Regulations
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Medical Research Impacted by Sequester Cuts
May 20, 2013 8:49 am | Videos | CommentsChris Matthews talks with Francis Collins the director of the National Institute of Health about how sequester cuts are hurting medical research. In particular programs for a universal flu vaccine, new cancer drugs, and dementia and Alzheimer drugs are being impacted.
FDA Tobacco Chief Speaks at Industry Meeting
May 17, 2013 8:10 am | by MICHAEL FELBERBAUM,AP Tobacco Writer | News | CommentsChanges in the marketplace have forced the public health community to wrestle with the idea that some tobacco products may pose less of a health risk than others, the new head of the Food and Drug Administration's tobacco control efforts told an industry group on Thursday.
Huge Drug Cost Disparities Seen in Health Overhaul
May 13, 2013 8:27 am | by RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR,Associated Press | News | CommentsCancer patients could face high costs for medications under President Barack Obama's health care law, industry analysts and advocates warn. Where you live could make a huge difference in what you'll pay. To try to keep premiums low, some states are allowing insurers to charge patients a hefty share of the cost for expensive medications used to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and other life-altering chronic diseases.
State Pharmacy Boards Back More FDA Oversight
May 9, 2013 3:00 pm | by MATTHEW PERRONE,AP Health Writer | News | CommentsState pharmacy officials on Thursday threw their support behind a proposal giving the Food and Drug Administration authority over large compounding pharmacies, in an effort to head off more outbreaks tied to contaminated medications. The head of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy told Senate lawmakers that his group welcomes FDA action against pharmacies like the one that triggered a deadly meningitis outbreak last year.
California Health Exchange Granted Secrecy
May 9, 2013 8:29 am | by MICHAEL R. BLOOD,Associated Press | News | CommentsA California law that created an agency to oversee national health care reforms granted it sweeping authority to conceal spending on the contractors that will perform most of its functions, creating a barrier from public disclosure that stands out nationwide.
Hospitals to be Penalized for Avoidable Readmissions
May 7, 2013 8:39 am | Videos | CommentsHospitals are under new pressure not only to treat their patients, but to make sure they don't come back. CBS News’ Bigad Shaban reports on how the Affordable Care Act is addressing the issue of unnecessary hospital readmissions and how hospitals are trying to lower readmissions by providing patients with more education and support as they leave the hospital.
FDA Wants Cancer Warnings on Tanning Beds
May 7, 2013 8:24 am | by MATTHEW PERRONE,AP Health Writer | News | CommentsIndoor tanning beds would come with new warnings about the risk of cancer and be subject to more stringent federal oversight under a proposal unveiled Monday by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA has regulated tanning beds and sun lamps for over 30 years, but for the first time ever the agency says those devices should not be used by people under age 18.
Feds: Hepatitis B No Barrier to Health Practice
May 6, 2013 9:01 am | by MICHAEL RUBINKAM,Associated Press | News | CommentsThe U.S. Department of Justice recently declared in a legal settlement that hepatitis B patients are protected by federal disability law. And, separately, federal health officials have issued a revised set of guidelines that make it clear that health care workers and students who carry the hepatitis B virus — HBV for short — generally pose little or no risk to patients.
Obstacles Still Face Health Care Ahead of Rollout
May 2, 2013 8:49 am | Videos | CommentsWith less than six months before most of the federal health law starts, President Obama’s administration faces the prospect of high-profile glitches with few options to fix them. Two problems immediately facing the administration are that states are sitting out of the Medicaid expansion and are not setting up healthcare exchanges.
Five Things Vitamin Makers Won't Say
April 29, 2013 4:01 pm | by Wall Street Journal | Videos | CommentsMedications can't be sold without FDA approval, but vitamins can. Supplements are regulated differently than prescription drugs and over the counter drugs. This is just one of five things you'll want to know about vitamin makers and how to tell if the supplements you're taking are safe.
US Sues Novartis in NY Again, Cites Doctor Kickbacks
April 29, 2013 8:22 am | by LARRY NEUMEISTER,Associated Press | News | CommentsThe U.S. government sued Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. again on Friday, saying it paid kickbacks for a decade to doctors to steer patients toward its drugs, sometimes disguising fishing trips off the Florida coast and trips to Hooters restaurants as speaking engagements for the doctors.
New Label Requirements for Sunscreen
April 17, 2013 10:16 am | Videos | CommentsNew sunscreen labels are designed to educate consumers on which ones combat cancer. According to the Food and Drug Administration, sunscreens which are labeled with the term “Broad Spectrum” have been proven to prevent skin cancer. They advise avoiding sunscreens without that label.
