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| U.S. database for tracking Medicaid frauds falls short, auditor says Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014 09:03 PM PDT A federal data-sharing system meant to prevent healthcare providers banned from one state's Medicaid program from billing another state's program isn't working as intended, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General. Two years after its creation, the data-sharing system contained no records from 17 states or the District of Columbia of doctors, nurses or other healthcare providers who had been "terminated," or banned from billing Medicaid, for fraud or other offenses, the independent auditor said in a report to be released Thursday. The report also said that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that maintains the data-sharing system, made no effort to require states to report banned providers, though it is legally empowered to do so, and that when states did report them, the data was often unreliable or incomplete. CMS started operating the Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program State Information Sharing System in 2011, as required by the Affordable Care Act. Full Story | Top |
| China regulators order end to smog insurance sales Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014 08:05 PM PDT  Chinese regulators have told the country's two largest insurers to stop selling coverage against smog, a week after such policies were launched, the China Daily reported on Thursday. The newspaper did not say why the country's insurance watchdog had ordered People's Insurance Company of China (PICC) and Ping An Insurance Group to cease sales of the coverage. The country's worsening air quality is at the top of the list of concerns of China's leaders, anxious to douse potential unrest as a more affluent urban population turns against a growth-at-all-costs economic model. PICC last week offered coverage to Beijing residents against health risks caused by air pollution in the city, promising to pay 1,500 yuan ($240) to policy holders hospitalized by smog. Full Story | Top |
| Two firefighters killed in historic Boston neighborhood blaze Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014 06:57 PM PDT  By Victoria Cavaliere BOSTON (Reuters) - Two firefighters were killed and at least 17 people were injured on Wednesday when a massive fire fueled by strong winds ripped through a four-story building in Boston's historic Back Bay neighborhood, city and fire officials said. The two Boston firefighters who died while battling the 9-alarm blaze were found in the basement of the building and had placed a "mayday" call, or a distress call, moments after gaining entrance underground, said Boston Deputy Fire Chief Joseph Finn. The firefighters were identified at a late Wednesday news conference as Boston Fire Department veterans Edward Walsh and Michael Kennedy. We lost two heroes here today," said Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Full Story | Top |
| Planned Parenthood, Arizona in court over abortion drug rules Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014 05:26 PM PDT By Paul Ingram TUCSON, Arizona (Reuters) - Arizona regulations that would limit the use of the most popular abortion-inducing drug risk harming women seeking to end their pregnancies, attorneys for a women's health provider argued in federal court in Tucson on Wednesday. The controversial regulations would require any medicine used to induce an abortion to be administered strictly according to protocols issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and subject to instructions on the label. The FDA in 2000 approved it for use within seven weeks of a pregnancy, but doctors in many parts of the country have begun using a new protocol that simplifies the use of the drug for women. Federal courts have upheld similar laws in Ohio and Texas, but state courts in Oklahoma and North Dakota have rejected such measures, according to Planned Parenthood Arizona. Full Story | Top |
| GSK links with top labs on 'big data' drug project Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014 05:26 PM PDT  By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline is linking with two top bioscience centres on an open-access research project to tap into "big data" generated by gene research, in a move highlighting how drug companies are learning to share. The new public-private Centre for Therapeutic Target Validation (CTTV) is being created by GSK working alongside the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the European Bioinformatics Institute, both of which are based in Cambridge, England. "I fully expect others to join," Patrick Vallance, GSK's head of pharmaceuticals research and development, told Reuters. As a result, there is a growing trend among pharmaceutical companies to become more open about sharing early-stage - or pre-competitive - research work, rather than keeping their science locked up behind high walls. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. extends Obamacare sign-up deadline in case of tech troubles Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014 05:22 PM PDT Americans in most states who tried to apply for medical coverage under President Barack Obama's healthcare law by a March 31 deadline but met with technical difficulties will get an automatic extension to enroll, officials said on Wednesday. The new federal guidelines apply to consumers in the 36 states served by the federal health insurance marketplace and its website, HealthCare.gov. Monday is the cut-off date for choosing a health plan in 2014. We won't close the door on those who tried to get covered and were unable to do so through no fault of their own," said Julie Bataille, spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the agency overseeing the healthcare law rollout. Full Story | Top |
| NICE to take broader view of drug value Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014 05:14 PM PDT By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is to take a broader view of the value offered by new medicines under proposals that may make it more likely that it will say "yes" to novel drugs in future. Chief Executive Andrew Dillon told Reuters that wider uptake would only occur, however, if pharmaceutical manufacturers kept a tight rein on prices. NICE, which determines the use of treatments on the state-run health service, will in future look at the "wider societal impact" of therapies, as well as their cost-effectiveness on more limited clinical grounds. Full Story | Top |
