Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hawaii Becomes First State to Order Anti-Viral Flu Drugs
Aug 9 2006 // Hawaii became the first state in the nation to order anti-viral flu medicine in preparation for any global influenza pandemic when it signed contracts with drug companies last month for Tamiflu and Relenza. The state...
Kan. Commissioner Warns Medicare Beneficiaries About New Scam
Jul 27 2006 // Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger wants Kansas seniors to know that the “$299 Ring” scam recently has escalated into a higher priced scam involving, in some cases, a new Medicare card, instead of a...
Study: Pa. High Schoolers Risking Driving Under Influence
Jul 14 2006 // Pennsylvania high school seniors are increasingly drinking to excess and getting behind the wheel after drinking alcohol or taking drugs, according to a statewide survey. It also found that about one in five has gone to...
N.Y. Dad Admits Helping Son with Car Insurance Scam
Jul 14 2006 // A 57-year-old man admitted pulling off an insurance scam with his son, a former college student who faces up to 157 years in prison for federal drug and weapons crimes. Gerald Thomas Sr., of Norwich, pleaded guilty this...
Fla. Doctor Sentenced to Life in Health Care Fraud
Jul 12 2006 // Thomas G. Merrill, 70, of Panama City, Fla. has been sentenced to life in prison for multiple charges of wire fraud, health care fraud and distribution of controlled substances according to Attorney General Charlie Crist....
La. Commissioner Orders Insurers to Extend Hurricane Prescription Period
Jul 11 2006 // Just over a month after he asked insurance companies in his state to voluntarily do so, Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donleon issued Directive 199 mandating that all companies insuring property in Louisiana...
New Drug Makers’ Labeling Could Limit Product Liability
Jun 30 2006 // Beginning June 30, drug manufacturers will be required by the Food and Drug Administration to provide more concise and better organized patient information package insert sheets. Any drug approved within the last five...
States Lack Controls Over Workers’ Comp Drug Costs
Jun 29 2006 // Public policymakers are considering cost containment measures to bring the costs of prescription drugs used to treat injured workers more into line with similar costs in group health or government insurance programs,...
Walgreens to Stop Filling Prescriptions Under Mich. Midwest Health Plan
Jun 15 2006 // Walgreens Co. has announced it will stop filling prescriptions for members of Midwest Health Plan, based in Dearborn, Mich., effective July 1 because of inadequate pharmacy reimbursement rates. Walgreens has been in...
Supreme Court Lets Stand Maine Law Regulating Pharmacy Benefit Managers
Jun 7 2006 // The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a First Circuit Court of Appeals decision that upheld a state law in Maine regulating the business practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and requiring them to pass...
Mich. Gov. Renewing Push for Health Coverage for Uninsured
May 12 2006 // Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm is renewing a push to provide affordable health insurance to cover uninsured Michigan residents. Granholm, first unveiled the proposal in January, was expected to talk more about her plan...
Merck Says It Will Appeal $32 Million Texas Vioxx Case
Apr 23 2006 // A Texas state jury found Merck & Co. liable for the death of a 71-year-old man who had a fatal heart attack within a month of taking its since-withdrawn painkiller Vioxx and ordered the company to pay $32 million...
Pennsylvania Truckers Back Database of Drivers’ Drug Test Results
Apr 18 2006 // In search of a new tool to weed out problem truckers, a Pennsylvania trucking association is pushing for a statewide database that would compile employer records on drivers’ drug test results. Traffic violations and...
Ohio Seniors Reminded of Medicare Enrollment Deadline
Apr 12 2006 // Tommy Thompson was in Columbus, Ohio to speak about the new Medicare prescription drug coverage and highlight its successes. The former Health and Human Services secretary spoke to seniors at the Westminster-Thurber...
Mich. AG Announces $370,000 Settlement with GlaxoSmithKline
Apr 12 2006 // Attorney General Mike Cox announced today that Michigan, along with 48 other states, has reached a settlement with drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline involving the anti- depressant prescription drug, Paxil. GlaxoSmithKline...
East German Athletes to Sue Drug Firm Over Olympic Doping
Apr 11 2006 // Former East German athletes who suffered health problems because of systematic doping plan to sue a pharmaceutical company for damages. Talks to settle the case out of court failed this week in Hamburg, their lawyer,...
Father Sues Mass. University Over Daughter’s Drug Death
Apr 11 2006 // The father of Clark University freshman who died of a heroin overdose two years ago has filed a wrongful death lawsuit claiming lax supervision contributed to his daughter’s death. Michele C. Bash’s death could...
Merck Loses Bid to Nix Punitive Damages; Deliberations Today
Apr 10 2006 // A judge last Friday rejected Merck & Co.’s request to abort a hearing aimed at establishing whether the company must pay punitive damages to a former Vioxx user already awarded $4.5 million for a heart attack he...
Wis. Liability Law That Targets Drug Dealers Sparks Debate
Apr 10 2006 // A Wisconsin state law that makes drug dealers liable when their products kill can give families of the deceased a measure of redemption. But others critics are beginning to argue that the law holds one person responsible...
Vioxx Maker Faces Punitive Damage Hearing Today Following Split Ruling
Apr 6 2006 // A jury in Atlantic County Superior Court in Atlantic City, N.J. ordered pharmaceutical giant Merck to pay a 77-year old user of its Vioxx drug at least $4.5 million in compensation after finding that the drug helped cause...
