Facing implacable opposition and a Sept. 30 deadline to pass a bill to repeal and replace large chunks of the Affordable Care Act, the Republican leadership in the Senate has decided not to vote on a measure that seemed destined to come up short of passage. [More]
Pharma Medicine
What Are The 10 Biggest Money-Making Prescription Drugs, And What Do They Treat?
By 9.26.17
It’s no secret that big pharma is big business. Americans spend hundreds of billions on prescription medications every year, with that figure projected to keep growing. And now a new report shows that the top-selling brand-name prescription drugs in the U.S. earn more than $60 billion a year for their manufacturers, with the biggest money-maker topping $13 billion per year in sales on its own. [More]
Budget Office: Obamacare Repeal Bill Will Leave Millions Without Quality Health Insurance
By 9.25.17
As expected, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has released a preliminary analysis of the Senate Republicans’ latest bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and while the CBO did not have the time to provide the in-depth projections about how the legislation would affect insurance coverage, it does indicate that millions of additional Americans will be without quality health insurance if the bill passes. [More]
FDA Cracking Down On “Rogue Online Pharmacies” Accused Of Illegally Selling Prescription Drugs
By 9.25.17
While you may be tempted to skip the pharmacy and just order prescription drugs online, it could be very dangerous to use any unapproved medications from illicit online pharmacies. That’s why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — along with its international enforcement superfriends — is taking action against hundreds of sites accused of selling prescription drugs illegally online. [More]
CVS Limiting Opioid Prescriptions Amid National Addiction Epidemic
By 9.21.17
Opioid prescription rates have more than tripled in the last two decades contributing to the nation’s current opioid addiction crisis, according to CVS. Now, the country’s largest pharmacy chain plans to do something about it by limiting opioid prescriptions. [More]
Senate May Vote On Latest Obamacare Repeal Bill Without Knowing How Many People It Will Affect
By 9.19.17
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have only a short window of time to vote on the latest Republican legislation to gut and replace the Affordable Care Act, and if the GOP is going to push forward with a vote on this bill they will likely have to do so without having an idea of how many Americans will be affected, or what impact it might have on insurance rates. [More]
Many Insurance Plans Cover Opioid Painkillers But Restrict Access To Less-Addictive Drugs
By 9.18.17
With an opioid addiction epidemic ravaging the nation, physicians are being asked to consider non-opioid treatments or opioids that are less addictive than the widely abused drugs on the market. But there’s a big problem with that suggestion: Many insurance companies won’t cover, or heavily restrict access to, a number of less-addictive painkillers. [More]
Senate Republicans Making One Last Effort To Take Down Obamacare
By 9.15.17
Yes, again: After spending the spring and summer trying and failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Republicans in the Senate have come up with one last Hail-Mary bill to take down the ACA and revamp American healthcare. [More]
What The Heck Is Single-Payer Healthcare, Anyway?
By 9.13.17
Health coverage has been in the news in a big way this year, thanks to Republican-led efforts in Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) throughout the spring and summer. That plan ultimately failed, but both sides of the political aisle do agree on one thing: There’s a lot of room to go on improving health care access and containing medical costs. A new rallying cry has risen up among Democrats: Time for single-payer! But what does that actually mean — and what could it look like? [More]
EpiPen Maker Allegedly Failed To Investigate 171 Complaints Of Non-Working Devices
By 9.8.17
The manufacturer of Mylan’s emergency allergy treatment devices has been accused of failing to investigate hundreds of complaints over three years that the EpiPen and EpiPen Jr. failed to work properly, a failure that resulted in the deaths of several people. [More]
Convicted Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli Appears To Be Selling His Rare Wu-Tang Clan Album On eBay
By 9.6.17
Former pharmaceuticals executive, convicted fraudster, enemy of spellcheck, and online troll Martin Shkreli appears to be selling the sole copy of a Wu-Tang Clan album he famously purchased for a reported $2 million in 2015. And in true Pharma Bro fashion, the album isn’t being sold through some fancy auction house, but via eBay. [More]
CVS Accused Of Revealing HIV Status Of 4,000 Ohio Customers
By 8.31.17
Days after insurance giant Aenta was accused of revealing the HIV medication use of 12,000 customers, CVS has found itself in a similar boat: The pharmacy giant allegedly sent letters to customers that inadvertently revealed their HIV status. [More]
There’s A Good Chance A Cosmetic Surgeon Advertising On Instagram Is Not Board-Certified
By 8.30.17
Don’t select your plastic surgeon based solely on their Instagram posts. That feels like something we shouldn’t have to tell people, but the “bad idea”-ness of it all is being highlighted by a new report which found that fewer than 20% of cosmetic surgery posts on Instagram are from board-certified plastic surgeons. [More]
FDA Issuing Fewest Warning Letters Since 2008
By 8.29.17
The Trump administration has not been shy about its desire to cut regulations, so perhaps it’s not surprising that the Food and Drug Administration could be pulling back on its efforts to hold companies accountable. The FDA has sent out fewer warning letters to date this year than in any year since 2008. If warning letters and enforcement actions are down, does that mean we’re all less safe? [More]
More Than 1-In-4 Nursing Home Abuse Cases May Go Unreported To Police
By 8.28.17
Just as the Trump administration is attempting to prevent nursing home residents or their families from ever being able to sue longterm care facilities for neglect or fraud, a federal audit claims that an alarming percentage of physical and sexual abuse cases at nursing homes may be going unreported to law enforcement. [More]
Does Caffeine Make You Crave Sugar?
By 8.25.17
Your morning coffee might be the jolt you need to make it to work without drowsily forgetting to put on your pants, but that caffeine may also be temporarily be dulling your taste buds, possibly leaving some folks still jonesing for something sweet. [More]
Doctors Finally Prescribing Fewer Antibiotics, But Continue Prescribing Unnecessary Antibiotics
By 8.24.17
A new report claims that American doctors may finally be heeding the message that public health regulators and advocates have been pushing for decades: Don’t respond to every cough, fever, or sore throat with a prescription for antibiotics. According to the report, antibiotics prescriptions appear to be on the decline, though physicians are still prescribing these drugs in cases where they aren’t helpful, and may actually cause harm. [More]
McDonald’s Gradually Expanding Its Use Of Antibiotic-Free Chickens To Rest Of The World
By 8.23.17
Here in the U.S., McDonald’s says its McNuggets are all already sourced from chickens raised without the use of controversial antibiotics. But the continued overuse of antibiotics in overseas farm animals — particularly in some developing nations where the practice is growing — also puts people worldwide at risk for contracting and spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria. So today, McDonald’s said it is expanding its antibiotic-free program on a global basis — but not right away. [More]
