Diagnosed with breast cancer last year, Jennifer Thomas couldn’t help but feel a little lucky: She had good insurance through her husband’s employer.
That wasn’t always the case. Jennifer and her husband, Preston, were at one time enrolled in the Primary Care Network, a public health insurance program that covers basic care and little else.
Then Preston got a new job – one that offered health insurance – and got help paying the premiums Read the rest of this entry »
(Adds new details throughout.)
KENILWORTH, N.J. -(Dow Jones)-
Schering-Plough Corp.
(SGP) plans to file for
regulatory approval of five new drugs in 2009, the drug maker’s executives said
Monday.
The company will file for regulatory green lights for the fertility drug
Corifollitropin alfa; a contraceptive called Nomac/E2; anti-HIV drug Vicriviroc;
a combination of the drugs mometasone and formoterol that would treat asthma and
another respiratory Read the rest of this entry »
GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) — Government health advisers said Friday an experimental morphine pill from Alpharma could discourage some patients from abusing the powerful narcotic but provides only a small advantage over existing drugs.
Alpharma has asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve its drug Embeda as a tamper-resistant medication for patients with moderate to severe chronic pain. The pills are formulated so that the euphoric effects Read the rest of this entry »
Denver Health Medical Center in 2008 provided about $315 million in care for the uninsured, a record for the city’s primary “safety-net” hospital for the poor.
The amount is 14 percent more than the $276 million provided in 2007.
The surge comes as the increasing numbers of unemployed and uninsured people turn to hospitals because emergency rooms are legally required to see all patients who enter their doors, regardless of their ability to pay. Read the rest of this entry »
VIENNA, Dec 29 (Reuters) – Austrian biotech firm Intercell
(
ICEL.VI
) said on Monday it expects U.S. approval for its
Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine to move into early 2009,
later than expected.
The company, which had hoped the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) would approve the vaccine by the end of
2008, said the delay should not cause problems for its overall
timeline for the vaccine.
“Although our year end target date for approval Read the rest of this entry »
GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) — Government health advisers said Friday an experimental morphine pill from Alpharma could discourage some patients from abusing the powerful narcotic but provides only a small advantage over existing drugs.
Alpharma has asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve its drug Embeda as a tamper-resistant medication for patients with moderate to severe chronic pain. The pills are formulated so that the euphoric effects Read the rest of this entry »
CEO Dale Jenkins attributed the decline to an $8.9 million loss realized from the sale of investments, principally Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred shares, whose value collapsed after the federal government seized the mortgage giants.
In 2007 Medical Mutual realized a $1.4 million gain on investments.
So how can Medical Mutual pay a larger distribution when its profit is down? Last year the company paid off its $10 million debt, so it won’t Read the rest of this entry »
and other Democrats would carry a high price tag and would generate only modest savings.
The budget office, an influential voice in the work of Congress, analyzed 115 options, including proposals to expand coverage and slow the growth of health spending.
Some of the options, including proposals to increase taxes on
and nondiet soft drinks, are sure to meet stiff political opposition.
to use health information technology, including electronic Read the rest of this entry »
Teton County health department officials have administered about 1,700 flu shots since October, and the department is out of adult vaccines, said Melanie Pearce, county health nursing supervisor and immunization coordinator. Only about 40 children’s vaccines remain.
“It does seem that we went through them quicker this year,” Pearce said.
Of that 1,700, about 1,400 were adult doses, which the department purchases. Pearce said Read the rest of this entry »
Nobel-winning economist sees hope for universal health care in U.S.
GENEVA — The winner of this year’s Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science says universal health care may soon become an accepted feature of American life.
Paul Krugman says he is optimistic because he feels there is a growing consensus on what is needed, unlike in 1993 when the Clinton administration tried to draft an agreement.
Krugman says the United States already Read the rest of this entry »