| British cost agency to take broader view of drug value Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014 05:03 PM PDT By Ben Hirschler LONDON (Reuters) - British healthcare cost agency NICE is to take a broader view of the value offered by new medicines under proposals that may make it more likely that it will say "yes" to novel drugs in future. Chief Executive Andrew Dillon told Reuters that wider uptake would only occur, however, if pharmaceutical manufacturers kept a tight rein on prices. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which determines the use of treatments on the state-run health service, will in future look at the "wider societal impact" of therapies, as well as their cost-effectiveness on more limited clinical grounds. Full Story | Top |
| White House defends extension of Obamacare deadline Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014 04:35 PM PDT The White House on Wednesday defended extending some enrollments for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act past a March 31 deadline, saying doing so was comparable to allowing voters who are in line when polls close to cast their ballots. The administration late on Tuesday granted an extension until mid-April to people who say they have started to apply for coverage through the HealthCare.gov website but are unable to complete the process before the deadline. "We expect there to be increasing numbers as the deadline approaches," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. The administration expects criticism of the extension "by those who want to deny Americans quality, affordable health insurance, and want to put insurance companies back in control," he told reporters traveling with the president to Europe. Full Story | Top |
| Obama to find ally on justice in first meeting with Pope Francis Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014 04:19 PM PDT  By Philip Pullella and Jeff Mason VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Despite differences on moral issues, U.S. President Barack Obama will find in Pope Francis a welcome ally on issues of poverty and social justice when they meet for the first time at the Vatican on Thursday. Obama, a Christian, has kept his religion a mostly private affair, rarely attending church in Washington, D.C., since his election in 2008. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Congress rushes to avert doctor pay cuts Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014 04:12 PM PDT  By Susan Cornwell and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House and Senate leaders said on Wednesday they were working to avert looming Medicare pay cuts for doctors, with a House vote on a temporary solution expected on Thursday and Senate action also possible in the coming days. Many lawmakers in both parties support the idea of finding a permanent solution to the Medicare payment system, fearing that otherwise doctors will be forced to turn away patients seeking access to care under the government-funded healthcare program for the elderly. Republican House Speaker John Boehner said on Wednesday he expected Congress to act swiftly after he and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, agreed to a proposal to delay the cuts for another year. The House of Representatives will vote on Thursday, Boehner said, adding he expected the Senate would follow quickly. Full Story | Top |
| Two dead, 17 hurt in historic Boston neighborhood blaze -report Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014 04:02 PM PDT Two firefighters were reported killed and at least 17 people injured as a nine-alarm fire raced through a four-story building in the city's historic Back Bay neighborhood on Wednesday, drawing a large-scale emergency response, local officials said. The Boston Globe, quoting two people with direct knowledge of the fire, said the two Boston firefighters died while battling the blaze but gave no further details. All residents of the apartment building escaped unharmed, said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald. With the winds, "it's hard fighting it from the outside." Boston Emergency Medical Service said it had taken 17 people to area hospitals. Full Story | Top |
| Merck, Glaxo end co-pay assistance for Obamacare plans Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014 03:27 PM PDT (Reuters) - Merck and Co Inc and GlaxoSmithKline Plc are not reimbursing drug co-payments for patients who purchase their health insurance through state and federal exchanges set up under the Obamacare program. The two drugmakers said their decision, first reported by Bloomberg News, is based on uncertainty about whether insurance programs offered under the Affordable Care Act are governed by federal laws that ban kickbacks to businesses. At the same time, most drugmakers offer patient assistance programs, or coupons, to people who might otherwise not be able to afford medications that have been prescribed by doctors. Merck, which makes drugs such as Januvia for diabetes, said it plans to revisit its decision once more information is available about implementation of the law governing the federal health program. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. drug firms move to bar antibiotic use in livestock growth Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014 03:15 PM PDT By P.J. Huffstutter CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Wednesday said that 25 out of 26 drugmakers that sell antibiotics used in livestock feed for growth enhancement have agreed to follow new guidelines that will make it illegal to use their products to create beefier cattle, heftier hogs and other outsized animals. The companies - which include Eli Lilly & Co's Elanco Animal Health unit, Bayer Healthcare LLC's animal health division and Zoetis Inc - have agreed to start the process of removing any growth promotion claims on their products' labeling, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA announced the guidelines in December, as part of an ongoing bid to stem a surge in human resistance to certain antibiotics. Full Story | Top |
| Socialite pleads guilty to misbranding drug tied to NFL suspensions Wednesday, Mar 26, 2014 02:59 PM PDT  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A socialite whose weight-loss supplement was linked to suspensions of several NFL players in 2008 for banned substances pleaded guilty on Wednesday to drug misbranding. Nikki Haskell and her company, Balanced Health Products Inc, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal district court to a misdemeanor count of misbranding in connection with the sale of a pill called StarCaps, whose label did not disclose the presence of a diuretic called bumetanide. Haskell, who billed herself as the "Diet Queen to the Stars," has been an occasional presence in celebrity social circles, with the New York Post's Page Six gossip column reporting her appearance at events involving Aretha Franklin and Ivanka Trump. She was the chief executive of Balanced Health, which marketed StarCaps as an "all natural diet supplement" containing papaya and garlic. Full Story | Top |
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