Medical Legislation News and Research

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Utah preferred prescription drug list savings less than projected

Utah's Medicaid preferred prescription drug list in its first year has reduced spending by nearly $546,000, but the savings fell about $2.75 million short of original estimates by the Utah Department of Health, according to Michael Hales, the director of the state Division of Health Care Financing, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

22 Sep 2008

Supreme Court prepares to hear pre-emption case that could give pharmaceutical companies protection against liability

The case of a Vermont women who won a $6 million award from Wyeth for failure to adequately warn her of the risk of one of its products is the "latest in a brisk parade of similar ones" in which the U.S. Supreme Court will examine the principle of pre-emption, which states that FDA approval of drugs or medical devices pre-empts the ability for individuals to sue manufacturers for liability in state courts, the New York Times reports.

22 Sep 2008

Advisers to Presidential candidates discuss positions on reimportation, generics, biotechnology medications

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) have begun "reviewing their support" for prescription drug reimportation in response to recent cases of contaminated medications and other products from other nations, advisers to the candidates said on Thursday during the annual conference of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association in Washington, D.C., Reuters/Boston Globe reports.

22 Sep 2008

Congress approves legislation that would expand Americans with Disabilities Act

The House on Wednesday gave final approval to Senate legislation (S 3406) expanding the definition of disability for people claiming discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the New York Times reports.

22 Sep 2008

Editorial questions proposals to limit health services to undocumented immigrants

The "lack of a clear national policy to more effectively deal with the 12 million to 14 million [undocumented] immigrants now in the country is glaring," a Raleigh News & Observer editorial states. "But the situation is not improved when individual localities adopt harsh and varied measures to try to address the problem within their borders," the editorial adds.

22 Sep 2008

Sen. Edward Kennedy holds video conference with HELP Committee Democrats to discuss health care reform strategy

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) on Thursday held a videoconference with Democratic committee members to discuss a strategy to pass legislation next year that would overhaul the U.S. health care system, CongressDaily reports.

22 Sep 2008

House, Senate Veterans Committee Chairs push to approve VA budget one year in advance

The chairs of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs committees are pushing for legislation that would allow Congress to approve funding for veterans' health care programs one year in advance, the New York Times reports.

22 Sep 2008

House leaders say they will consider mental health parity as stand-alone bill this week

House leaders on Thursday told mental health lobbyists that mental health parity legislation will be taken up as a stand-alone bill next week under suspension of the rules, a procedure that prohibits amendments and requires a two-thirds majority for the bill to pass, CongressDaily reports (Edney, CongressDaily, 9/19).

22 Sep 2008

Advocates for SCHIP expansion look to next year as Democrats, Republicans disagree over ability to pass legislation this session

Advocates of reauthorizing and expanding SCHIP "are warily training their eyes on next year with a mix of anticipation and anxiety" as it seems unlikely that there will be another vote on the legislation during the current congressional session, CongressDaily reports (Edney, CongressDaily, 9/15).

16 Sep 2008

CMS to suspend competitive acquisition program for medications covered under Medicare Part B

A CMS official last week said that the agency on Jan. 1 will suspend the Competitive Acquisition Program, launched in 2006 to supply certain medications to physician offices, because of "contractual issues" related to proprietary data, CQ HealthBeat reports.

16 Sep 2008

Scientists identify ependymoma genes

Scientists at The University of Nottingham have isolated three important genes involved in the development of a type of childhood brain cancer. The breakthrough is revealed in a study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

15 Sep 2008

Cambodia's condom campaign faces legal, financial issues, health official says

Cambodia's so-called 100% Condom Use campaign is being threatened by legal and financial issues, and the country could experience a resurgence of the disease, a health official said on Wednesday, AFP/Google.com reports.

15 Sep 2008

Ohio bill would ban public funding for health care services to undocumented immigrants

A bill pending in the Ohio Legislature would ban the use of tax revenue for routine medical care of undocumented immigrants, the Columbus Dispatch reports.

15 Sep 2008

House passes veterans' health bill, cost-of-living increase

The House on Wednesday voted 417-0 to approve a bill (HR 1527) that would establish a three-year pilot program to allow "highly rural" veterans enrolled in four of the Department of Veterans Affairs' 21 health care networks to receive health services through outside providers, CQ Today reports.

15 Sep 2008

Senate approves bill to expand protections under Americans with disabilities act

The Senate on Thursday by voice vote approved a bill (S 3406) that would expand protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act, CongressDaily reports.

15 Sep 2008

A good death: Challenging law and medical ethics

Dr Rodney Syme, author of A Good Death: An argument for voluntary euthanasia, is the keynote speaker at the Sydney Law School's Health Governance, Law and Ethics Oration on Thursday 18 September.

15 Sep 2008

Senate Finance Committee members push for compromise on mental health parity legislation

The Senate Finance Committee has begun discussing potential funding offsets for a compromise on mental health parity legislation passed by the House and Senate earlier in the 110th Congress, CongressDaily reports.

11 Sep 2008

Rep. Stark prepared to introduce legislation this week to spur nationwide adoption of electronic health records

House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-Calif.) this week plans to introduce a bill intended to encourage nationwide adoption of electronic health record technology that will include a provision to impose penalties on health care providers who fail to do so, CQ Today reports.

11 Sep 2008

New ependymoma genes identified

Scientists have isolated three important genes involved in the development of a type of childhood brain cancer- reveals a study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

10 Sep 2008

Massachusetts' proposed rule could lead to Federal lawsuit, Partners HealthCare warns

Massachusetts' largest private employer Partners HealthCare on Friday warned that the state could face a federal lawsuit if it implements a proposed rule to increase some companies' contributions to their workers' health coverage, the Boston Globe reports.

10 Sep 2008

Medical Legislation News and Research

Utah preferred prescription drug list savings less than projected

Supreme Court prepares to hear pre-emption case that could give pharmaceutical companies protection against liability

Advisers to Presidential candidates discuss positions on reimportation, generics, biotechnology medications

Congress approves legislation that would expand Americans with Disabilities Act

Editorial questions proposals to limit health services to undocumented immigrants

Sen. Edward Kennedy holds video conference with HELP Committee Democrats to discuss health care reform strategy

House, Senate Veterans Committee Chairs push to approve VA budget one year in advance

House leaders say they will consider mental health parity as stand-alone bill this week

Advocates for SCHIP expansion look to next year as Democrats, Republicans disagree over ability to pass legislation this session

CMS to suspend competitive acquisition program for medications covered under Medicare Part B

Scientists identify ependymoma genes

Cambodia's condom campaign faces legal, financial issues, health official says

Ohio bill would ban public funding for health care services to undocumented immigrants

House passes veterans' health bill, cost-of-living increase

Senate approves bill to expand protections under Americans with disabilities act

A good death: Challenging law and medical ethics

Senate Finance Committee members push for compromise on mental health parity legislation

Rep. Stark prepared to introduce legislation this week to spur nationwide adoption of electronic health records

New ependymoma genes identified

Massachusetts' proposed rule could lead to Federal lawsuit, Partners HealthCare warns

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