Reid Responds To Kyl: 'I Don't Need To Hear Sanctimonious Lectures' About Meaning Of X-Mas (VIDEO)

A $95 Million Effort to Study Drugs Already Being Prescribed to Kids
By Katherine Hobson Kids take Prescription Drugs, too. But only a minority of those Drugs have actually been studied in Children to establish that they’re safe and effective and to figure out the correct dose. “Virtually all pediatric use is off-label,” and physicians make their best estimate of the proper dose, Danny Benjamin, a Professor of pediatrics at the Duke University School of Medicine, tells the Health Blog. And the guess is wrong for about a third of Drugs, he says....

John Horton: When Drug Companies Choose Profits Over People
For medication Safety, we rely on our doctors to prescribe and our pharmacists to dispense the right Drugs. But on whom do doctors and pharmacists rely? Increasingly, the answer is drug companies. This is not inherently bad. After all, a drug company probably knows its product better than anyone, and can play a valuable role in educating doctors and pharmacists about the appropriate use of the drug. And, a central element of the FDA's drug-approval process is intended to give the drug...

House lawmakers rip into FDA, Johnson & Johnson for 'misleading' Congress, public on Motrin recall
Top House lawmakers on Thursday accused Government Regulators and a major drug company of misleading Congress and the Public over last year's Recall of a defective pain medication. Johnson & Johnson executives should have told the Public it was pulling defective Motrin off the shelves, the lawmakers charged, while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should have pushed harder for the company to do so. Both groups misled Congress about their involvement in the episode, some members...

God and Country
Interestingly, the release cited Weinstein’s own website to support the Academy response, which highlightedthe contradiction between Weinstein’s published goals and his actions to date: The Academy remains committed to protecting an individuals right to practice any religion they choose, or no religion, provided their practices do not violate policy or law or impede mission accomplishment. The Academys policy is consistent with the MRFF view that, “religious faith is...

(Old) news
Recent Publications: "Beneficiary Price Sensitivity in the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Market" (Health Economics 19(1), 2010). [ summary ] "Uninsured Adults with Chronic Conditions or Disabilities: Gaps in Public Insurance Programs" (Health Affairs, 2009). [ summary ] "Payment Reduction and Medicare Private Fee for Service" (Health Care Financing Review 30(3), 2009). [ summary ] In the news

A Moment of Truth for Truth in Advertising: How Far Can Speech Regulation Go?
You know better than to believe everything companies say in their advertisements, of course. But that doesn't stop ads from influencing your shopping habits , which is why companies spend millions on marketing. When it comes to claims about the healthfulness of foods and other Products, though, the gimmickry reaches levels beyond that of mere marketing: The untrue-but-influential claims made for many Products echo the cure-all testimonials of the "Patent medicines" that were sold in the...

Officials: Financial woes led to lies
Schnuphase, 47, was supposed to turn herself in Friday to face three felony charges -- two false-pretense charges and one Child Abuse charge. Instead, police arrested her Thursday night after a tip that she was about to run. In her car were clothes, Hair Dye and medication. On Friday, Judge Marco A. Santia of 39th District Court in Roseville set bond at $100,000 cash. Schnuphase, with addresses in Roseville, Warren and Eastpointe, is due to return to Court Oct. 13. "We had a 12-year-old Child...

Horner's Troubles Beginning
If there’s anything that will get a politician in trouble, it’s lying. Based on MPR’s reporting , it’s safe to consider Tom Horner in deep trouble: Officials at the Minnesota Department of Revenue are saying Independence Party Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Horner has not submitted his Budget plan for review, but that Horner’s campaign contacted them to see if the Tax plan would work. At the most recent debate last week, Horner said he submitted his Budget plan for a...

Recaps of New Teachers Union Contracts
Many school boards around the state are attempting to renegotiate contracts with their local Teachers Unions to contain costs. Here's a brief recap of some of the new contracts agreed to this last month. Grand Haven : A new two-year contract grants Teachers net across-the-board Salary increases of 1.75 percent this year and next. The district changed Health Insurance plans, moving from "SuperCare I" — the Most Expensive plan sold by the MEA Union's MESSA arm — to a slightly...

Wal-Mart, Humana to Offer Low-Cost Prescription Drug Plan
Wal-Mart Stores ( WMT) and Humana ( HUM ) are teaming up to offer a Medicare Prescription drug coverage plan that they say will be the cheapest on the market. Premiums for the Humana Walmart-Preferred Rx Plan will be $14.80 a month, less than half the average premium for Medicare Prescription drug plans this year, the companies said in a statement. Sponsored Links "We know every dollar counts, especially when you live on a Fixed Income. We believe no one should have to choose between...

What makes the US health care system so expensive " Conclusion
Recent Publications: "Beneficiary Price Sensitivity in the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Market" (Health Economics 19(1), 2010). [ summary ] "Uninsured Adults with Chronic Conditions or Disabilities: Gaps in Public Insurance Programs" (Health Affairs, 2009). [ summary ] "Payment Reduction and Medicare Private Fee for Service" (Health Care Financing Review 30(3), 2009). [ summary ]

Walmartstores.com: Humana and Walmart Announce Innovative Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan with Lowest National Monthly Premium Offered in all 50 States and D.C. 1
Walmart logo available for download Louisville, Ky. , and BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Oct. 1, 2010 – Today, Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) announced an innovative Medicare Part D Prescription drug plan, co-branded with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) or (“Walmart”), that can provide significant savings on monthly plan Premiums and Prescription medicine copayments and cost-shares for Medicare beneficiaries, including seniors and people with disabilities. The Humana...

