Latest Drugs Headlines
All the headlines from our Drugs Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Study: Allowing Generic Biotech Drugs Could Save $70 Billion
Feb 16 2007 // Patients and health insurance providers could save at least $71 billion over 10 years if there were a regulatory mechanism that allowed for the marketing of generic biotech medicines, according to a new study. Currently...
Mass. Board Reconsiders Drug Benefit in Low Cost Plans
Feb 9 2007 // The board charged with getting insurers to come up with low-cost health care plans is considering a proposal that would allow insurers to offer plans that don’t include prescription drug coverage. The goal is to...
No Punitive Damages in Wyeth Hormone Drug Case
Feb 1 2007 // A Pennsylvania judge ruled that Wyeth will not pay punitive damages to a woman who alleged that the pharmaceutical giant’s menopause drug was responsible for her breast cancer. A jury on Monday awarded $1.5 million...
Pa. Couple Awarded $1.5 Million Against Hormone Drug Maker Wyeth
Jan 31 2007 // A couple who contended that a hormone-replacement drug caused the woman’s breast cancer was awarded $1.5 million (euro1.16 million) this week in a jury verdict in Philadelphia against drug maker Wyeth. The jury also...
California AG Reaches $8 Million Settlement with Bayer Corp.
Jan 31 2007 // California Attorney General Jerry Brown has reached an $8 million, 30-state settlement with Bayer Corp. that will resolve an enforcement action initiated because of Bayer’s failure to adequately disclose safety risks...
New Mass. Health Insurance Law Would Force Some to Buy More Coverage
Jan 31 2007 // More than 200,000 Massachusetts residents who already have health insurance would be forced to buy additional coverage to meet the proposed minimum standards under the state’s new health insurance law, according to...
Mass. Panel Seeks More Low Cost Health Plan Options
Jan 25 2007 // The panel assigned with turning Massachusetts’ groundbreaking health care law into a reality sent insurers back to the drawing board this week, saying they need to do a better job at coming up with low cost health...
Report: Calif. Health Insurers Deny Policies over Jobs, Medications
Jan 9 2007 // Some Californians are refused individual health insurance policies even if they are in good health and can afford coverage because of their jobs and use of certain medications, according to a published report. Such...
Rule Restricting R.I. Crime Victim Compensation Challenged
Jan 2 2007 // An association of drug treatment programs is challenging a Rhode Island state policy that allows financial compensation to be denied to crime victims who have been convicted of driving drunk or dealing drugs. The Drug and...
State Preparations for Pandemic Flu Creative But Vary Widely
Dec 19 2006 // Trailers packed with cots and medical supplies are parked in secret locations around Colorado, ready for doctors to open makeshift hospitals in school gyms if a flu pandemic strikes. Parts of southeastern Washington are...
Health Premium Hikes Tied to Costly Specialty Drugs
Dec 6 2006 // Expected health insurance premium increases of between 8 and 13 percent in Massachusetts are being driven more than ever by the costs of expensive specialty drugs, according to officials from some of the state’s...
Mass. Employee Sues Firm for Firing Him Because He Smoked
Dec 4 2006 // A 30-year-old Massachusetts man who has smoked for more than a decade filed a lawsuit last week against The Scotts Co., alleging the lawn and garden company violated his privacy and civil rights when it fired him because...
Wal-Mart Expands $4 Generic Drugs to 11 More States
Nov 17 2006 // Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is expanding its $4 generic prescription program to 11 additional states and adding 17 more prescriptions to the program. The world’s largest retailer added 502 stores to those offering the...
Millions of Acetaminophen Pills Recalled
Nov 13 2006 // Check your medicine cabinet: Millions of bottles of the widely used pain reliever acetaminophen — some sold as long as three years ago — are being recalled because they may contain metal fragments. The recall...
Social services agencies need extra care and an agent’s helping hand
Nov 6 2006 // While they may require more attention, nonprofits offer opportunity for growth and profit, says industry specialist Insurance Journal’s Andrea Ortega-Wells, Mogelnicki explains why the nonprofit social services...
Social services agencies need extra care and an agent’s helping hand
Nov 5 2006 // Few independent agents recognize that they can make profits from not-for-profit organizations, says Dan Mogelnicki, president of Manhasset, N.Y.-based NIF Underwriting Facilities, a program administrator and wholesale...
Vermont Court Says Drug Maker Owes $6.8M for Woman’s Amputation
Nov 1 2006 // Drug maker Wyeth must pay nearly $6.8 million to a Vermont woman whose arm had to be amputated after she was injected with one of its medications, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled, upholding a lower court’s ruling. In...
Okla. District Attorney Indicted for Embezzlement
Oct 27 2006 // A Multicounty Grand Jury indictment unsealed recently in Oklahoma’s Cherokee County District Court accuses District Attorney Richard Gray of embezzling money seized as evidence in drug investigations, state Attorney...
Pharmacy issues critical in controlling workers’ comp costs
Sep 4 2006 // Both labor and employers agree that workers’ compensation reforms generally have improved California’s business climate. However, some controversial issues still remain that likely will be addressed in 2007,...
Pharmacy issues critical in controlling workers’ comp costs
Sep 4 2006 // News Currents Both labor and employers agree that workers’ compensation reforms generally have improved California’s business climate. However, some controversial issues still remain that likely will be...
