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Pharmacy Care Alliance provides $2.9 million in savings to Medicare beneficiaries

The Pharmacy Care Alliance has announced that for the first seven weeks of its discount card program, Medicare beneficiaries saved an average of 40 percent on generic drugs and 23 percent on brand drugs when compared to retail pharmacy cash prices. Medicare beneficiaries in all U.S. states have used the Pharmacy Care Alliance card since June 1.

29 Jul 2004

Launch of new Australian Medicare smartcard

The new Australian Medicare smartcard was launched in Launceston, Tasmania this week.

29 Jul 2004

New publication looks at the immediate effects of the Medicare Modernization Act

Before the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), private plan options for beneficiaries had eroded substantially, with severely limited or no choice in most communities.

27 Jul 2004

New plan of action aims to reduce prescription drug costs by more than 50 percent

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has announced a new plan of action and regulatory mechanisms to deliver greater benefits. These benefits aim to reduce prescription costs by more than 50 percent for the average senior without coverage.

26 Jul 2004

One of the world’s most sophisticated systems for keeping electronic health records

The system, called VistA-Office Electronic Health Record, was developed by VA. A version of VistA is used at more than 1,300 VA facilities throughout the United States to maintain records on 5 million veterans who receive their health care from VA.

23 Jul 2004

Lower drug prices could eliminate coverage gap in Medicare Prescription Drug Plan

Medicare could eliminate the coverage gap in its prescription drug benefit if it paid pharmaceutical prices comparable to those paid by citizens of Canada, the United Kingdom and France, according to a report by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Pennsylvania State University

21 Jul 2004

Court ruling favors State over pharmaceutical manufacturers

Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval yesterday announced that Washoe County District Court Judge Steven R. Kosach has issued an important ruling in Nevada's Average Wholesale Price (AWP) litigation against numerous pharmaceutical manufacturers including Abbott Labs, Baxter, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dey, GlaxoSmithKline, and Pharmacia.

21 Jul 2004

Benefits from Medicare approved drug discount cards won't affect Medicaid benefits

Low-income Medicare beneficiaries who qualify for the $600 credit when they enroll in a Medicare-approved drug discount card will not have to worry that this help will be counted against them when they apply for Medicaid or other federal government benefit programs like housing and food stamps.

21 Jul 2004

HHS recognizes obesity as a major public health problem

The HHS has announced a new Medicare coverage policy that would remove barriers to covering anti-obesity interventions if scientific and medical evidence demonstrate their effectiveness in improving Medicare beneficiaries' health outcomes.

17 Jul 2004

Obesity is not a 'disease' if it can be cured by taking regular walks and eating less

Hysteria over obesity - largely driven by an industry looking for a massive payday - has led the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to open the door for Medicare to treat obesity as if it were a disease.

17 Jul 2004

Patient care violations at Sutter Solano Medical Center pose serious threats to the health and safety of patients

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, a federal agency within the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, has concluded an investigation into patient care violations at Sutter Solano Medical Center that pose an “immediate and serious threat to the health and safety of patients.”

9 Jul 2004

Pfizer focuses on enabling America's 43 million uninsured to obtain medicines at significant savings

Pfizer Inc said today it will launch the pharmaceutical industry's most comprehensive initiative to significantly expand access to prescription medicines across the United States, with a specific focus on enabling America's 43 million uninsured to obtain Pfizer medicines at significant savings.

7 Jul 2004

Of all families with medical bill problems, two-thirds have difficulty paying for basic necessities—rent, mortgage payments, transportation or food

Uninsured families are more likely to have medical bill problems, but two-thirds of families with problems paying medical bills—about 13.5 million families—have health insurance coverage, according to findings from HSC's Community Tracking Study 2003 Household Survey, a nationally representative survey involving information on about 25,400 families and 46,600 people.

2 Jul 2004

TUNA therapy results in significantly reduced erectile dysfunction

Comparing five-year results of Medtronic TUNA® Therapy (transurethral needle ablation) to surgery for 121 men in their mid-60s with lower urinary tract symptoms caused by an enlarged prostate, a team of urologists found that “for appropriately selected patients with bothersome voiding symptoms, TUNA is an attractive treatment option.”

1 Jul 2004

HHS approves Arkansas plan to expand prenatal care to low-income pregnant women and their unborn children

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today approved a request by the state of Arkansas to expand prenatal care to low-income pregnant women and their unborn children under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

1 Jul 2004

Expanded Australian Medicare services for the chronically ill

From tomorrow, Australian people who have chronic diseases and complex health conditions will have access to additional Medicare rebates for up to five allied health and three dental services.

30 Jun 2004

Repeating balloon angioplasty and/or stenting procedures in elderly patients add more than $700 million a year to Medicare expenses

Repeating balloon angioplasty and/or stenting procedures to open narrowed arteries in elderly patients may add more than $700 million a year to Medicare expenses, according to a report in today’s rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

29 Jun 2004

50,000 people in the U.S. with cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis or hepatitis C will be eligible for a Medicare drug lottery

50,000 people or 10% of the 500,000 people in the U.S with cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis or hepatitis C will be eligible for a Medicare drug lottery for coverage of life saving drugs.

26 Jun 2004

750,000 Americans will have a stroke or brain attack this year

Today researchers from the University of Washington School of Medicine reported findings that suggest that not all stroke patients have equal access to the only Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved acute ischemic stroke treatment.

25 Jun 2004

Senior citizens cutting back on medications due to high costs

The findings are based on an in-depth study over a three-year period of nearly 8,000 older adults who were regularly taking prescription medicines at the beginning of the study.

25 Jun 2004

Medicare News and Research

Pharmacy Care Alliance provides $2.9 million in savings to Medicare beneficiaries

Launch of new Australian Medicare smartcard

New publication looks at the immediate effects of the Medicare Modernization Act

New plan of action aims to reduce prescription drug costs by more than 50 percent

One of the world’s most sophisticated systems for keeping electronic health records

Lower drug prices could eliminate coverage gap in Medicare Prescription Drug Plan

Court ruling favors State over pharmaceutical manufacturers

Benefits from Medicare approved drug discount cards won't affect Medicaid benefits

HHS recognizes obesity as a major public health problem

Obesity is not a 'disease' if it can be cured by taking regular walks and eating less

Patient care violations at Sutter Solano Medical Center pose serious threats to the health and safety of patients

Pfizer focuses on enabling America's 43 million uninsured to obtain medicines at significant savings

Of all families with medical bill problems, two-thirds have difficulty paying for basic necessities—rent, mortgage payments, transportation or food

TUNA therapy results in significantly reduced erectile dysfunction

HHS approves Arkansas plan to expand prenatal care to low-income pregnant women and their unborn children

Expanded Australian Medicare services for the chronically ill

Repeating balloon angioplasty and/or stenting procedures in elderly patients add more than $700 million a year to Medicare expenses

50,000 people in the U.S. with cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis or hepatitis C will be eligible for a Medicare drug lottery

750,000 Americans will have a stroke or brain attack this year

Senior citizens cutting back on medications due to high costs

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