Medicine & Health articles from March 2003

Medicine & Health archives from March 2003

GOP pushing on Medicare, but differences remain. (Medicare).
March 3, 2003... Hill Republicans see an opportunity to move quickly on Medicare prescription drugs and other program changes, and they want to seize it. At the American Association of Health Plans' National Policy Forum, House Ways and Means Majority Staff...

Future retirees must pinch pennies to pay for medigap. (Baby-Boom Retirement).
March 3, 2003... With medical costs rising and employer-provided retiree coverage shrinking, allowing future retirees to fund coverage with pretax dollars could be an idea whose time has come, according to a new analysis from the Employee Benefit Research...

Health panel singing new tune on care management ... (Chronic Disease).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... At hearings last year, House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Nancy Johnson (R-CT) said it was her clear understanding that the rules of fee-for-service Medicare would never permit that program to incorporate disease management for...

... As administration announces disease management demo. (Chronic Disease).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson Feb. 27 announced a three-year capitated demonstration program to promote care coordination strategies for Medicare beneficiaries with chronic diseases like stroke, congestive heart...

Key to outcomes is treatment quality, not quantity ... (Geographic Disparities).
March 3, 2003... When it comes to medical care, more does not necessarily mean better, happier, or healthier. That's the conclusion of a recent study that offers the prospect of achieving huge savings in Medicare and in American healthcare in general. ...

... But how to eliminate unnecessary care? (Geographic Disparities).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... The promise embodied in Fisher's findings is clear. As the researchers note: "If the United States as a whole could safely achieve spending levels comparable to those of the lowest-spending regions, annual savings of up to 30 percent of...

Medicaid Rx purchasing pool growing. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... The first multistate Medicaid drug purchasing pool, announced Feb. 20 by Michigan and Vermont, is getting bigger. South Carolina and Wisconsin have joined the compact, which seeks to use bulk purchasing power to achieve savings beyond the...

House Liability Bill would have broad consequences, says analyst. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... At a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Feb. 27, panel Republicans said they'll push forward tort reform with renewed vigor this year, as doctors in numerous states stage work stoppages to call attention to rising...

Administration soon to propose more funding, compensation for smallpox program. (In Other News).(George W. Bush administration)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... The White House has come around to many public-health officials' view that the administration's smallpox-vaccination initiative should get extra dedicated funding beyond the so-called all-hazards bioterror funding that the federal government...

Increased administrative costs play relatively small role in premium hikes. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... Administrative cost increases accounted for 7.8 percent of the total increase in health-care premiums from 1998 through 2002, according to an analysis by the consultancy Milliman USA, Inc., for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Premiums...

HELP to take up genetic discrimination, mental health parity. (In Other News).(Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions)(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... The first health bill on the Senate floor might be legislation banning premium increases or employment action based on predictive genetic information, Kim Monk said Feb. 25 at the American Association of Health Plans National Policy Forum....

Web-based patient-safety journal debuts. (In Other News).
March 3, 2003... A monthly, Web-based, peer-reviewed medical journal featuring analysis of actual cases of medical error is a new initiative at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Each issue will include expert analysis of five cases from five...

Biotechs trim research. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... With concerns already rampant about the pipeline of new drugs looking empty, news comes that biotechnology companies--presumably the main sources of cutting-edge pharmaceuticals in coming decades--are cutting back on drug discovery. Companies...

Iowa mulls health spending accounts, acuity-based payments for Medicaid. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
March 3, 2003... With backing from the Milbank Memorial Fund, some Iowa state legislators are exploring new Medicaid options, the Des Moines Register reports. A possible redesign includes establishment of state-funded health spending accounts for families, with...

National Women's Law Center. (People).
March 3, 2003... Judy Waxman, who was deputy director of the health care-focused consumer group Families USA, is now vice president for health and reproductive rights at the National Women's Law Center.

Estes Park Institute. (People).
March 3, 2003... Former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, MD, is the new president of the Estes Park Institute, an Englewood CO-based educational organization for community Hospitals and health-care organizations.

