It’s easier than ever for parents (and parents-to-be) to get their lead levels tested, but federal officials are now warning American families that certain popular lead tests may provide inaccurate results, increasing the risk for lead poisoning in certain young children and adults. [More]
Pharma Medicine
Amazon Also Wants To Sell You (Prescription) Drugs
By 5.17.17
When Amazon executives look around their virtual store, we imagine they must be tapping their chins and thinking, “Hmm, what else do people want?” The company already sells everything from books to riding mowers, and now, it’s reportedly getting very serious about the idea of expanding into the pharmacy business. [More]
After Raising $3M On Kickstarter, ‘Gravity’ Blanket Stops Claiming To Treat Anxiety
By 5.12.17
Would you like to sleep better and feel happier and less anxious? Who wouldn’t? That’s still the sales pitch for Gravity, a weighted blanket available on Kickstarter that has collected $3 million in pledges. However, after the science behind its boasts was challenged, the Gravity blanket no longer claims that it can treat anxiety, depression, and insomnia. [More]
Senate Obamacare Repeal Bill May Result In Millions More Losing Insurance; Loss Of Additional Protections
By 5.11.17 — Updated: 5.14.17
When the House passed its version of the American Health Care Act — the budget resolution intended to gut much the 2010 Affordable Care act or “Obamacare” — many, including some Republicans who decided to give their support to the bill at the last minute, assumed that the Senate would address some of its perceived shortcomings: too many people being priced out of coverage, loss of essential health benefits. However, if some in the Senate get their way, the version it votes on could see millions more people without insurance. [More]
We Won’t Get Estimate On Cost Of Obamacare Repeal Bill Until At Least May 22
By 5.10.17
It’s already been nearly a week since the House of Representatives narrowly approved a controversial budget resolution that guts much of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, and we still don’t have any estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office of what this massive change to the insurance system might cost. Now the CBO says it may be another two weeks until we get that estimate. [More]
New Safety Risks Found In 1-In-3 Drugs After FDA Approval
By 5.10.17
No one wants patients to have to wait longer for access to potentially lifesaving new drugs, and the newly approved head of the Food and Drug Administration has made it clear that he intends to speed up current approval processes when possible. However, a new study says safety risks were found in around one-third of all new FDA-approved medications after they had been okayed for use by the agency. [More]
Obamacare Repeal Bill To Face Questions, Changes From Skeptical Republicans
By 5.4.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
The House of Representatives has narrowly passed a budget resolution intended to repeal a number of core tenets of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, with 20 Republicans voting against the bill. It now heads on to the Senate, where the GOP can’t really afford to have any of its members voting no. However, a number of Republicans have already expressed skepticism of what’s in the legislation. [More]
House Passes Obamacare Repeal Resolution
By 5.4.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
More than a month after Republicans decided to not vote on a budget resolution that would gut the Affordable Care Act, a revised version of that resolution finally came to the House floor for a vote this afternoon amid concerns that there is no estimate yet on what these changes will cost and how they will affect millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions. [More]
Obamacare Repeal Could Also Mean More Out-Of-Pocket Costs For Americans With Employer-Sponsored Plans
By 5.4.17
Many people watching the debate about the repeal of the Affordable Care Act have shrugged off many of the concerns — higher costs for people with pre-existing conditions, loss of essential health benefits — because they get their insurance through an employer-sponsored group health plan. However, a provision in the Republican repeal legislation could allow could result in changes to out-of-pocket costs for Americans in these plans. [More]
House To Vote On Obamacare Repeal That Could Leave Americans With Pre-Existing Conditions Without Coverage
By 5.3.17
UPDATE: Both the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal are now reporting that the House is indeed planning to vote on the repeal measure Thursday. [More]
Appeals Court Upholds Decision To Block $54B Anthem, Cigna Merger
By 4.28.17
The $54 billion marriage between health insurance behemoths Anthem and Cigna is still off after a federal appeals court denied Anthem’s efforts to overturn a previous court order blocking the mega-merger. [More]
Lawsuit: EpiPen Price Hikes Were Intended To Keep Competitor Out Of Pharmacies
By 4.26.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Competition is supposed to keep prices down, so why did the cost of emergency allergy treatment EpiPen continue to soar after the introduction of a competing product? Because, according to a new lawsuit, most of that added money was going to intermediaries who could make sure that EpiPen remained the preferred (and sometimes only) drug of its kind on insurance plans. [More]
FDA Warns 14 Companies For Selling Unproven Cancer ‘Cures’
By 4.26.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Treating cancer can be a painful, drawn-out process, and there’s no guarantee of a cure. Unfortunately, there’s no magic pill that can get rid of cancer, or prevent it from occurring in the first place. That hasn’t stopped a number of companies from making unproven promises about products they claim will remedy everything from AIDS to diabetes.
[More]
FDA Issues New Warning On Giving Kids Codeine Or Tramadol
By 4.25.17
The Food and Drug Administration warned that cough and pain medications containing codeine or tramadol should not be given to children after reports that the drugs caused life-threatening breathing problems. [More]
Sexual Enhancement Supplements With Ridiculous Names Contain Prescription Drugs For Sexual Dysfunction
By 4.25.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
A supplement company that must let their 12-year-old cousin name its products has recalled a slew of sexual enhancement supplements — for men and women — after tests showed that these items contained actual FDA-approved prescription drugs used to treat sexual dysfunction. [More]
More Dog Food Recalled Over Possible Contamination With Euthanasia Drug
By 4.25.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Another pet food brand is recalling some of its dog food over concerns that it may contain pentobarbital, a drug used for euthanasia mostly of dogs, cats, and horses. [More]
EpiPen Maker Mylan Sued State That Gave Preferred Status To Cheaper Alternative
By 4.24.17
As the price for the EpiPen emergency allergy treatment soared by some 600%, Medicaid regulators in one state tried to de-prioritize the drug in favor of a less-expensive alternative. EpiPen’s parent company Mylan could have lowered the price on its signature product, but instead it chose to sue the state. [More]
VA To Refer Some Vets To CVS MinuteClinics For Care
By 4.18.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Veterans Administration, the VA and CVS have partnered for a test program that will have the pharmacy chain’s MinuteClinic urgent care centers treating some veterans for minor injuries and ailments. [More]
