Health Highlights: July 15, 2008

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Drug Thwarts Bone Loss in Prostate Cancer Patients: Study

Amgen's experimental bone-loss drug denosumab increased bone density and prevented fractures among clinical trial participants being treated for prostate cancer, theWall Street Journalreported, citing company research.

The injected drug was evaluated among 1,400 men who were being treated with prostate cancer therapy that blocks male hormones including testosterone, increasing their risk for weakened bones and fractures. Those who took denosumab fractured vertebrae at less than half the rate of those who took a placebo, the newspaper said.

The drug works by blocking certain immune system defenses, which could increase users' risk of infection. Serious infections were reported among 6 percent of denosumab users, versus 5 percent of those who took a placebo.

An estimated 186,000 U.S. men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year, the American Cancer Society predicts. And according to the National Cancer Institute, about half of all men with the disease are treated at some point with hormone therapy, the newspaper said.

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Auditors Getting a Portion of Medicare Payments Recovered

Private auditing firms have gotten back more than $690 million in overcharges paid by Medicare, and under a new program that's irking health care "providers," the companies that identify the overpayments are getting a portion of the monies they recover, theWall Street Journalreported.

The program has identified about $1.03 billion in "improper" payments over three years, mostly in New York, California and Florida, the newspaper said. About $992.7 million was in overpayments.

Industry groups representing the providers, mostly hospitals, call the new program an overaggressive "bounty hunter" arrangement. Nonetheless, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMMS) said it is planning to expand the program nationwide, theJournalreported.