Health Strategies. (People).
March 3, 2003... Former Congressional Budget Office analyst Jennifer Bowman has joined Health Strategies, the Washington-based consultancy founded by former Clinton administration Office of Management and Budget health chief Dan Mendelson.

Covance. (People).
March 3, 2003... Also new at Health Strategies is Sarah Pitluck. She was a pharmaceutical-reimbursement and government-policy analyst at drug development-services specialist Covance.

White House banks on prevention for Medicaid. (Perspectives).
March 3, 2003... This is the second in an occasional series of Perspectives on Medicaid. The first was published Jan. 20. The White House is counting on preventive-health services and more home- and community-based care to lower prices over the long haul in...

Bush proposes limited Medicare FFS Rx benefit. (Medicare Rx).
March 10, 2003... Those who chose to stay in traditional fee-for-service Medicare would get only a limited drug benefit under President George Bush's framework for reforming Medicare, and would miss out on preventive care and a cap on overall out-of-pocket...

Bush wants FEHBP analogue, competitive Medicare+Choice. (Medicare Private Plans).(Federal Employees Health Benefits Program)
March 10, 2003... Beneficiaries willing to leave traditional Medicare and join a private plan would have two options available under the proposal offered March 3 by President George Bush, which the White House says will cost $400 billion over ten years. In...

HHS seeks jump start with smallpox comp proposal ... (Smallpox).
March 10, 2003... Trying to vivify its close-to-stillborn smallpox immunization campaign, the Bush administration has put forth a long-awaited proposal to provide compensation for those who suffer side effects. The Department of Health and Human Services had...

... Some would strengthen package.
March 10, 2003... At the March 6 briefing, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Judd Gregg (R-NH) said he would introduce legislation embodying HHS's proposal. While all concerned agree on the basic no-fault framework adopted by HHS,...

Outlaw outliers would be under gun in new rule. (Hospital Outlier Rule).
March 10, 2003... To head off a scam that has allowed Tenet Healthcare and other hospitals to gain financial windfalls from classifying many cases as high-cost "outliers" under the Medicare inpatient prospective payment system, the Centers for Medicare and...

Under close inspection, inspector general quits. (HHS Inspector General).
March 10, 2003... As investigation into her conduct of the office of Health and Human Services Inspector General continues at the General Accounting Office, IG Janet Rehnquist has said she will leave the post June 1, citing personal and family reasons. ...

Groups rally with little new to say on uninsured. (Uninsured).
March 10, 2003... Based on census data, 41 million Americans were uninsured for the entire calendar year in 2001, but nearly 75 million people lacked coverage for at least part of the two-year period of 2001 through 2002. So says a new report from the coalition...

Damage caps on house agenda. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
March 10, 2003... This week, the House of Representatives is likely to pass a bill placing federal damage caps on malpractice and other health care lawsuits. The GOP pushed slightly differing versions of the legislation (H.R. 5) through markups in the House...

Oregon assisted suicides climb. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
March 10, 2003... In 2002, 38 people committed physician-assisted suicide under Oregon's law that permits doctors to prescribe lethal drugs for the purpose. Oregon's is the only such law in the nation. The 2002 total is up substantially from 1998--the first year...

Private insurers pay decreasing percentage of ER charges. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
March 10, 2003... The rate of payment of charges for emergency-department care dropped from 60 percent to 53 percent between 1996 and 1998, mostly driven by declining payment from private insurers, according to a study in the Feb. 26 issue of the Annals of...

Senate dems offer Rx cost containment package. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
March 10, 2003... Democratic senators have reintroduced legislation designed to speed market entry for less expensive generic drugs. The measure, proposed March 5 by Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Byron Dorgan (D-ND), is based on a...

WellPoint Health Networks. (People).(Brief Article)
March 10, 2003... Larry Bryant, vice president for communications at California-based WellPoint Health Networks, died of a heart attack at the age of 53. A Washington, DC, native who joined WellPoint in 1991, Bryant earlier directed media affairs for the United...

