Medicare Part D currently provides over 35 million older Americans improved access to their prescription medications. Yesterday, the Senate Special Committee on Aging brought together policy experts to discuss Medicare Part D’s performance in the decade since it became law. Reflecting back on the last 10 years, it becomes clear that Part D works. Medicare Part D provides beneficiaries with quality, cost-effective care and helps to improve the sustainability of the entire health care system.

Ranking Member Susan M. Collins noted that the Part D program is “extremely popular and working very well.” According to recent surveys, an astonishing 94% of Part D enrollees say they are satisfied with their coverage, and 95% feel confident that their coverage meets their needs. However, Senator Collins cited concerns that a lack of education and awareness of Part D may lead older Americans to choose plans that do not best suit their lifestyles. As Senator Collins emphasized, providing more targeted assistance can help ensure that beneficiaries choose plans that best meet their financial and health needs.

Greater choice for beneficiaries choosing their Rx drug plans helps ensure that competition will keep prices low and quality of care high. It is this free market balance that has made Part D an effective program over the last decade. Speaking before the committee, Research Professor at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute, Jack Hoadley, PhD outlined four successes of Medicare Part D:

• The cost of Part D has been lower than expectations
• Part D has reduced costs and increased access for enrollees
• The Part D coverage gap is being fixed
• Despite initial concerns, the program’s launch went smoothly

Medicare Part D has proven time and again that health policy can provide quality care and be fiscally sound. Yet despite these successes, proposals continue to threaten the balance of choice, competition, and free market principles that make this policy viable. As Executive Vice President for Policy and Research at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Richard Smith emphasized, “There is no justification for imposing price controls on a Part D program that has achieved a strong record of cost containment, beneficiary satisfaction, and improved health outcomes.” As the months lead up to Medicare Part D’s 10 year anniversary, we look forward to more discussion about how we protect this model program that work for patients. As Chairman Bill Nelson said at yesterday’s hearing, “We can work together to ensure that no senior ever has to leave the pharmacy without the drugs they need.” 

Today's guest blog is from Amy Sousa, Communication Director for Lilly's emerging markets business area. Amy wrote this blog from Zandspruit, South Africa, where she is currently volunteering as part of our Connecting Hearts Abroad program. A version of this blog was originally featured on Project Hope's In the Field blog. Project Hope is one of our partner organizations in the Lilly NCD Partnership.

Like a lot of volunteers, I did my research ahead of time. On the history, the climate, the healthcare system, the greatest challenges facing the poor.

“I came open,” said one of my fellow volunteers. “Open to help, to do what I need to do, open to the experience.”

Now that I’ve been at the HOPE Centre healthcare clinic located in Zandspruit, an informal settlement in Johannesburg, South Africa, I see that as the better approach. The HOPE Centre provides treatment and education to local residents about health issues, especially diabetes and hypertension.

Unfortunately, openness still won’t protect you from the shock of seeing thousands of shacks leaning against each other for support,  sewage running through the streets, and limited access to basic healthcare, water and electricity. But openness will keep you from being overwhelmed by the magnitude of need. It can actually focus you on the small – but critically important role -- part you play in improving the conditions that day…and hopefully beyond.

At the HOPE Centre, our team of 10 volunteers from Eli Lilly and Company includes medical doctors, pharmacists, diabetes educators, and communication specialists. We are helping conduct diabetes health screenings, improve patient understanding of chronic diseases and medication compliance, and support nutrition education and peer educator training.

It’s a lot to accomplish in two weeks. And it’s still not nearly time enough to meet the needs of patients living in these conditions. But we’re open to what we need to accomplish today. We’re open to the experience. We’re open to making a small difference, however we can, today. And we’re open to the possibility that through the great work of Project HOPE and Lilly, we can collectively make a big difference in the years to come.

Today's blog comes from Julie Herrick Williams, manager of communications for Lilly Diabetes. Julie wrote this blog from Zandspruit, South Africa, where she is currently volunteering as part of our Connecting Hearts Abroad program. A version of this blog was originally featured on Project Hope’s In the Field blog. Project Hope is one of our partner organizations in the Lilly NCD Partnership.

 I came to the Project HOPE Centre in South Africa thinking that I would not have much in common with the people I would meet here. How could I? We live half a world and an equator apart. In less than a week on the ground, everything’s changed.

For example, I noticed the young 20-something guys who have been working with our team are congenial and chatty, willing to tease and be teased. They get along well with each other and charm the adults around them.

Where I have I noticed this before? In my three 20-something sons when all we get together. It makes me see them in a whole new light.

On our first day, I met one of the clinic staff on our walking tour of the community. We shared family stories and really hit it off. I hadn’t seen her for several days, and today when we met up, she put her arm around me and said, “What have you been doing? I’ve missed you.”

