Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
CVS-Aetna Merger Will Influence Employers’ Benefits Decisions: Aon
Dec 18 2017 // CVS Corp.’s proposed purchase of Aetna Inc. will affect decision-making by a majority of large and mid-size U.S. corporations on employee health benefits, a survey by benefits consultant Aon Plc found. CVS, the...
Arkansas Medical Board OKs Draft Regulations Aimed at Curbing Opioid Abuse
Dec 12 2017 // The Arkansas State Medical Board has approved draft regulations aimed at reducing opioid abuse. The board unanimously voted in favor of the regulations on Dec. 7. The requirements are based on guidelines issued last year...
Drug Industry Files Suit to Halt California’s Drug Price Law
Dec 11 2017 // The trade group representing U.S. drugmakers said it has a filed a lawsuit to stop California from implementing a law aimed at reining in prescription drug prices. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America,...
McKesson Board Minutes Indicate Little Oversight by Directors of Opioid Operations, Lawsuit Says
Dec 11 2017 // McKesson Corp.’s board failed to audit the company’s system to spot suspicious shipments of opioid-based painkillers even after agreeing to do so as part of a settlement, according to a summary of board minutes...
California Workers’ Comp Division to Adopt a Drug Formulary, Host Webinars
Dec 8 2017 // The California Division of Workers’ Compensation will adopt an evidence-based drug formulary for medical providers treating injured workers beginning Jan. 1, 2018, following approval by the Office of Administrative...
Growth in U.S. Healthcare Spending Slowed in 2016: CMS
Dec 7 2017 // In 2016, overall growth in national spending on healthcare slowed in 2016, increasing 4.3 percent following 5.8 percent growth in 2015, according to a report by actuaries with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...
Jury Says J&J, Bayer Must Pay $28 Million for Woman’s Injuries from Xarelto Drug
Dec 7 2017 // Johnson & Johnson and Bayer AG are responsible for a woman’s injuries tied to the blood-thinning drug Xarelto and must pay almost $28 million in damages, jurors concluded in the companies’ first loss at a...
West Virginia Planning Response to Fight Statewide Opioid Epidemic
Dec 4 2017 // As West Virginia sees record numbers of drug overdose deaths, state officials say they’ll submit plans for responding further to the opioid epidemic to Gov. Jim Justice by mid-January. “There is a critical need...
Note to the Insurance Industry: Marijuana Is a Thing
Dec 4 2017 // It’s high time the insurance industry embraces marijuana. That’s because pot has entered the mainstream. To date, 29 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, eight states (plus...
Fewer Opioids Prescribed in Louisiana Following Medicaid Expansion
Dec 4 2017 // Data from the Louisiana Department of Health and the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy show there are fewer opioids being prescribed since Medicaid expansion began in July 2016, the Louisiana governor’s office...
Drug Repackagers, Compounding Pharmacies Continue to Stress Workers’ Comp Systems
Dec 4 2017 // Although the number of physician dispensed prescriptions declined considerably from just a few years ago, the workers’ compensation industry continues to battle an adapting market seeking to maintain high prices by...
Utah Seeing Increase in Drug-Related Deadly Crashes, Report Shows
Dec 4 2017 // The number of fatal car crashes linked to drivers on drugs has spiked in the last two years in Utah while alcohol-related fatal wrecks have declined slightly, state figures show. The Legislature’s annual report on...
CVS to Pay $67.5B for Aetna to Create Giant Health Firm with ‘10,000 New Front Doors’
Dec 3 2017 // CVS Health Corp. will buy Aetna Inc. for about $67.5 billion, creating a healthcare giant that will have a hand in everything from insurance to the corner drugstore. CVS will pay $207 a share for Aetna, with $145 a share...
Express Scripts Not Looking But Open to Deal with an Insurer, Amazon
Dec 1 2017 // Express Scripts Holding Co.’s chief executive said he’s open to a deal with a health insurer or partnering with Amazon.com Inc. CEO Tim Wentworth’s pharmacy benefits company has been battered by departing...
How Payment Policies of Insurers, Government Discourage Opioid Alternatives
Dec 1 2017 // For the drug industry, building a better pain pill is a problem. Pharmaceutical companies have introduced new medicines to treat dependence, reverse overdoses, and deal with opioids’ side effects. But few effective...
DEA Opens Kentucky Field Office to Target Opioid Abuse
Dec 1 2017 // The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency is targeting opioid abuse in Appalachia by establishing a new field office in Kentucky to oversee a region ravaged by overdose deaths. The new Louisville field office will have a special...
Who Is Most at Risk for Opioid Death and How to Help Them: Columbia Research
Nov 30 2017 // Just over 60 percent of individuals who died from an opioid overdose had been diagnosed with a chronic pain condition, and many had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder, a study of more than 13,000 overdose deaths...
Utah Seeing Increase in Drug-Related Deadly Crashes, Report Shows
Nov 27 2017 // The number of fatal car crashes linked to drivers on drugs has spiked in the last two years in Utah while alcohol-related fatal wrecks have declined slightly, state figures show. The state Legislature’s annual report...
Workers’ Compensation Still Under Pressure from Drug Repackagers, Compounding Pharmacies
Nov 27 2017 // Though the number of physician dispensed prescriptions has declined considerably from just a few years ago, the workers’ compensation industry continues to battle a market seeking to maintain high prices by changing...
Drugmaker Purdue Moves to Settle States’ Claims Over Opioids
Nov 20 2017 // Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma LP is proposing a global settlement in an attempt to end state investigations and lawsuits over the U.S. opioid epidemic, according to people familiar with the talks. Purdue’s lawyers...