State Associations for Addiction Services. (People).(Brief Article)
March 10, 2003... A new group on the Washington scene is the State Associations for Addiction Services. Founded in 1987, the group includes 32 state associations of community-based providers of addiction prevention and treatment services. Howard Shapiro is...

Senate Finance Committee. (People).(Brief Article)
March 10, 2003... Senate Finance Committee majority-side senior health advisor Tom Walsh has left that position to work on his own as a speaker, writer, and policy consultant. Prior to joining the panel in 1997, he practiced health-care law at McDermott, Will &...

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (People).(Brief Article)
March 10, 2003... Sharon Soderstrom is the staff director of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. She earlier served as deputy chief of staff for Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) and chief of staff for Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN). Also new on the...

Generic Pharmaceutical Association. (People).(Brief Article)
March 10, 2003... New at the Generic Pharmaceutical Association is Christina Simmon, vice president of policy and public affairs. She moved over from a policy-analyst spot at the BlueCross BlueShield Association. Also joining GPhA is Suzanne Charleston, who...

Long-term-care providers could fight it out in Medicaid. (Perspectives).
March 10, 2003... This is the third in an occasional series of Perspectives on Medicaid. The most recent outlined the president's new proposal and was published March 3. The Bush administration's plan to cap federal spending for optional Medicaid...

House votes to cap health care awards. (Medical Liability).(for medical malpractice actions and other healthcare lawsuits)
March 17, 2003... In a generally party-line vote of 229-196, the House passed legislation March 13 that would cap damages in medical malpractice actions and other healthcare lawsuits. The bill is intended to lower rising malpractice premiums that House...

House bill seeks quality improvement. (Patient Safety).(with the passing of patient safety legislation)(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... The House March 12 overwhelmingly passed patient safety legislation virtually identical to a bill it overwhelmingly passed last year. Under H.R. 663, hospitals and other health-care institutions would report medical errors and "near-misses"...

Late filings, lies are source of Bristol-Myers' troubles ... (Generic Drugs).(the Federal Trade Commission and Bristol-Myers Squibb announce an agreement in antitrust proceedings)
March 17, 2003... The Federal Trade Commission and pharmaceutical maker Bristol-Myers Squibb on March 7 announced they have reached agreement in antitrust proceedings involving BMS's anti-anxiety drug, BuSpar, and two cancer drugs, Taxol and Platinol. FTC...

... Which suggest remaining Hatch-Waxman vulnerabilities. (Generic Drugs).(questions still exist about the Hatch-Waxman law that regulates generic-drug market entry)(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... The settlement suggests that some vulnerabilities would remain in the Hatch-Waxman law that regulates generic-drug market entry, even with the new rule. When Congress debated Hatch-Waxman revisions last summer, some members on both sides...

Senate budget panel would let states keep schip funds. (Health-Care Spending).(the Senate Budget Committee Chair Don Nickles announces the 2004 budget resolution)
March 17, 2003... In his chairman's draft of the fiscal year 2004 budget resolution, which passed the Senate Budget Committee virtually unchanged on a party-line vote March 13, Chair Don Nickles (R-OK) essentially earmarks several significant pots of money in...

FDA proposes medication bar codes ... (Rx Drugs).(the Food and Drug Administration announces proposed regulations to prevent avoidable injuries from medication use)
March 17, 2003... The Food and Drug Administration March 13 announced two proposed regulations to prevent avoidable injuries from medication use. One rule would require bar codes on products, and the other would toughen requirements for reporting medication...

... And tougher reporting regs. (Rx Drugs).(the FDA has proposed a rule on reporting medication miscues and adverse reactions)(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... FDA's second proposed rule, on reporting medication miscues and adverse reactions, would require drug manufacturers to report to the agency within 15 days both actual medication errors--whether or not they caused any adverse events--and...

Uninsured week sees modest efforts, shrinking dollars. (Uninsured).(members of Congress reintroduce legislation for providing health coverage for the uninsured)
March 17, 2003... A variety of interest groups dubbed March 12 to 15 "Covering the Uninsured" week, and several members of Congress marked the occasion by reintroducing legislation with that purpose. But a drastically worsening budget picture could compromise...

