Brownsville ISD Slated To Award Insurance Consultant Contract To McGriff, Seibel and Williams

June 25 Board of Trustee Agenda Item: Recommend awarding RFQ #15-022 Insurance Consultant to McGriff, Seibel and Williams for a three year period with an option to renew for two (2) additional one (1) year terms and allow administration to negotiate a fee for service.

Brownsville ISD is the largest employer south of San Antonio with over 7,000 employees. The current health plan is self-funded. The administrator is Blue Cross & Blue Shield. Estimated annual spend is +$50 million.

RFP – http://www.bisd.us/purchasing/folder%202015/sp15-022.pdf

The “Evil” Profit Motive

freemarket

The biggest laugh I received during my recent talk given in Quebec was when I characterized the operation of the U.S. health care system as no different than a Mexican drug syndicate or cartel.  I relayed to the audience the idea that the dysfunction of the U.S. health care system is not due to any failure of the free market, but rather the almost complete absence of a free market.

Continue reading The “Evil” Profit Motive

Role of Drug Reps In Off-Label Prescription Drug Habits

rx

By Joel Lexchin

Off-label prescribing is widespread in Canada and the United States. One in nine prescriptions for Canadian adults are for off-label uses with the highest percentages coming from anticonvulsants (66.6 percent), antipsychotics (43.8 percent), and antidepressants (33.4 percent). Overall, 79 percent of the off-label prescriptions lacked strong scientific evidence for their use.

For 160 drugs commonly prescribed to U.S. adults and children, 21 percent were for off-label indications totaling 150 million prescriptions. In this case, 73 percent had little to no scientific backing and once again psychoactive drugs such as gabapentin had the highest level of off-label use.

Moreover, doctors do not seem to know what are and are not approved FDA use for many of the drugs that they prescribe. Now an article published in the June issue of Health Affairs by Ian Larkin and colleagues points to active promotion by sales representatives as one reason for the widespread off-label use of antipsychotics and antidepressants in children. Read the rest of this entry »