Mike Samuelson, Director, access2wellness
Johnson & Johnson Health Care Systems Inc.

As graduates have completed commencement ceremonies and embarked on job searches that they hope will result in a life without parental support, many are finding that they no longer receive the benefits of their family’s employer-sponsored health plan. Adults ages 19 to 29 are among the largest and fastest growing segment of the U.S. population without health insurance, totaling 13.2 million in 2007, according to The Commonwealth Fund, a non-profit research group. ScienceDaily reports nearly 60 percent of employers who offer coverage do not insure dependent children over the age of 18 or 19 if they do not attend college or only attend part-time.

While youth is often considered a time of perfect health, WebMD Health News states that unintentional injuries among young adults, such as smoking and obesity, are on the rise. “Lack of coverage and access to health care services puts the health of young adults at risk, and can subject them, as well as their families, to potentially dire financial consequences, “ said Sara Collins, co-author and assistant vice president at The Commonwealth Fund, in a report on Young Adults at Risk: 13.7 Million Lack Health Insurance Coverage.

According to The Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis : “State-level efforts to cover young adults are very important and will help many young adults as they transition to the labor force. However, most uninsured young adults do not have access to affordable private coverage through their parents’ plans.”

So what can be done to help the growing number of youth who are uninsured?

One possibility is for healthcare providers, family members and friends of young people to share information about assistance resources. There are a number of programs that are available. As someone who has been working with access2wellness and Together Rx Access for nearly four years, I have seen that these valuable, free to use programs can help qualified individuals gain access to the medicines and medical products they may need.

From Pat Molino, Vice President, Public Affairs & Corporate Citizenship, Johnson & Johnson

How can doctors and patients know which therapies or procedures are the best ways to treat different medical conditions? Comparative effectiveness research, which compares therapeutic approaches, has been posited as a key way to get answers to these questions, and it’s become part of the ongoing health care reform debate in the U.S.

In an editorial in this morning’s Washington Post, Johnson & Johnson Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill Weldon shared his perspective on the topic. In his editorial, Bill said that when used properly, comparative effectiveness research – or CER — can help create a more efficient, quality-focused, and patient-centered health care system that maintains incentives for innovation and growth. Though recognizing that there are “many patient groups, physicians and developers of treatments” who are concerned that CER could be used to restrict access to a broad range of treatments, Bill explained that:

“…that doesn’t have to be what happens here. By carefully allotting the stimulus funding, the federal government can lay the groundwork for how a permanent institute devoted to comparing treatments could work.

Achieving this goal involves addressing the concerns of those who worry about the impact of this research on access to treatment. What’s needed is a public-private entity focused on improving the evidence for treating individual patients. The institute should have open, transparent processes and consider the input of patients, consumers, physicians and other providers. It should focus on clinical effectiveness, not cost effectiveness.”

Read the entire editorial here.

Earlier today, Kathy Buto, Vice President for Health Policy here at Johnson & Johnson, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives about the draft Tri-Committee Health Reform Bill . In her formal remarks, Kathy described how reform represents an opportunity to enhance access to healthcare and to improve the affordability of medicines and medical treatments and how the company is convinced that wellness and prevention will improve the healthcare system.

Overall, Kathy emphasized how the company believes that the best healthcare system is one that serves as many people as possible.

Rather than cover all aspects of the draft bill, Kathy focused on topics where Johnson & Johnson could provide some perspective that the committee could find helpful, including wellness and prevention, comparative effectiveness research, Medicare Part D, and options available through the health insurance exchange.

I’ve included a copy of her remarks below for your perusal:

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