Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
BENEFIT MANAGERS’ DISCLOSURE BACKED:
Feb 21 2005 // A federal judge has sided with the state of Maine in an industry challenge to the constitutionality of a state law that requires pharmacy benefit managers to disclose side payments from drug companies and other financial...
Medical Science Takes Uneasy Role in Drug, Asbestos Product Liability Cases
Feb 21 2005 // When word spread that people injured by the fen-phen diet drug cocktail could share in a multibillion dollar legal settlement, law firms began sponsoring health screenings so large that a judge quipped that one...
Federal Judge Backs Maine Law Requiring Compensation Disclosure by Benefit Managers
Feb 7 2005 // A federal judge has sided with the state of Maine in an industry challenge to the constitutionality of a state law that requires pharmacy benefit managers to disclose side payments from drug companies and other financial...
Okla. Gov. Henry Unveils Workers’ Comp Plan
Feb 3 2005 // Saying he wants to cut costs for business and boost benefits for injured workers, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry announced his comprehensive reform plan for the state’s workers’ compensation system. Based on the...
Medicare Looms as Budget Remains a Logistical Issue for States
Dec 20 2004 // A Medicare prescription drug benefit for senior citizens through private plans is still more than a year away. But for state lawmakers and health officials preparing to help administer the complex new law, crunch time is...
Alcohol, Drug Abuse Treatment
Dec 20 2004 // Nuts & Bolts: Union General is offering coverage for facilities specializing in care and treatment of drug and alcohol abusers, including for profit and nonprofit centers and halfway houses. Coverage available for...
Cheney, Edwards Spar Over Medical Liability Issue During VP Debate
Oct 6 2004 // Around and around they went. For some 90 minutes, Vice President Dick Cheney and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards debated and most often, disagreed on the issues, during the first and only Vice Presidential debate Tuesday...
NAIC Adopts Amendments to Medicare Model Law
Sep 27 2004 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has adopted amendments to its Model Regulation to Implement the NAIC Medicare Supplement Insurance Minimum Standards Model Act to make it compliant with the...
Long-Term Health Care Costs Loom Large for Governors
Sep 6 2004 // Soaring health care costs, coupled with the looming retirement of a record 77 million Americans starting in 2011, are casting a shadow of concern over states that worry their public health care systems can’t shoulder...
Kentucky Office of Insurance Set to Meet Industry Challenges
Aug 23 2004 // As a Florida resident who chose to return to Kentucky during my first try at retirement (a decision that drew puzzled looks from many), I appreciate many things about the Commonwealth—the natural beauty, the quality of...
Judge Dismisses Suit Against OxyContin Maker
Aug 20 2004 // A federal judge in Roanoke, Va. has dismissed a lawsuit against Connecticut-based OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma by three men who claimed they became addicted to the painkiller while using it to treat their various medical...
Aetna Launches Specialty Pharmacy
Aug 4 2004 // Aetna has revealed plans for a joint venture to provide specialty drugs to its members of its health plans with severe chronic illnesses while holding down costs. The launch of Aetna Specialty Pharmacy, jointly owned by...
In N.H. Governor’s Race, Four Candidates Differ On State’s Handling of Insurance Issues
Aug 2 2004 // Was it a good idea to let New Hampshire’s health insurers use workers’ health history in setting rates for the state’s smallest businesses? Republicans Craig Benson and Charles Tarbell say the jury is...
Fla. Sen. Bill Nelson Continues to Fly New Missions for Sunshine State
Jul 23 2004 // Bill Nelson Florida Senator As his bio notes growing up as a child, Florida Senator Bill Nelson never imagined that one day he would both catapult into space from a NASA launch site just miles from his grandfather’s...
Florida Senator Bill Nelson Continues to Fly New Missions
Jul 19 2004 // Flying New Missions Bill Nelson As his bio notes, as a child Florida Senator Bill Nelson never imagined that one day he would both catapult into space from a NASA launch site just miles from his grandfather’s...
Kibble & Prentice Releases Findings of Annual Employer Survey
Jul 15 2004 // Seattle-based Kibble & Prentice recently announced the results of its annual employee benefits survey. With nearly 200 Washington state companies reporting, the results showed three clear trends: health care costs...
N.D. COMP BOARD APPROVES 6 PERCENT PREMIUM HIKE:
Jun 21 2004 // The North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance (WSI) board of directors has authorized a premium increase for workers’ compensation coverage beginning July 1, 2004, according to a WSI statement. The rate increase is...
N.D. Comp Board Approves 6% Premium Hike
Jun 1 2004 // The North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance (WSI) board of directors has authorized a premium increase for workers’ compensation coverage beginning July 1, 2004, according to a WSI statement. The rate increase is...
W. Va. A.G. Settles Lawsuit Against Dey Inc.
May 20 2004 // West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw announced a settlement of drug pricing litigation against Dey Inc., a manufacturer of prescription drugs. Dey Inc. a unit of Merck KGAA of Germany, agreed to pay three state...
N.Y. Jury Denies Drug Convict’s Med-Mal Claim
Apr 29 2004 // A federal jury in New York has ruled against a convicted drug mule who claimed he was improperly forced to undergo surgery to remove heroin-filled condoms he had ingested. William Meequaye Kanyi filed suit against doctors,...