FDA warns of legal peril for drug importers. (In Other News).
March 17, 2003... * FDA Warns Of Legal Peril For Drug Importers. A wide array of parties, from insurers to Internet pharmacies to Canadian doctors and pharmacists, could be held liable for illegal importation of prescription drugs from Canada into the United...

High Court oks cancer fear recoveries. (In Other News).
March 17, 2003... * High Court OKs Cancer Fear Recoveries. Railroad employees who already suffer from asbestosis can collect damages from employers for a "serious and genuine" fear of developing the asbestos--related cancer mesothelioma, the United States...

FDA to regulate supplements ... sort of. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... * FDA To Regulate Supplements... Sort Of. As Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Mark McClellan, MD, promised earlier this year, FDA is proposing modest regulation of dietary supplements. Under the rule, which offers small companies...

National Institutes of Health.(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... Raynard Kington, MD, has moved into the deputy director spot at the National Institutes of Health, replacing Ruth Kirchstein, MD, who will serve as senior advisor to NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, MD. For the past two years, Kington held posts in...

Kaiser Family Foundation. (People).(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... Chris Peacock, who headed press operations at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services during the Clinton administration, is now director of communications at Menlo Park CA-based Kaiser Family Foundation. Prior to joining Kaiser, he was...

Department of Health and Human Services. (People).(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... Melissa Skolfield, who was assistant secretary for public affairs for the Department of Health and Human Services during the Clinton administration, is the new communications counsel for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

Health and Human Services. (People).(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... At the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Larry Goldberg becomes assistant inspector general for legal affairs, the post previously held by Lew Morris, who was named OIG chief counsel last year. Goldberg most recently was...

National Institutes of Health. (People).(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... Mark Rohrbaugh will direct the National Institutes of Health's Office of Technology Transfer, where he's served since May 2001. Prior to joining NIH in 1991, he worked as a research scientist at the University of Minnesota and for two...

House budget deals stunning blows to Medicare, Medicaid. (Medicine & Health Perspectives).
March 17, 2003... This is the fourth in an occasional series of Perspectives on Medicaid budget troubles. The most recent was published March 10. Members of Congress, including many Democrats, are lending a sympathetic ear to governors who seek greater state...

Medicare is expensive, getting more so ... (Medicare).(the Medicare Part A Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will become insolvent in 2026, the Medicare trustees report)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... The Medicare Part A Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will become insolvent in 2026, four years earlier than projected last year, the Medicare trustees reported March 17. The culprits: 2002 payroll tax revenues that were 4 percent below...

... So what now? (Medicare).(Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson says it is time to modernize and improve Medicare)
March 24, 2003... Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, a trustee, reacted to the report by declaring, "The time has come to modernize and improve the Medicare program," a statement that was echoed by several Hill Republicans. The report could...

Panel approves Bioshield, but no smallpox compensation ... (Bioterror).(the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approves S. 15 to strengthen defenses against bioterrorism)
March 24, 2003... The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee March 19 unanimously approved S. 15, embodying President Bush's Bioshield initiative, designed to strengthen the nation's defenses against bioterrorism. But the panel postponed action...

... And pediatric testing with sunset. (Pediatric Drugs).(a Senate commity approves a bill to empower the FDA to require drug manufacturers to conduct tests in children)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... HELP also reported two other health-related bills. The committee unanimously approved S. 650, authored by Sens. Mike DeWine (R-OH), Chris Dodd (D-CT), and Hillary Clinton (D-NY), which would empower the Food and Drug Administration to require...

Groups sue big PBMS, express scripts swears off pharma cash ... (Pharmacy Benefit Managers).(Prescription Access Litigation and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees announce a class-action suit against Express Scripts and three other firms)
March 24, 2003... In a positive public-relations move that got out ahead of some rapidly developing bad press, St. Louis-based Express Scripts, one of the country's largest pharmacy benefit managers, pledged March 17 that it will "always align our interests with...