Where have I heard that before? From my best friend at home when we’re both too busy to connect. It makes me see her in a whole new light.

I spent time today talking with a 72-year-old resident of Zandspruit about the dress she was making. Next to her she had a bag filled with projects at various stages of completion.

Where have I seen this before? In my grandmother, who always had a sewing project on her lap whenever she was sitting down. It makes me see her in a whole new light.

So when the elderly lady told me she has “sugar in the blood” (diabetes), high blood pressure, “takes the pills” (brown, white), and can’t see too well out of her right eye these days, I better understand why our volunteer work here at the Project HOPE Centre is so important. She is someone’s grandma.

I better understand why it’s important that the young men volunteer at the clinic. They are someone’s sons.

I better understand why the staff members at the clinic work so well together. They are friends.

Getting to know the people and patients at the HOPE Centre clinic has helped me see them in a whole new light. In spite of our many differences, the most important things are the same.

As Director for External Relations at Eli Lilly and Company, Yolanda Johnson-Moton works to enhance Lilly’s partnerships with US external stakeholders. Currently, Yolanda is working on developing medical student and resident partnership programs between Lilly USA and the academic medical community.

Patients are at the center of everything we do at Lilly. To truly deliver great health outcomes for patients, we must have a deep understanding of their medical needs. The many health care providers working at Lilly, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists, came here to fulfill their desire to serve patients on a broad scale.

Throughout Lilly, a diverse team of medical professionals play a vital role in bringing new and innovative medicines to patients. They bring their clinical experience and passion for patient care to drug discovery and development, as highlighted by a new video released today by the company.

The depth and breadth of medical expertise at Lilly extends broadly, to clinical research, bioethics, regulatory, medical information, quality assurance, epidemiology and beyond. Health care providers working at Lilly include more than 500 physicians, 700 pharmacists,and 1,400 scientists.

These health care providers deliver answers to often complex, difficult problems in two ways: through the discovery and development of breakthrough medicines and through the health information they offer to health care professionals, patients, and their caregivers.

Lilly’s medical professionals also engage in ethical and meaningful relationships with external customers. They seek to build long-term relationships with scientific organizations, researchers and advocacy and medical associations, with the goal of sharing scientific knowledge, enhancing clinical practice, and improving patient outcomes.

Although they are Lilly employees, they remain health care providers first and foremost, and as such their primary interest is the welfare of patients.

Martha Rinker, is the Chief Advocacy Officer for the American Association of Diabetes Educators. AADE Advocacy is responsible for influencing the future of diabetes education and the role of the diabetes educator in health care; advocating for policies that improve access to diabetes self-management training (DSMT) and maintaining a national network of diabetes educators to support activities that affect persons with diabetes and public policy related to diabetes education and care.

On Monday May 20, 2013 the American Association of Diabetes Educators and its members will be in Washington, DC for a two-day advocacy training and visit with Members of Congress. Our event will cover a variety of topics on the fiscal and health implications associated with diabetes and legislation designed to address them—but most importantly giving our members the necessary tools to be effective advocates.

Advocacy is an integral part of the AADE role and our members are on the frontlines advocating for optimal care for all people with diabetes both at the federal and state level.

As an association, we pride ourselves in supporting the larger diabetes community and advocating for policies that impact diabetes education and care. This includes promotion of the diabetes self-management training (DSMT) benefit, which is a key solution to improving the health of people with diabetes and lowering the overall fiscal impact of the disease on the U.S. healthcare system.

Teaching patients how to effectively control their diabetes through self-management is considered one of the most important and cost effective tools in the arsenal of diabetes treatment. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has acknowledged this evidence by creating a benefit for DSMT and have added DSMT to the list of approved telehealth services. In taking this very positive step, CMS noted that DSMT has been ‘significantly underutilized’ over the past decade, and the ‘growing evidence base regarding effective DSMT services’ made it important to facilitate beneficiary access to the underutilized service.”

Gina Kelly Rice, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR). SWHR, a national non-profit organization based in Washington D.C., is the thought leader in research on biological differences in disease, and is dedicated to transforming women’s health through science, advocacy and education.

We don’t have to look back very far at all, since prior to 1990, women were routinely not included, if not outright prohibited, in medical research studies, and no one thought about possible differences between men and women, other than reproductive issues.

Part of the reason was to protect women during their reproductive years, but the other reason was that scientists believed women and men to be biologically the same.Clinical trials for drugs and devices included mostly men, and it was assumed that the results could be applied to both men and women.

Why Gender Does Matter?

