS Secretary Thompson reflected on his continued efforts to end chronic homelessness by increasing the awareness and coordination among government programs to assist those who have disabling surroundings as well as no permanent place to live.
"In the past year, we've made significant strides in providing chronically homeless people with the comprehensive services needed to give them a real chance at recovery and stability," Secretary Thompson said last Thursday. "We must build on this success and continue the momentum to better coordinate services and resources for the tens of thousands of Americans who are chronically homeless."
Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony J. Principi will succeed Secretary Thompson as chair of the Council, which coordinates the programs of 20 federal agencies that are involved in addressing homelessness and develops strategies to curb homelessness. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao will serve as vice chair.
During his one-year tenure as chair, Secretary Thompson focused on helping people who are chronically homeless to find permanent housing and become self-reliant. These individuals often face special challenges arising from serious and disabling health conditions, such as psychiatric disorders and substance abuse, that greatly complicates their recovery.
"Secretary Thompson's leadership has made tangible this Administration's commitment to new resources and partnerships to end chronic homelessness," said Philip Mangano, the council's executive director. "Building on the accomplishments of the past year, we are now looking forward to the leadership of Secretary Principi and Secretary Chao." President Bush activated the Interagency Council on Homelessness in 2002.
More information on the council is available at www.ich.gov.
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NIAID Vaccine Protects Against SARS Virus Infection in Mice
Scientists at the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the National Institutes of Health, developed an experimental vaccine that prevents the SARS virus from replicating in laboratory mice according to the April 1 issue of Nature.
The vaccine, which is being prepared for further experiments to evaluate the vaccine's safety and potential to induce similar immune responses in humans, contains a small piece of SARS virus DNA, insufficient to reproduce the SARS virus, yet able to stimulate a protective immune response.
"This vaccine dramatically reduced the level of virus in the lungs of infected mice, more than a million-fold," says Gary J. Nabel, M.D., Ph.D., VRC director. "It represents a critical first step towards developing an effective human SARS vaccine." Dr. Nabel worked with Kanta Subbarao, M.D., in the NIAID Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, who recently established the mouse model of SARS infection.
Testing the vaccine in mice demonstrated its effectiveness and also helped scientists learn more about different mechanisms the immune system uses to tackle the SARS virus. The immune system typically responds to foreign invaders by producing antibodies that bind them, cells that digest them or both. In preparation for human trials, Dr. Nabel says, Vical Inc., San Diego, CA, under contract to NIAID, is manufacturing a highly purified vaccine suitable for human clinical trials, pending Food and Drug Administration approval.
The SARS virus infected 8,098 people and killed 774 worldwide between Nov. 1, 2002, and July 31, 2003, according to the World Health Organization.
For more information on SARS research, see NIAID's updated fact sheet online at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/sars.htm. Or visit http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/mar2004/niaid-31.htm
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Medicare Minute
Medicare recently approved 28 private sponsors to provide seniors and people with disabilities savings on their prescription drugs, beginning June 1. With the new cards, Medicare beneficiaries will receive discounts on prescription drugs, and low-income beneficiaries may receive an additional $600 to pay for their prescription medicines in both 2004 and 2005.
All Medicare beneficiaries, except those who already receive outpatient drugs through Medicaid, will be able to enroll in a discount card program starting in May. The cards' savings will take effect June. 1. The card providers may charge an annual enrollment fee of up to $30. There is no enrollment fee for people who qualify for the $600 credit.
For a list of private sponsors please visit: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2004pres/20040325.html or www.medicare.gov
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Secretary Thompson's Public Schedule:
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Last updated: April 5, 2004
United States Department of Health and Human Services
Contact the HHS Newsletter Team.