... As first consumer-directed prescription plan debuts. (Pharmacy Benefit Managers).(PBM Prime Therapeutics Inc. CEO Tim Dickman criticizes the pharmacy benefit manager industry's business model)
March 24, 2003... PBMs also took a negative PR hit the previous week when Tim Dickman, CEO of the St. Paul MN-based PBM Prime Therapeutics, Inc., issued a widely reported statement criticizing the industry's current business model in terms similar to those in...

MedPAC churns out new analysis of use, spending data. (Regional Payment Variation).(the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission)
March 24, 2003... Data being developed for the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's June report clearly suggests that quality of care tends to be lower in many states where beneficiaries use medical services at a high rate. Commission staff plotted...

House gives Medicare reprieve, Medicaid still on chopping block. (In Other News).(the House budget resolution spares Medicare from $200+ billion of cuts but cuts Medicaid by $90+ billion)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... The budget resolution approved, 215-212, by the House March 20 spares Medicare from cuts of more than $200 billion over 10 years that were contained in the House Budget Committee's original version. But the plan still cuts Medicaid by more...

Financial going tough for docs, hospitals. (In Other News).(physicians face future pay cuts for Medicare reimbursements)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... Physicians aren't getting much opportunity to celebrate this year's Medicare reimbursement increase. At a March 17 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services "open door" forum, Administrator Tom Scully warned of future pay cuts. The...

Health subpanel approves reg reform. (In Other News).(the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee approves a Medicare regulatory and contracting reform bill)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... It only seems like it's once a month that the House votes to streamline Medicare regulations. Actually, it's more like once a year that the House passes Medicare regulatory and contracting reform, which has so far nevertheless failed to be...

Young docs' interest in primary care still dropping. (In Other News).(medical school graduates are avoiding primary care positions)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... Continuing a decline that began in 1997, 5 percent fewer family-practice residencies were filled in the first go-round of the National Resident Matching Program in 2003 than in 2002. Based on initial data from the NRMP, the American Academy of...

Feds lower boom on HealthSouth, Scrushy. (In Other News).(the Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Department of Justice charge HealthSouth and its executives with financial fraud)
March 24, 2003... After months of investigation, the Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Department of Justice delivered a double whammy March 19, as both agencies charged Birmingham AL-based HealthSouth and its executives with financial fraud. The...

Senate abortion bar omits health exception. (In Other News).(the "partial birth" abortion ban passed by the Senate does not contain an exception for protecting the health of the mother)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... The "partial birth" abortion ban passed by the Senate 64-33--which is virtually certain to become law--does not contain an exception for protecting the health of the mother. The lack of such an exception was cited by the United States Supreme...

Amgen, Inc. (People).(hires Lu Zawistowich as director of health policy)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... Former Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Deputy Director Lu Zawistowich has joined the biotechnology firm Amgen, Inc., as director of health policy.

U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs. (People).(names Nelda Wray as the new chief of research and development)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... The new chief of research and development at the U.S. Department of Veterans' Affairs is Nelda Wray; MD, who has been chief of general medicine at VA's medical center in Houston. She replaces James Burris, MD, formerly deputy director for...

Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Employment, Safety, and Training. (People).(hires Stephen Northrup as a health policy advisor)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... Stephen Northrup, former executive director of the Long Term Care Pharmacy Alliance, joins the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on Employment, Safety, and Training as a health policy advisor.

Association of Academic Health Centers. (People).(appoints David Ramsay to the position of foreign secretary)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... The Association of Academic Health Centers has appointed its first foreign secretary, David Ramsay, DM, president of University of Maryland-Baltimore. The group intends to expand its division of global health.

Council of Ethical Organizations. (People).(Gary Thompson joins the Council of Ethical Organizations)(Brief Article)
March 24, 2003... Gary Thompson, formerly of the office of counsel to the Health and Human Services Inspector General, is now at the Council of Ethical Organizations. He's senior vice president for corporate governance and regulatory affairs. Thompson has...

