HHS WEEKLY REPORT
September 12 - September 18, 2004
THIS ISSUE AVAILABLE ONLINE WITH EXPANDED INFORMATION AND PHOTOS AT:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/newsletter/weekly
IN THIS ISSUE:
1) HHS Continues to Strengthen Umbrella of Protection from Bioterrorism
2) Prevention: HHS Awards $2 Million to YMCA to Help Strengthen Network of Steps Communities
3) Science in the News: New Research Suggests Link Between Maternal Diet and Childhood Leukemia Risk
4) Medicare Minute: Medicare Beneficiaries Begin Receiving Savings on Drug Coverage for Serious Diseases
5) Secretary Thompson's Public Schedule
HHS Continues to Strengthen Umbrella of Protection from Bioterrorism
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said the third anniversary of the worst attack on American soil marks a time to remember the lives lost and their families, take measure of the tremendous progress made in bolstering our nation's preparedness for another attack, and reaffirm our commitment to further strengthening our nation's public health system.
Since Sept. 11, 2001, the nation's public health infrastructure has been strengthened, hospitals' surge capacities have grown, new science to limit the dangers of bioterrorism have been created, and antidotes to deadly agents and other medical countermeasures have been produced and stockpiled. Yet, Secretary Thompson warns there is more work to do and the nation must remain vigilant and dedicated to further strengthening our public health system and preparedness for a terrorist attack.
"The evil of the terrorist mind is difficult to comprehend but too dangerous to ignore," Secretary Thompson said. "Because of that, we must continue preparing for every contingency, every possibility - including the use of biological and chemical agents in an attack on our citizens."
President Bush is proud of the progress the nation has made since Sept. 11, but continues to push America forward in its ability to protect the homeland and respond to another attack, Secretary Thompson said.
"It truly is remarkable how far we've come in three short years," Secretary Thompson said. "From Washington to Main Street, we're better able to protect our citizens from bioterrorism. We've developed and stockpiled new medicines, and we're researching cutting-edge ways to further secure our citizens.
"We were able to strengthen our capabilities so quickly because of unprecedented cooperation between federal, state and local governments as well as the medical and public health communities. We must use these new partnerships to continue driving forward so that our public health infrastructure is as strong as possible. We must get stronger every day and never waver in our commitment to this task."
For more information and details on progress, please go to: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2004pres/20040910.html
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PREVENTION
HHS Awards $2 Million to YMCA to Help Strengthen Network of Steps Communities
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson on Thursday announced $2 million in grants to the national office of the YMCA (Y-USA) to help build strong partnerships with local communities and promote better health and prevent disease among all Americans. The grants are part of President George W. Bush's Steps to a HealthierUS initiative, which aims to help Americans live longer, healthier lives by reducing the burden of diabetes, overweight, obesity and asthma and by addressing three related risk factors - physical inactivity, poor nutrition and tobacco use.
With more than 2,500 YMCA's in the country, this funding will help strengthen the network of local YMCA chapters by developing and implementing strategies to work together with previously funded "Steps" communities. The partnership will use the best scientific and educational information available to help in their efforts to reduce the burden of diabetes, obesity and asthma. Currently there are 23 Steps communities, including one tribal consortium, 15 small cities or rural communities and seven large cities.
"Partnering with the network of YMCA's throughout the country will allow us to broaden our efforts to improve the health of all Americans," Secretary Thompson said. "With YMCA's ability to reach up to 10,000 communities and their strong foundation and vigor, we can reach more people and address the needs to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and end tobacco use."
The $2 million in grants, distributed over four years, will be awarded in two stages. The first stage will bring together Steps-funded communities, local YMCA's, HHS experts and other national organizations to create local events built around existing YMCA programs like "Healthy Kid's Day", "World's Largest Walk/Run", current YMCA school and after-school health promotion activities, and current YMCA educational classes that advance health and wellness programming.
The second stage will allow local YMCA's in Steps communities to apply for mini-grants from Y-USA based on their proposals. Steps to a HealthierUS focuses on diabetes, asthma, overweight and obesity because of their increasing prevalence in the United States and the ability for individuals to control and even prevent these diseases through exercise, diet and other healthy lifestyle strategies. The number of people with diabetes in the United States has nearly doubled in the past decade to 18.3 million. An estimated 10 million adults and 5 million children suffer from asthma, and the number of cases of obesity in the United States has increased more than 50 percent over the past two decades.
Some examples of programs that YMCA's could foster in conjunction with schools, communities, health care centers, or workplaces could establish include: organized community activities such as walking programs, health education classes, and media campaigns; along with environmental interventions like smoking cessation programs and increasing healthy food choices in schools. Partners include state and local departments of education and health, various other government agencies, school districts, health care providers, national and local health organizations, faith-based agencies, private sector and academic institutions.
Secretary Thompson announced the creation of the new community grant programs in April 2003 during the first Steps to a HealthierUS summit in Baltimore, Md. More information about this initiative and its grants is available at www.healthierus.gov.
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Science in the News
New Research Suggests Link Between Maternal Diet and Childhood Leukemia Risk
A new study suggests that eating more vegetables, fruit and protein before pregnancy may lower the risk of having a child who develops leukemia, the most common childhood cancer in the United States.
"This is the first time researchers have conducted a systematic survey of a woman's diet and linked it to the risk of childhood leukemia," Dr. Kenneth Olden, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the federal agency that funded the study said.
