Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mass. Health Insurer Cuts Narcotic Prescriptions to Combat Abuse
Apr 10 2014 // The largest health insurer in Massachusetts has cut prescriptions of narcotic painkillers by an estimated 6.6 million pills in 18 months as part of a campaign to curb abuse. The decline in prescribed opiates including...
Commissioner: Opioid Drug Prescriptions Declining in Texas Work Comp System
Apr 8 2014 // Texas Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation Rod Bordelon told the Texas House Committee on Public Health that the number and cost of opioid drug prescriptions in the Texas workers’ compensation system has...
Healthcare Reform Brings Expansion to Drug & Alcohol Treatment Industry
Apr 7 2014 // January 1 marked the beginning of an expansion of healthcare coverage for drug and alcohol addiction treatment under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This expansion is leading to a growth in the rehabilitation facilities...
Bill to Make Cancer Drugs More Affordable Passes Wisconsin Senate
Apr 2 2014 // Chemotherapy pills that cancer patients can take at home would be more affordable under a bill that the Wisconsin Senate passed on April 1 – the last planned meeting day of its two-year session. The oral chemotherapy...
1 in 10 Small Businesses Report Workers Under Influence of Alcohol, Drugs
Mar 28 2014 // One in 10 small businesses had employees show up for work last year while under the influence of at least one controlled substance. Small-business owners reported that alcohol, marijuana and prescription painkillers were...
Initiative Targeting California Medical Malpractice Submitted
Mar 24 2014 // California’s limit of $250,000 on medical malpractice damages for pain and suffering, which became a model for other states almost 40 years ago, could be increased under a voter initiative to be submitted on...
$1.2B Judgment Against Drug Maker Voided by Arkansas Supreme Court
Mar 21 2014 // The Arkansas Supreme Court overturned a $1.2 billion judgment against Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit challenging the drug maker’s marketing of the antipsychotic drug Risperdal. The agreement was the third-largest...
South Carolina Creates Prescription Drug Abuse Study Group
Mar 17 2014 // South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is forming a 10-member council to develop a statewide plan to combat prescription drug abuse. Her executive order on Friday came 10 months after an inspector general’s report found...
Illinois Medical Marijuana Law Poses Workplace Dilemma
Mar 11 2014 // Illinoisans hoping to make use of the state’s fledgling medical marijuana law may risk their jobs if their employers opt to maintain or adopt zero-tolerance drug policies. The Rockford Register Star reported that the...
Iowa Pharmacist Acquitted of Insurance Fraud Charges in Hemophilia Drug Case
Mar 6 2014 // Jurors acquitted an Iowa pharmacist of health care fraud, rejecting allegations that he fraudulently billed Iowa’s largest health insurance company for life-saving drugs sent to hemophilia patients. The federal jury...
Texas Appeals Court Puts Armstrong Insurance Case Review on Hold
Mar 6 2014 // A Texas appeals court has temporarily blocked an arbitration panel from reviewing $12 million in bonuses paid to Lance Armstrong by a company that wants its money back, stopping efforts to force him to give new sworn...
Bill Subjecting Prescription Drugs to Trafficking Law Passes Oklahoma House
Mar 4 2014 // Individuals carrying large quantities of prescription drugs would face drug trafficking charges under legislation approved unanimously by the Oklahoma House of Representatives. House Bill 2589 by State Rep. Pat Ownbey,...
Oklahoma Governor Backs Bill Targeting Prescription Drugs
Feb 26 2014 // Gov. Mary Fallin is praising a bill designed to crack down on prescription drug abuse in Oklahoma by requiring doctors to check an online prescription database before prescribing highly abused narcotics. A Senate committee...
Judge Blocks Oklahoma Firm from Selling Execution Drug to Missouri
Feb 13 2014 // A federal judge on Feb. 12 agreed to temporarily block an Oklahoma pharmacy from providing an execution drug to the Missouri Department of Corrections for use in an upcoming lethal injection. The temporary restraining...
Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Comp Cracks Down on Pain Pills
Feb 10 2014 // The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation said it has stepped up monitoring of the millions of doses of pain pills prescribed to injured workers every year as the agency tries to control costs and fight rampant...
West Virginia Agencies Join Lawsuit Alleging Pain Pill Abuse
Feb 4 2014 // Two West Virginia agencies are joining a lawsuit against an Ohio drug company, alleging its negligent practices have helped fuel the state’s pain pill abuse epidemic. The Department of Health and Human Resources and...
Florida ‘Pill Mill’ Doctor Gets 350-Year Sentence
Feb 3 2014 // A South Florida doctor could get a maximum 350-year prison sentence for his conviction in an illegal prescription drug pill mill case. A Broward County jury last week found 54-year-old Dr. Thomas Rodenberg guilty of 14...
Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Comp Cracks Down on Pain Pills
Feb 2 2014 // The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation said it has stepped up monitoring of the millions of doses of pain pills prescribed to injured workers every year as the agency tries to control costs and fight rampant...
Former N.J. Pharmacist Admits Role in $1.5M Health Care Fraud Scheme
Jan 28 2014 // The former pharmacist-in-charge of a northern New Jersey pharmacy has admitted his role in a decade-long, $1.5 million health care fraud scheme involving twin brothers who owned the business. Federal prosecutors say...
Louisiana Clinic Worker Arrested for Prescription Drug Fraud
Jan 28 2014 // Baton Rouge, La., police have arrested one man accused of being part of a prescription drug ring in which more than 200 fraudulent prescriptions for the powerful pain-killing drugs oxycodone and hydrocodone from a Baton...
