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New York Times Magazine Publishes Several Articles About U.S. Health Care System Concerns
The New York Times Magazine publishes several articles about the U.S. health care system and medicine.
CMS Announces New Rules for Enrollment in Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Card Program
States that already have prescription drug assistance programs for low-income Medicare beneficiaries will be allowed to automatically enroll them in the Medicare prescription drug discount card program when it begins this spring, CMS Administrator Mark McClellan announced Saturday, the AP/Akron Beacon Journal reports.
At CalPERS’ request, Sen. Deirdre Alpert (D-San Diego) on Monday is expected to introduce a bill (SB 1509) that would make it illegal for a hospital chain to require a health plan to contract with all of its hospitals, the Sacramento Bee reports.
House Energy and Commerce Committee To Investigate FDA Over Antidepressant Concerns
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, last week said that his committee will investigate whether FDA “fully disclosed the disagreement among its scientists about whether antidepressants might be linked to suicide in children,” the AP/Albany Times Union reports.
AP/Los Angeles Times Examines Effects of U.S. Nursing Shortage, Efforts To Address Issue
The AP/Los Angeles Times on Sunday examined the current nursing shortage, profiling a woman who recently won a $2.7 million malpractice settlement in the first court decision “specifically pinned on inadequate nurse staffing.”
Pharmacists To Promote Certain Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Drug Cards
The New Orleans Times-Picayune on Friday examined how local pharmacies’ marketing efforts could affect Medicare beneficiaries’ selection of prescription drug discount cards when the new drug card program begins next month.
FDA Official Admits Agency Withheld Report on Antidepressants and Suicide in Children
Dr. Robert Temple, associate director of medical policy at FDA, on Thursday admitted that agency managers did not allow medical officer Dr. Andrew Mosholder to testify at a February public hearing about a report that found antidepressants may lead to suicidal behavior in children because they “viewed his findings as alarmist and premature,” the New York Times reports.
CDC Report Says State Funding Cuts for Antitobacco Campaigns Increase Rates of Teen Smoking
Cuts in funding for state antitobacco programs lead directly to a sharp rise in the number of teenagers who consider smoking cigarettes, according to a CDC study that surveyed Minnesota teens six months after the state halted an aggressive antitobacco campaign targeting youth, Reuters/Boston Globe reports.
Blue Cross of California will continue to allow undocumented immigrants to use their Mexican identification cards to apply for and obtain health insurance, officials for Blue Cross and the Mexican Consulate office in Fresno announced Wednesday, the Fresno Bee reports.
GAO Head Says Public Unaware of Problems With Unfunded Benefits
David Walker, chief of the General Accounting Office, said on Thursday in an interview that the public and lawmakers “remain oblivious to the serious financial crunch that is looming with the retirement of the baby boomers,” the Washington Times reports.