Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
How Insurance Plans Contribute to Opioid Epidemic: Johns Hopkins Study
Jun 22 2018 // Health care insurers including Medicare, Medicaid and major private insurers have not done enough to combat the opioid epidemic, suggests a study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The...
Surgery, Not Pharma, Is Biggest Healthcare Cost Worry: Gawande
Jun 22 2018 // Dr. Atul Gawande, a surgeon who was named this week to head the company being formed by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase to trim employee healthcare costs, on Thursday cited surgery as the single biggest U.S....
Boston to Sue Drug Companies Over Opioids Epidemic
Jun 20 2018 // Boston is retaining a law firm to sue pharmaceutical companies for damages from the deadly opioid epidemic. Democratic Mayor Marty Walsh announced Tuesday he’s tapped Motley Rice and expects the South Carolina law...
Opioid Makers Endure Setback as Judge Lets New York Lawsuit Proceed
Jun 20 2018 // Purdue Pharma LP, Johnson & Johnson and other opioid makers faced one of the first extensive reviews of their legal defenses to claims they violated consumer-protection laws and created a public nuisance with the sale...
Patients in Louisiana Could Get More Details About Medication Costs
Jun 19 2018 // Louisiana patients could soon get more details about what happens at the pharmacy counter and whether they’ve gotten the most affordable medication for an ailment. In the regular legislative session, lawmakers passed...
Trump Labor Chief Readies Rule to Allow Small Business Health Plans
Jun 19 2018 // The Trump administration wants to make it easier for small businesses to join together to offer cheaper health insurance plans that would lack some of the protections required under Obamacare. The U.S. Labor Department on...
Maine Employers Are Not Required to Reimburse Employees for Medical Marijuana Use
Jun 19 2018 // The Maine Supreme Court has ruled that employers in the state are not required to reimburse employees for their use of medical marijuana under the Maine workers’ compensation system because federal law preempts state...
More Employers Adopting ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Policy for Marijuana Use
Jun 18 2018 // FPI Management, a property company in California, wants to hire dozens of people. Factories from New Hampshire to Michigan need workers. Hotels in Las Vegas are desperate to fill jobs. Those employers and many others are...
California State Fund Says It Reduced Opioid Prescriptions by 60%
Jun 18 2018 // California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund is reporting a significant reduction in the number of opioid prescriptions for injured workers through a program launched four years ago. State Fund’s...
Opioid Maker Wants Alaska Lawsuit Dismissed
Jun 18 2018 // An attorney for Purdue Pharma, the company that makes the prescription opioid painkiller OxyContin, has told an Alaska judge that there is an opioid crisis but the state has no legal basis for trying to pin that crisis on...
California State Fund Says It Reduced Opioid Prescriptions by 60%
Jun 11 2018 // California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund is reporting a significant reduction in the number of opioid prescriptions for injured workers through a program launched four years ago. State Fund’s...
Opioid Maker Wants Alaska Lawsuit Dismissed
Jun 7 2018 // An attorney for Purdue Pharma, the company that makes the prescription opioid painkiller OxyContin, has told an Alaska judge that there is an opioid crisis but the state has no legal basis for trying to pin that crisis on...
Co-Pay Tactic by Benefit Managers Credited with Cutting Prescription Drug Prices
Jun 6 2018 // A recently adopted tactic by U.S. health plans to limit the financial assistance drugmakers provide directly to consumers for prescription medicines is taking a toll on drug prices, according to a new analysis released on...
Minnesota Sues Opioid Maker Insys Over Improper Drug Marketing
Jun 1 2018 // Minnesota on May 30 became the latest state to sue Insys Therapeutics Inc., accusing the drugmaker of illegally marketing a powerful fentanyl-based pain medicine, while a former employee pleaded guilty in New Jersey over...
Marijuana, Opioids Found in High Percentage of Drivers Killed in Car Crashes
May 31 2018 // More than half of drivers killed in car accidents who were tested for drugs had marijuana, opioids or a combination of the two in their system, according to a new report. The report from the Governors Highway Safety...
Pennsylvania Governor Wolf Vetoes Workers’ Compensation Drug Formulary Bill
May 21 2018 // Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has vetoed Senate Bill 936, which sought to amend the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act by establishing a formulary, or a list of prescription medications that could be prescribed...
Report: Opioid Prescriptions Down 14% in Wisconsin
May 18 2018 // A new report shows doctors are issuing fewer opioid prescriptions in Wisconsin. The state Department of Safety and Professional Services released a report on May 16 from the Controlled Substances Board. The report examines...
Florida Attorney General Sues 5 Drug Companies Over Opioids
May 17 2018 // Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi launched a “comprehensive” lawsuit Tuesday aimed at punishing several major drug manufacturers and distributors, contending they were responsible for “pain and...
More States File Opioid Lawsuits Against Drug Firms
May 16 2018 // Litigation against OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP is intensifying as six more U.S. states on Tuesday announced lawsuits, accusing the company of fueling a national opioid epidemic by deceptively marketing its...
Drugs in Workforce at Highest in Decade But Opiates Decline: Quest Diagnostics
May 9 2018 // Drug use by the American workforce remains at its highest rate in more than a decade, driven by increases in cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana. However, prescription opiate positivity rates have declined. Nationally,...