When it comes to health, there are many crucial differences between men and women. Yet many women do not know that they react differently to some medications, are more vulnerable to some diseases, and may have different symptoms. Just a few examples from Women’s Health A-Z:

• Heart Disease kills over 50,000 more women than men each year.
• Depression – Women are two-to-three times more likely than men to suffer from depression.
• Osteoporosis – Women comprise 80 percent of the population suffering from osteoporosis.
• Smoking – Smoking-related diseases kill more than 140,000 American women annually.
• Autoimmune Disease – Three out of four people suffering from autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus, are women.
• Alcohol – About 1.6 million alcoholics in the US are women, who are the fastest growing segment of the alcohol abusing population.
• Pain – Many chronic pain conditions are more common in women, such as rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, migraine, and osteoarthritis (after age 45).
• Stroke – Each year, approximately 40,000 more women than men suffer from a stroke.

SWHR’s What a Difference an X Makes – The State of Women’s Health Research” Conference, July 18 -19, 2013 is designed to raise awareness about the importance of sex differences in various diseases and conditions that affect both men and women or women disproportionately. This conference will address the state-of-the-science in various scientific fields, while highlighting future research and knowledge gaps in knowledge.

Get engaged in National Women's Health Week, by visiting swhr.org to learn about how sex differences affect your health.

Today's guest blog was written by Kim Cantor, Senior Director, Public Policy and Government Relations of the Lupus Foundation of America, Inc.

What is lupus? This is a question that I get asked often working for the Lupus Foundation of America. Lupus is a mysterious and devastating disease that ravages different parts of the body and has no known cause and no known cure.

The disease is more pervasive and more severe than people think, and has an impact that the public doesn’t realize. A recent survey revealed nearly three-fourths of Americans ages 18 to 34 – those at the highest risk for lupus – have never heard of lupus or know little or nothing about lupus beyond its name.

Building awareness of lupus is essential to improving the diagnosis and treatment of this cruel disease that disproportionately affects minorities and women in the prime of their lives. I have heard many heartfelt stories of people struggling for years to find a diagnosis, managing and overcoming serious and life-threatening health consequences, or lost loved ones to lupus.

Efforts for are underway for Lupus Awareness Month, but it’s not too late to join the fight against lupus and take action to help expand lupus research efforts.

We are empowering individuals, organizations, and companies to educate people in their communities about lupus and the need to expand lupus medical research. During May, the Lupus Foundation of America will provide free tools and resources online at lupus.org/awareness.

Here are a few ways you can join the fight to end lupus during Lupus Awareness Month:

• Sign the petition. We are urging the public to help us solve the cruel mystery by signing a petition that asks Congress to fund more lupus research efforts. The petition is available online at lupus.org/petition
• Put on Purple Day-May 17th. Purple is the color used for lupus awareness. The Foundation asks everyone to wear purple, work with community leaders to illuminate local fountains and buildings in purple that day.
• Share Lupus Information with Friends, Family and Colleagues – Post fliers throughout the office and the community. Share daily facts about lupus or place a banner within newsletters, on websites, and on social media sites.

For more information about Lupus Awareness Month and other ways to join the fight, visit the Lupus Foundation of America’s website.

We’re shaking things up on this week’s LinkPad with a Throwback Thursday! Today, we’re looking at the policies that enable innovation and bring those innovations to the patients who need them most.

• 1983: The Orphan Drug Act passed, encouraging the development of new medicines and treatments for rare diseases. Since then, the number of approved medicines for rare diseases has risen dramatically.
• 1984: The Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, colloquially known as the Hatch-Waxman Act, preserved financial incentives for the research and development of innovative medicines, while making room for the modern U.S. generics market to emerge. Since Hatch-Waxman there has been a 25-30% reduction in the prices of medicine and over $193 billion in cost savings...

Today’s guest blog was written by Helen H. Miller, LCSW, ACSW, Chief Executive Officer of CancerCare. Ms. Miller has an extensive background directing cancer research prevention and wellness programs for major cancer centers.

Founded in 1944, CancerCare is one of the country’s largest cancer support organizations reaching more than 1,000,000 people affected by cancer each year. Our professional support services help people cope with the emotional, practical and financial challenges of cancer.

In my three decades practicing clinical and executive management in social service settings, I’ve witnessed many breakthroughs in treatment leading to better prognoses for people with cancer. Still, oncology social workers report that clients feel their health care team has not adequately addressed their emotional and practical concerns...

Tomorrow, the Government of Peru will host stakeholders from around the world during the 17^thround of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP provides an opportunity to strengthen U.S. trade relationships in one of the most robust, dynamic regions in the world. The White House has cited the TPP’s potential to create a truly 21^st century trade agreement. But what does that really mean? When we talk about a 21^st century trade agreement and gold-standard intellectual property protections, it may sound like science fiction, but it has very real implications for the United States and partner countries...