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Report proposes near-universal health coverage system allowing individuals, small businesses to purchase insurance through private plans or new Medicare-like option

A national health insurance "connector" program that allows individuals and small businesses to buy public and private health coverage could provide insurance for up to 44 million uninsured U.S. residents, according to an article by the Commonwealth Fund published in the May/June issue of the journal Health Affairs, CQ HealthBeat reports.

13 May 2008

Hawaii Legislature overrides Gov. Lingle's veto of prescription drug importation program

Hawaii lawmakers last week overrode Gov. Linda Lingle's (R) veto of a bill that will enroll the state in I-SaveRx, a program that allows residents to purchase lower-cost prescription drugs from other countries, the AP/Honolulu Advertiser reports.

13 May 2008

Hearing to focus on direct-to-consumer ads for prescription drugs

Officials for Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and Schering-Plough on Thursday will testify at a House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee hearing that Democrats hope will "lay the groundwork for future legislation to tighten controls on drug marketing," the Wall Street Journal reports.

8 May 2008

Some states to ask Congress to regulate marketing of private Medicare plans

State officials soon will ask Congress to grant them more regulatory authority over the marketing of private Medicare drug benefit and Medicare Advantage plans to respond to continuing complaints of aggressive marketing practices, the New York Times reports. In a draft report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, state officials propose creating a set of marketing standards for private Medicare plans that states, if they adopt them, would enforce.

6 May 2008

Forty-one percent of registered nurses find generics are less effective than name brand drugs say American Society of Registered Nurses

In a national online survey conducted by the American Society of Registered Nurses, 41% of the 781 Registered Nurses surveyed on April 28 reported that generic drugs are less effective than their equivalent brand-name counterparts.

5 May 2008

Who pays for health care when workers are uninsured?

Health insurance coverage and unpaid health care for full-time workers and their family members without employer coverage costs the U.S. public $45 billion a year, according to a report from The Commonwealth Fund released today.

2 May 2008

New Jersey official discusses concerns about proposed Medicaid copayments

New Jersey Human Services Commissioner Jenner Velez on Monday said that proposed Medicaid copayments for prescription drugs and some hospital visits raise a "valid concern" that low-income, uninsured residents would forgo medical care, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

30 Apr 2008

HHS Secretary Leavitt urges lawmakers, public to 'start now' to make changes to Medicare

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said Tuesday that it is "simply unreasonable" to think Medicare can maintain its solvency without changes to the program and that if "we start now, the change can be made over time and with genuine fairness," CQ HealthBeat reports.

30 Apr 2008

FDA needs additional $225 million, new authority to inspect foreign facilities to protect U.S. residents from unsafe prescription drug imports, agency officials say

FDA officials on Tuesday said the agency would need at least $225 million in additional funding annually, along with other authoritative powers, to adequately inspect the safety of imported drug products, the Baltimore Sun reports.

30 Apr 2008

McCain promotes health care proposal at Miami Children's Hospital

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Monday at the Miami Children's Hospital promoted his health care proposal, which he said would "put families in charge," USA Today reports (Jackson, USA Today, 4/29).

29 Apr 2008

FDA approves Amitiza for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Amitiza (lubiprostone) for the treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation (IBS-C) in adult women aged 18 and over.

29 Apr 2008

Scientists to test if chocolate cuts diabetes heart disease risk in women

Scientists in Britain are calling for volunteers to test whether chocolate can reduce the risk of heart disease in women with diabetes.

29 Apr 2008

Newark Star-Ledger examines effect of Wal-Mart generic drug discount program on pharmaceutical industry

The Newark Star-Ledger on Tuesday examined how analysts say the "overall impact" of Wal-Mart Stores' generic prescription drug program on the pharmaceutical industry "has been relatively small" (Cohen/Fitzgerald, Newark Star-Ledger, 4/22).

24 Apr 2008

Medicare prescription drug benefit improved access to medications for most seniors, but sickest seniors continued skipping pills because of cost issues, study finds

The percentage of seniors who said they skipped taking medications because of costs declined after the Medicare prescription drug benefit took effect in January 2006, but the sickest beneficiaries still skip prescriptions because they cannot afford to pay for them, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Reuters reports.

23 Apr 2008

Sickest patients still struggle under new Medicare Part D benefit

A recent study finds that the advantages of the new Medicare Part D drug benefit-a program that for the first time offers Medicare recipients prescription drug coverage-are mixed.

22 Apr 2008

Still lack of knowledge regarding Medicare's Part D prescription drug program

There still appears to be some lack of knowledge regarding Medicare's Part D prescription drug program, although there is evidence that cost-related medication nonadherence may have improved overall, according to two studies in the April 23/30 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

22 Apr 2008

Health care debate to produce sharp differences between parties in Presidential election

The Wall Street Journal on Saturday examined how health care will produce "some of the sharpest differences" between Democrats and Republicans in the presidential election as the candidates "respond to increasing economic anxiety about many issues."

21 Apr 2008

New York Times examines increasing prices of specialty drugs distributed exclusively by pharmacy benefit managers

The New York Times on Saturday examined how pharmacy benefit managers in recent years "have built lucrative side businesses ... acting as exclusive or semi-exclusive distributors of expensive specialty drugs."

21 Apr 2008

Pharmaceutical Care Management Association response to New York Times article on biotech medicine costs

The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) issued the following statement today regarding a story to be published in tomorrow's New York Times.

18 Apr 2008

Drug company coalition to push for looser rules on off-label marketing

Representatives of health care marketing firms, patient advocacy groups and pharmaceutical companies this week are in Washington, D.C., to express support for loosening rules regarding drug companies' ability to market medications for off-label uses, the Wall Street Journal reports (Mundy, Wall Street Journal, 4/18).

18 Apr 2008

Prescription Drug News and Research

Report proposes near-universal health coverage system allowing individuals, small businesses to purchase insurance through private plans or new Medicare-like option

Hawaii Legislature overrides Gov. Lingle's veto of prescription drug importation program

Hearing to focus on direct-to-consumer ads for prescription drugs

Some states to ask Congress to regulate marketing of private Medicare plans

Forty-one percent of registered nurses find generics are less effective than name brand drugs say American Society of Registered Nurses

Who pays for health care when workers are uninsured?

New Jersey official discusses concerns about proposed Medicaid copayments

HHS Secretary Leavitt urges lawmakers, public to 'start now' to make changes to Medicare

FDA needs additional $225 million, new authority to inspect foreign facilities to protect U.S. residents from unsafe prescription drug imports, agency officials say

McCain promotes health care proposal at Miami Children's Hospital

FDA approves Amitiza for irritable bowel syndrome with constipation

Scientists to test if chocolate cuts diabetes heart disease risk in women

Newark Star-Ledger examines effect of Wal-Mart generic drug discount program on pharmaceutical industry

Medicare prescription drug benefit improved access to medications for most seniors, but sickest seniors continued skipping pills because of cost issues, study finds

Sickest patients still struggle under new Medicare Part D benefit

Still lack of knowledge regarding Medicare's Part D prescription drug program

Health care debate to produce sharp differences between parties in Presidential election

New York Times examines increasing prices of specialty drugs distributed exclusively by pharmacy benefit managers

Pharmaceutical Care Management Association response to New York Times article on biotech medicine costs

Drug company coalition to push for looser rules on off-label marketing

Achieving and maintaining ISO 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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