Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
U.S. Reports 1 in 12 Employees Using Illegal Drugs
Jul 17 2007 // One in 12 full-time workers in the United States acknowledges having used illegal drugs in the past month, the U.S. government reports. Most of those who report using illicit drugs are employed full-time, with the highest...
Tenn. Supreme Court Rules Marijuana Not a Factor in Worker’s Injury
Jul 9 2007 // The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that a worker whose hand was crushed by machinery at his workplace was not to blame for the accident despite his admitted marijuana use off the job. Billy McIntosh was injured in 2004...
N.Y. Court Rules Drunk Driving Does Not Include Using Inhalants with Alcohol
Jun 29 2007 // A motorist accused of “huffing” stimulants from an aerosol can before getting into a deadly wreck cannot be charged with driving while intoxicated, New York’s highest court ruled Wednesday. The...
N.J. Judge Orders Merck to Pay $4 Million in Vioxx Case Legal Fees
Jun 20 2007 // Lawyers who helped a heart attack victim win a $13.5 million jury verdict in a Vioxx liability case should be paid about $4 million in legal fees by Merck & Co., a New Jersey judge has ruled. Merck, which made the...
Key employer advantages to Health Savings Accounts
Jun 18 2007 // After being available for four years, Health Savings Accounts (HSA) combined with a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) are finally catching on. A recent nationwide study indicated that 26 percent of U.S. companies with 500...
Maine Law Restricts Agents’ Cross-Selling of Insurance Products
Apr 20 2007 // Prompted by complaints from Maine consumers, the Legislature has enacted a law to prohibit insurance agents who schedule appointments to discuss Medicare from trying to interest people in other policies. Gov. John Baldacci...
Time Runs Out for Investors’ Securities Class Action Against Merck
Apr 16 2007 // A federal judge in New Jersey has dismissed a securities class action lawsuit brought against Merck & Co. by investors over its one-time blockbuster drug Vioxx because the statute of limitations has run out. Investors...
Mass. extends deadline for residents to buy health coverage
Apr 9 2007 // The board that oversees Massachusetts’ landmark health insurance law voted last month to delay key elements of the plan by a year and a half to give residents and businesses a chance to ramp up their health care...
News Currents
Apr 9 2007 // Mass. extends deadline for residents to buy health coverage The board that oversees Massachusetts’ landmark health insurance law voted last month to delay key elements of the plan by a year and a half to give...
Ark. Man Claims He Was Fired For Not Attending Church
Apr 2 2007 // A Benton County, Ark., man has sued his former employer, claiming that he was fired for not attending a specific church as ordered by his boss. Clifford D. Randel filed the lawsuit in Benton County Circuit Court against...
Class Action Filed Against Manufacturer Over Tainted Pet Food
Mar 28 2007 // Lauri Osborne of Plymouth, Conn. feared the worst when she learned of the national pet food recall. One of her cats had already died from kidney failure and two became seriously ill. All three of the Plymouth woman’s...
Mass. Extends Deadline for Key Health Care Plan Requirement
Mar 22 2007 // The board that oversees Massachusetts’ landmark health insurance law voted this week to delay key elements of the plan by a year and a half to give residents and businesses a chance to ramp up their health care...
Merck Fights Vioxx Class Action Suit Brought by Insurers
Mar 21 2007 // Health insurers and union health plans nationwide should not be allowed to sue Merck & Co. jointly to recover money they paid for Vioxx prescriptions, a lawyer for the drug maker argued this week in opposing a lawsuit...
Health Proposals Would Reduce Uninsured and Costs, Analysis Finds
Mar 20 2007 // Many current Congressional health care proposals could significantly reduce the number of uninsured Americans and also decrease overall health care expenditures including those for insurance administration and prescription...
N.J. Jury Awards $47.5 Million in Vioxx Heart Attack Retrial
Mar 15 2007 // Merck & Co.’s painkiller Vioxx contributed to an Idaho postal worker’s heart attack, a jury in Atlantic City has ruled, reversing the verdict in the man’s first trial and hitting Merck with a total...
Mass. Would Be First to Require Insurers Offer Drug Coverage
Mar 15 2007 // Massachusetts would become the first state in the nation to essentially require all insurers provide prescription drug coverage, under recommendations made Tuesday to the board overseeing the state’s landmark health...
News Currents
Mar 12 2007 // Nevada lawmakers debate policy on drug tests for injured workers Injured Nevada workers could face required drug tests to prevail in insurance disputes, under an industry-backed proposal debated by state legislators. The...
Texas Agent Association, PTA Launch Program to Fight Teen Drinking
Mar 7 2007 // The Texas PTA and the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) announced they have launched a statewide campaign designed to prevent underage drinking. According to the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Texas...
Mass. Health Insurers Agree to Offer $175 a Month Plan Under New Law
Mar 5 2007 // The average uninsured Massachusetts residents could obtain health care coverage for as little as $175 a month under the state’s insurance law, Gov. Deval Patrick announced as he released the results of negotiations...
Nevada Lawmakers Debate Policy on Drug Tests for Injured Workers
Feb 22 2007 // Injured Nevada workers could face required drug tests to prevail in insurance disputes, under an industry-backed proposal debated by state legislators. The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee recently heard testimony on...