Report: FDA Had Many Complaints on Massachusetts Pharmacy
April 16, 2013 1:35 pm | by MATTHEW PERRONE,AP Health Writer | News | CommentsHouse Republicans said today that the Food and Drug Administration should have acted years earlier to close the Massachusetts pharmacy responsible for a deadly meningitis outbreak tied to contaminated medications. A report issued by Republicans blasts the FDA for failing to act on years of complaints about problematic drugs and practices at the New England Compounding Center.
Patenting Genes: Justices Tackle Big Health Issue
April 16, 2013 8:07 am | by JESSE J. HOLLAND,Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Supreme Court seemed worried Monday about the idea of companies patenting human genes in a case that could profoundly reshape the multibillion-dollar biomedical industry and U.S. research in the fight against diseases like breast and ovarian cancer.
Medicare Increase Could Ding Some in Middle Class
April 15, 2013 8:15 am | by RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR,Associated Press | News | CommentsPresident Barack Obama's budget would raise Medicare premiums adding to a surcharge that already costs some 2 million beneficiaries hundreds of dollars a year each. Due to the creeping effects of inflation, 20 million Medicare beneficiaries also would end up paying higher "income related" premiums for their outpatient and prescription coverage over time.
Report Finds Lax Oversight of Specialty Pharmacies
April 15, 2013 8:00 am | by MATTHEW PERRONE,AP Health Writer | News | CommentsCongressional investigators say pharmacy boards in nearly all 50 states lack the information and expertise to oversee specialty pharmacies like the one that triggered a deadly meningitis outbreak last year. A report released Monday by House Democrats shows that most states do not track or routinely inspect compounding pharmacies.
Court: Can Human Genes Be Patented?
April 15, 2013 7:55 am | News | CommentsThe Supreme Court grapples today with the question of whether human genes can be patented, and the ultimate answer could reshape U.S. medical research, the fight against diseases like breast and ovarian cancer and the multi-billion dollar medical and biotechnology business.
Budget: Cover Uninsured, Trim Medicare, Tax Cigs
April 11, 2013 8:03 am | by RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR,Associated Press | News | CommentsPresident Barack Obama's new budget offers Medicare cuts to entice Republicans into tax negotiations, while plowing ahead to cover the uninsured next year under the health care law the GOP has bitterly fought to repeal. But the biggest health consequences of any new proposal in Obama's plan could come from nearly doubling the federal tobacco tax.
Dietary Supplement Maker and Government Reach Deal
April 10, 2013 8:07 am | News | CommentsA New York maker of dietary supplements, Kabco Pharmaceuticals Inc., has been ordered to follow federal laws regulating the manufacture and distribution of the products. A Long Island federal judge Thursday approved a deal that the Justice Department reached with Kabco and its CEO and president.
Risk for Obama in Pursuing Morning-After Pill Case
April 8, 2013 8:06 am | by JOSH LEDERMAN,Associated Press; LAURAN NEERGAARD,Associated Press | News | CommentsPresident Barack Obama supports requiring girls younger than 17 to see a doctor before buying the morning-after pill. But fighting that battle in court comes with its own set of risks. A federal judge in New York on Friday ordered the FDA to lift age restrictions on the sale of emergency contraception, ending the requirement that buyers show proof they're 17 or older if they want to buy it without a prescription.
Can Mass Marketing Heal the Splits on 'Obamacare'?
April 1, 2013 8:08 am | by RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR,Associated Press | News | CommentsHow do you convince millions of average Americans that one of the most complex and controversial programs devised by government may actually be a good deal for them? With the nation still split over President Barack Obama's health care law, the administration has turned to the science of mass marketing for help in understanding the lives of uninsured people.
Study: Health Law to Raise Claims Cost 32%
March 27, 2013 8:03 am | by RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR,Associated Press | News | CommentsA new study finds that insurance companies will have to pay out an average of 32 percent more for medical claims under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. What does that mean for you? It could increase premiums for at least some Americans.
High Court Struggles Over Generic Drug Delay Deals
March 26, 2013 8:05 am | by JESSE J. HOLLAND,Associated Press | News | CommentsSupreme Court justices appeared troubled Monday over whether to stop deals between pharmaceutical corporations and their generic drug competitors that the government says could keep cheaper forms of medicine from American consumers for longer periods of time.
NJ Compounding Pharmacy Extends Closure in Recall
March 25, 2013 9:21 am | News | CommentsA New Jersey compounding pharmacy that issued a national recall of all of its drugs has agreed to remain closed two more weeks. The New Jersey pharmacy board says Tinton Falls-based Med Prep Consulting Inc. continues to investigate the cause of contamination found in bags of magnesium sulfate.
Obama Health Law Anniversary Finds Two Americas
March 22, 2013 8:13 am | by RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR,Associated Press | News | CommentsThree years, two elections, and one Supreme Court decision after President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act, its promise of health care for the uninsured may be delayed or undercut in much of the country because of entrenched opposition from many Republican state leaders.