Researchers compared 138 women who each had a child diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with a control group of 138 women whose children did not have cancer. The children of all the women in the study were matched by sex, age, race, and county of residence at birth. After comparing the women's diets in the 12 months prior to pregnancy, researchers found that the higher the intake of vegetables, fruit and foods in the protein group, the lower the risk of having a child with leukemia.
One of the more surprising results of the study is the emergence of protein sources, such as beef and beans, as a beneficial food group in lowering childhood leukemia risk. "The health benefits of fruits and vegetables have been known for a long time," principal investigator Gladys Block, professor of epidemiology and public health nutrition at U.C. Berkeley said. "What we found in this study is that the protein foods group is also very important."
The researchers looked further and found that glutathione was the nutrient in the protein group with a strong link to lower cancer risk. Glutathione is an antioxidant found in both meat and legumes, and it plays a role in the synthesis and repair of DNA, as well as the detoxification of certain harmful compounds.
"These findings show how vital it is that women hoping to get pregnant, as well as expectant moms, understand that critical nutrients in vegetables, fruit and foods containing protein, such as meat, fish, beans and nuts, may protect the health of their unborn children," Christopher Jensen, a nutritional epidemiologist at U.C. Berkeley and lead author of the paper said.
The few studies that have been conducted on maternal diet and childhood cancer risk looked only at specific foods or supplements, and results have been mixed. This study is the first attempt to capture a woman's overall dietary pattern - using a 76-food-item questionnaire - and its relationship to the development of leukemia in a child. Researchers also studied the use of vitamin supplements, but did not find a statistically significant link to childhood leukemia risk.
A growing number of scientists believe that genetic changes linked to cancer later in life begin in the womb. "It goes back to the old saying to expectant mothers, 'You're eating for two,'" co-author Patricia Buffler, U.C. Berkeley professor of epidemiology and head of the federally funded Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study said. "We're starting to see the importance of the prenatal environment, since the events that may lead to leukemia are possibly initiated in utero. Leukemia is a very complex disease with multiple risk factors. What these findings show is that the nutritional environment in utero could be one of those factors."
The study was conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the study results are published in the August 2004 issue of Cancer Causes and Control. NIEHS is a component of the National Institutes of Health.
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Medicare Minute
Medicare Beneficiaries Begin Receiving Savings on Drug Coverage for Serious Diseases
Medicare beneficiaries with serious diseases who enrolled early in a new large-scale demonstration program are saving up to 90 percent on the cost of oral and self-injectable drugs that replace drugs previously only delivered in physician offices, Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Friday.
"Medicare beneficiaries with serious illnesses are saving up to 90 percent on the cost of life-saving and life-enhancing drugs that can be taken in their homes. " McClellan said. "If you're living with one of these serious illnesses and have to pay on your own for these critical modern medicines, we encourage you to enroll. Help is simply a phone call, or Internet click, away."
McClellan said nearly 4,000 Medicare beneficiaries who applied for early enrollment in the Medicare Replacement Drug Demonstration are currently receiving coverage. Beneficiaries with cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other serious diseases who applied by August 16 began receiving benefits on Sept. 1. The next enrollment period ends September 30, and those who apply by then and are enrolled will begin receiving benefits by October 18.
The demonstration program is intended to provide beneficiaries without drug coverage savings for certain drugs that are covered by Medicare Part B but until now were only available through the doctor's office. With this demonstration program, the drugs are available orally or through self-injection, which saves money and for many is more convenient.
In addition to savings under this program, participants may also be eligible for manufacturer programs and state prescription assistance programs that may also provide assistance with drug costs for some patients. Also, just like the Medicare drug benefit, the demonstration benefit allows beneficiaries with limited means (incomes below 135 percent of poverty) to reduce their costs for the drugs included in the demonstration to $5 per prescription or less. Beneficiaries with incomes below 15 percent of the federal poverty level and limited assets also qualify for additional assistance.
In addition, the program will help Medicare learn about the impact of drug coverage coming in 2006 for all beneficiaries on the use and cost of physician-administered drugs currently covered in Medicare Part B.
Under the demonstration, as established under the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA), Medicare will pay for certain drugs and biologicals that can be taken by the patient at home. Because these drugs will be included in the new Medicare drug benefit in 2006, the demonstration study provides an opportunity for Medicare to learn about the impact of the new drug coverage on the use of oral drugs that can "replace" currently covered Part B drugs.
Three-fourths of Medicare beneficiaries have drug coverage now and some beneficiaries get assistance through manufacturer and other assistance programs. The program is intended for beneficiaries with limited outpatient drug coverage without or without Medicare or access to drug assistance programs, who consequently may have to use Part B drugs even if they would prefer the convenience of drugs they can take at home.
As set by Congress, enrollment in the demonstration will be open to as many as 50,000 people, and total spending on the covered drugs cannot exceed $500 million. If Medicare should receive more than applications than can be enrolled within these limits, participants will be chosen by random selection.
If Medicare does not receive more applications by September 30, 2004 than it can fill within the statutory limits, then all eligible applicants will be accepted. CMS will continue to accept applications after September 30 on a rolling basis until one of the statutory limits is reached.
Information about the demonstration, including the complete list of covered drugs, brochures, and application forms, may be downloaded from the CMS Web site at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/researchers/demos/drugcoveragedemo.asp. Customer service representatives are available at 1-866-563-5386, or by TTY at 1-866-536-5387, to answer questions about the demonstration and assist beneficiaries in obtaining and completing the application forms.
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SECRETARY THOMPSON'S PUBLIC SCHEDULE
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Last updated: September 13, 2004
United States Department of Health and Human Services
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