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Health care spending per privately insured American increased 7.4 percent in 2003

Health care spending per privately insured American increased 7.4 percent in 2003—the first major slowdown in spending growth in nearly a decade.

2 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

U.S. drug prices rise by 3.4 percent during the first quarter of 2004, elderly especially hard hit

A new study released by AARP finds manufacturers' wholesale prices for the 197 brand name prescription drugs most frequently used by older Americans continued an upward climb.

1 Jul 2004

From potent painkillers to humble cough syrups, the same medicines that help patients misused by teens

From potent painkillers to humble cough syrups, the same medicines that can help patients can also be misused to produce a high feeling. And they can hurt teens or hook them into addiction just as easily as other illicit drugs.

1 Jul 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

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

Tommy G. Thompson has announced a new Medicare program that will save seniors and the disabled substantial money

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced a new Medicare demonstration program that will save seniors and persons with disabilities substantial money

24 Jun 2004

Historical analysis of the 38-year struggle to provide a prescription drug benefit to seniors as part of Medicare

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of California, San Francisco, have completed a new historical analysis of the 38-year struggle to provide a prescription drug benefit to seniors as part of Medicare.

23 Jun 2004

Nevada Attorney General warns against drug card scams

Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval has reminded consumers to be alert with regard to scams related to the new Medicare prescription discount drug cards made available to consumers under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act.

22 Jun 2004

Retirees taking COX-2 anti-inflammatory drugs on a long-term basis also take aspirin therapy

Findings reported in a study published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that over half of patients within a predominantly retiree population taking COX-2 anti-inflammatory drugs on a long-term basis were also taking aspirin therapy for its cardio-protective benefit.

14 Jun 2004

Significant progress in the enrollment of beneficiaries in the Medicare drug discount card program

America's health insurance plans today reported significant progress in the enrollment of beneficiaries in the Medicare-endorsed prescription drug discount card program.

10 Jun 2004

Higher generic drug use in 2003 slowed the rising cost per prescription to a 7.9% increase

Generic drug use increased to a record 48% among Express Scripts' 50 million members during 2003, spurred by the use of several prominent new generics, fluoxetine, omeprazole and lisinopril.

9 Jun 2004

Five major prescription drug manufacturers make drugs available to Medicare discount cardholders

The Pharmacy Care Alliance (PCA) today announced that AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Merck and Novartis will make many prescription drugs available to qualifying PCA Medicare discount cardholders free of charges from the manufacturer plus a nominal amount to cover dispensing, processing and other costs.

5 Jun 2004

Democrats air their views on Medicare prescription drugs discount cards

On Tuesday the new Medicare prescription drugs discount cards went into effect. The enrollment process is so confusing, most seniors are not signing up for the cards. Those that have will quickly discover the cards don’t deliver the savings they were promised.

3 Jun 2004

China launches nationwide campaign to urge the public to take medicine in a safe way

China on Thursday launched a nationwide campaign to urge the public to take medicine in a safe way, in a bid to reduce increasing damages from excessive and inappropriate drug taking.

3 Jun 2004

HHS urges people to sign up for Medicare-approved drug discount cards

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today urged people with Medicare to take advantage of real savings on their prescription medicines by signing up for Medicare-approved drug discount cards.

2 Jun 2004

Seniors take up Medicare-approved drug discount card in mass

Walgreen Co. has announced that tens of thousands of seniors across the country have applied for the company's Walgreens Health Initiatives Medicare-approved drug discount card.

2 Jun 2004

New website helps older Texans and disabled get information that may help them obtain their prescription drugs

The Texas Department on Aging has officially launching a "Texas Cares" website -- http://www.txcares.org -- to help older Texans and people with disabilities get information that may help them obtain their prescription drugs.

25 May 2004

Racial differences in treatment of back pain

A UC Riverside study found that African-Americans and Latinos seeking treatment for back pain were prescribed pain relievers less often than were white patients.

24 May 2004

KETEK® (telithromycin) is highly active in vitro against Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) isolates

Results from an ongoing surveillance study, PROTEKT US (Prospective Resistant Organism Tracking and Epidemiology of the Ketolide Telithromycin – United States) Year 2 (2001-2002), suggest that KETEK® (telithromycin) is highly active in vitro against Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) isolates, including those resistant to other antimicrobial agents.