Why We Lost
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A poll commissioned by the Club for Growth in 15 key districts shows surprisingly severe damage to this aspect of the GOP brand (to see a summary of the results, see here ). And it’s little wonder. From the last Farm Bill to the Prescription Drug entitlement to McCain-Feingold to runaway spending, Republicans in Washington stopped being the party of limited government sometime ago. And the...

What makes the US health care system so expensive - Introduction
Recent Publications: "Beneficiary Price Sensitivity in the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Market" (Health Economics 19(1), 2010). [ summary ] "Uninsured Adults with Chronic Conditions or Disabilities: Gaps in Public Insurance Programs" (Health Affairs, 2009). [ summary ] "Payment Reduction and Medicare Private Fee for Service" (Health Care Financing Review 30(3), 2009). [ summary ]

State hauls in 5,000 pounds of prescription drugs
Credit: TIMES-DISPATCH Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says the program will help fight Prescription Drug Abuse. By

Food
A slew of Food contamination outbreaks prompted Congress to write the proposed Food Safety Modernization Act. The bill as currently written, though, would target not only the factory farms that have sent tainted eggs, spinach and peanuts to market, but family farms that sell mainly to local communities. Count Missoula's Clark Fork Organics among the local producers that fear such one-size-fits-all Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Regulation could leave it and other small farms in the lurch....

J&J; Chief Acknowledges Errors in Recalls
William C. Weldon , the chief executive of Johnson & Johnson, is expected to acknowledge to lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday that the company mishandled the removal of certain medicines from store shelves last year. He also planned to announce that after a Recall of Children’s liquid medicines, new batches would begin to reach stores as early as next week, according to a copy of his prepared Testimony submitted to a House committee. Mr. Weldon was to appear before the House...

CSPI Urges FDA Crackdown on False
WASHINGTONCan orange juice really help prevent or treat arthritis? That's the implication on the label of a Minute Maid orange juice fortified with glucosamine hydrochloride "designed to help protect healthy joints." And its exactly the kind of misleading health claim that the Center for Science in the Public Interest wants the Federal Government to stop. Today the group is sending the Food and Drug Administration a 158-page report that documents some of the most egregious examples of...

Did Pfizer's Experimental Arthritis Drug Work Too Well?
By Peter Loftus Can a pain reliever work too well? Some researchers are suggesting that an experimental Pfizer drug may have liberated arthritis sufferers to such a degree that they became more physically active — and that the subsequent wear and tear on their joints led to joint replacement surgery. Its just a theory at this point, but if borne out, it raises the possibility that the drug, tanezumab, may get another chance. Clinical trials were suspended earlier this year , at the...

Despite Johnson & Johnson Controversy, No Action Likely on Drug Recall Bill
Although critical of the federal response to Johnson & Johnsons secret recall of thousands of bottles of a popular pain reliever, lawmakers appear unlikely to act on Legislation authorizing the Food and Drug Administration to order recalls of drugs. An FDA official told a House Oversight Panel Thursday that the agency should have acted faster in response to Johnson & Johnsons unofficial recall, in which the company sent contractors to stores to quietly buy back bottles of Motrin...

FDA warns three companies to stop making unproven claims on mouth rinses
The FDA today issued warning letters to three companies that manufacture and market mouth rinse products with claims that they remove plaque above the gum line or promote healthy gums. These claims suggest the products are effective in preventing gum disease when no such benefit has been demonstrated. Warning letters were sent to, Johnson & Johnson (Listerine Total Care Anticavity Mouthwash), CVS Corporation (CVS Complete Care Anticavity Mouthwash), and Walgreen Company (Walgreen Mouth Rinse...

FDA Orders Halt to Marketing of Unapproved Single-Ingredient Oral Colchicine
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today took action against companies that manufacture, distribute, and/or market unapproved single-ingredient oral colchicine, a medication commonly used for the daily prevention of gout, to treat acute gout flare-ups, and for the treatment of Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF). The companies are expected to stop Manufacturing single-ingredient oral colchicine within 45 days and must stop shipping this unapproved product in interstate commerce within 90 days....

ACR Federal Advocacy Hot Issues
We have continued a dialogue with the FDA since this issue first arose, and on our most recent teleconference, the FDA informed the ACR that it will be taking action to remove unapproved colchicine from the U.S market. Colcrys®, which received FDA approval in July 2009, will be the only form of colchicine available at that time. The Federal Register announcement, which will be posted on October 1, 2010, states that companies will be forced to cease Manufacturing unapproved colchicine...

FDA exec: agency too slow to order J&J recall
WASHINGTON — A top Food and Drug Administration official will tell Congress Thursday the agency should have acted sooner to halt a secret Recall by Johnson & Johnson last year, in which the company quietly purchased defective Painkillers from stores. FDA deputy commissioner Joshua Sharfstein plans to disclose new details about when the agency learned of the so-called phantom Recall, according to prepared Testimony obtained by The Associated Press. Sharfstein states that J&J; informed the...

FDA Warns Certain Gout-Drug Makers to Stop, And Soon
By Jonathan D. Rockoff People suffering from excruciating flare-ups of gout pain are about to have fewer options for relief. The FDA is requiring drug makers to stop shipping unapproved colchicine, a popular gout treatment, within three months . Colchicine has been a gout remedy so long that its use preceded the FDA, and so the several companies that made and sold it didn’t need agency approval to do so. But last year, a Philadelphia company called URL Pharma won FDA approval for its...