Universal-coverage advocates gear up for a new campaign. (Perspective).(in the US, there is a growing interest in introducing universal health care)
March 24, 2003... This is the first part of a two-part Perspectives on apparent increasing interest in launching a new national debate of universal coverage. The second will appear March 31. About once a decade or so, the United States debates a move to...

Heart problems, lack of compensation plague campaign. (Smallpox).(Congress cannot agree on a compensation mechanism for vaccinees who suffer adverse events)
March 31, 2003... Even as heart problems appear among healthcare workers who have been vaccinated against smallpox, with two deaths so far, Congress still can't agree on a compensation mechanism for vaccinees who suffer adverse events. The Senate Health,...

Senators, providers argue against medicaid cuts. (Budget).
March 31, 2003... Seventy-nine senators, led by Finance Committee chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and senior panel Democrat Max Baucus (MT), urged Hill conferees in a March 27 letter not to include any Medicaid funding cuts in the fiscal year 2004 congressional...

Time line for Medicare Rx bill seems chancy ... (Medicare Drugs).(some Republicans are troubled by President George W. Bush's proposal for Medicare prescription-drug legislation)
March 31, 2003... Expectations for achievement are high with Republicans controlling both houses of Congress and the White House, and GOP health leaders say they want to put Medicare prescription-drug legislation on a fast track to passage. But differences...

... As newspaper raises doubts about PPO demo ... (Medicare Drugs).(a story in the Chicago Tribune questions whether Medicare private plans would fully serve their constituents)
March 31, 2003... A March 23 Chicago Tribune story could increase lawmakers' anxiety about whether Medicare private plans would fully serve their constituents. In the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' preferred-provider-organization demonstration,...

... And substantial bill rewrites seem essential. (Medicare Drugs).(debates are taking place on the use of private plans for drug coverage)
March 31, 2003... All private plans in the administration's drug proposal would offer comprehensive medical coverage, not drugs alone. However, prominent proposals by congressional Republicans, including House Ways and Means Committee Chair Bill Thomas's (R-CA),...

Health centers feel state budget pinch. (Community Health Centers).(community health centers are being hurt from state budget troubles)
March 31, 2003... The finances of community health centers--a cornerstone of President George Bush's policies for ensuring that Americans can get access to basic care--are taking hits from several directions as state budget troubles mount, the National...

FEHBP adverse selection minimal, says Thorpe. (FEHBP).(Federal Employee Health Benefits Program)
March 31, 2003... There is relatively little adverse selection in the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program, despite the absence of an explicit risk adjustment mechanism, Ken Thorpe told a March 12 forum sponsored by the Heritage Foundation. Thorpe's...

MCOs are getting better at business, CMS says. (Managed Care Market).(managed care organizations)
March 31, 2003... Financial analysts see relatively good times ahead for the managed-care industry, according to a market report compiled by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. High on the list of portents cited: Managed care organizations are taking...

Feinstein pulls out of damages cap effort. (In Other News).(Senator Dianne Feinstein pulls her support from a bill to cap medical malpractice damages)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Feinstein Pulls Out of Damages Cap Effort. In a setback to Senate legislation capping medical malpractice damages, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has withdrawn her support from a compromise bill she had been developing with Republican leaders....

Supreme Court will hear Texas Medicaid Case. (In Other News).(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Supreme Court Will Hear Texas Medicaid Case. Did Texas waive its immunity under the federal constitution's 11th Amendment by entering into a consent degree governing its obligations to poor children under Medicaid's early and periodic...

FDA mulls DTC ad guidelines. (In Other News).(the FDA plans to enforce rules requiring direct-to-consumer ads for prescription drugs to be balanced and informative)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... FDA Mulls DTC Ad Guidelines. Don't look to the Food and Drug Administration to stop direct-to-consumer ads for prescription products, FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan, MD, told the National Association of Health Underwriters March 24. "I think...

National Academy of State Health Policy. (People).(hires Debbie Chang)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Debbie Chang will join the National Academy of State Health Policy next month as director of strategic development and policy. For the past four years, Chang served as deputy secretary for health care financing in the Maryland Department of...