Democratic Repsonse to Sen. McCain's Health Plan- (quote from WSJ.com)

"John McCain is recycling the same failed policies that didn't work when George Bush first proposed them and won't work now," said a spokesman for Sen. Obama.

FDA: Millions More Needed For Inspection- National Journal - CongressDaily

FDA: Millions More Needed For Inspection - National Journal - CongressDaily: "FDA’s Janet Woodcock told lawmakers Tuesday the agency needs hundreds of millions of dollars more to inspect foreign and domestic drug manufacturers more frequently as House Energy and Commerce investigators exposed gaping holes in inspection efforts that put the public at risk."

McCain Offers Market-Based Health Plan - washingtonpost.com

McCain Offers Market-Based Health Plan - washingtonpost.com: "TAMPA, April 29 -- Sen. John McCain on Tuesday rejected calls by his Democratic opponents for universal health coverage, instead offering a market-based solution with an approach similar to a proposal put forth by President Bush last year."

McCain seeks tax credit for health care - washingtonpost.com

McCain seeks tax credit for health care - washingtonpost.com: "TAMPA, Fla. -- Republican presidential candidate John McCain wants health insurance companies to compete for your business on the open market."

McCain runs strong as Democrats battle on - USATODAY.com

McCain runs strong as Democrats battle on - USATODAY.com: "Why is this man smiling?
Arizona Sen. John McCain could understandably be scowling: He could face a more difficult political landscape than any presidential candidate in a generation."

Group Urges Ban on Medical Giveaways - New York Times

Group Urges Ban on Medical Giveaways - New York Times: "Drug and medical device companies should be banned from offering free food, gifts, travel and ghost-writing services to doctors, staff members and students in all 129 of the nation’s medical colleges, an influential college association has concluded."

FDA's Off-Label Promotion Notion: 'Good Framework' vs. 'Fantasy'-WSJ Health Blog

FDA's Off-Label Promotion Notion: 'Good Framework' vs. 'Fantasy'-WSJ Health Blog: "We’re having flashbacks to James J. Kilpatrick going at it with Shana Alexander on “60 Minutes” after reading the opposing views of ex-FDAer Scott Gottlieb and former New England Journal of Medicine editor Jerome Kassirer on the FDA’s proposal to allow drug and device makers to use journal articles to promote their products for unapproved uses."

Candidates' Health-Care Ideas May Not Offer Immediate Cure - WSJ.com

Candidates' Health-Care Ideas May Not Offer Immediate Cure - WSJ.com: "Sen. John McCain kicks off a week of health-care pegged events Monday with a simple message: The fundamental problem facing the health-care system is spiraling costs that must be brought under control."

Opposing view: Let FDA do its job - Opinion - USATODAY.com

Opposing view: Let FDA do its job - Opinion - USATODAY.com: "You've got cancer. You're taking the latest cancer drug. That medicine has been tested for years under FDA's guidance. The known risks are on the label by direction of FDA scientists. Would you want somebody's lawyer to second-guess FDA and decide what those scientific warnings should look like? That could be the effect of a U.S. Supreme Court case to be argued in September. Patients would obviously suffer."

Our view on pharmaceutical safety: If a drug has FDA's OK, should you be able to sue? - Opinion - USATODAY.com

Our view on pharmaceutical safety: If a drug has FDA's OK, should you be able to sue? - Opinion - USATODAY.com: "When the Food and Drug Administration approves a new drug as safe and effective, that isn't always the end of the story."

Doctors: Kid-sized plates, heart pumps needed - USATODAY.com

Doctors: Kid-sized plates, heart pumps needed - USATODAY.com: "WASHINGTON (AP) — It took a metal plate improperly lodged in a young boy's skull to make Dr. David Staffenberg realize just how dangerous adult-sized devices can be in children."

Democrats in Congress Downplay Universal Coverage-WSJ Health Blog

Democrats in Congress Downplay Universal Coverage-WSJ Health Blog: "Remember when President Bush talked big about revamping Social Security and then the proposal went nowhere? Well, Congressional Democrats are pouring some cold water on the expansive proposals for health reform being put forth by presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama."

Senate Fast-Tracks Medicaid Bill - WSJ.com

Senate Fast-Tracks Medicaid Bill - WSJ.com: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid invoked a procedure Thursday night to fast-track legislation that would block Medicaid rules likely to cut federal health-care spending on the poor and force states to absorb billions of dollars in costs."

House Passes Bill Challenging Bush on Medicaid Cuts - New York Times

House Passes Bill Challenging Bush on Medicaid Cuts - New York Times: "WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted Wednesday to block the Bush administration from cutting federal spending on Medicaid health care for the poor by $13 billion over the next five years. President Bush has threatened a veto, but supporters have more than enough votes to override him in the House, and maybe in the Senate, too."

House Panel Criticizes F.D.A. Role in Drug Cases - New York Times

House Panel Criticizes F.D.A. Role in Drug Cases - New York Times: "House members chastised the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday for not doing more inspections of foreign drug manufacturers in the wake of a litany of problems with the blood thinner heparin and other products."

Clinton Outduels Obama in Primary - New York Times

Clinton Outduels Obama in Primary - New York Times: "Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton defeated Senator Barack Obama in Pennsylvania on Tuesday by enough of a margin to continue a battle that Democrats increasingly believe is undermining their effort to unify the party and prepare for the general election against Senator John McCain."

Feds Fight to Keep Medicare Doctor Data Secret-WSJ Health Blog

Feds Fight to Keep Medicare Doctor Data Secret-WSJ Health Blog: "The Bush administration has repeatedly pushed for more transparency in health care, so consumers can be well informed when choosing a doctor or a hospital. But the administration’s been fighting in federal court to keep private the health-info mother lode: the Medicare claims database, which has data on more than 700,000 doctors."

A Second Chance for Canceled Health Insurance in California- WSJ Health Blog

A Second Chance for Canceled Health Insurance in California-WSJ Health Blog: "For a while now, California officials have been scrutinizing the way several big insurance companies cancel the policies of the sick and the pregnant, leaving patients on the hook for medical bills."

Zimmer Cleaning House on Payments to Docs- WSJ Health Blog

Zimmer Cleaning House on Payments to Docs-WSJ Health Blog: "Zimmer, which paid $85 million to orthopedic surgeons and other “consultants” in the first 10 months of last year, says it’s making big changes “to aggressively reduce potential or perceived conflicts of interest inherent in consulting relationships between the industry and healthcare professionals.”"

Parties' Split Most Apparent on Health Care - WSJ.com

Parties' Split Most Apparent on Health Care - WSJ.com: "As the presidential candidates respond to increasing economic anxiety about many issues, some of the sharpest differences in this fall's debate are expected to involve health care."

F.D.A. Plan on Medical Articles Takes More Heat - New York Times

F.D.A. Plan on Medical Articles Takes More Heat - New York Times: "A report indicating that Merck used ghostwriters to produce medical journal articles in support of its subsequently discredited drug Vioxx has galvanized opponents to a federal proposal that would relax some restrictions on drug promotion."

Obama Sharpens His Tone - washingtonpost.com

Obama Sharpens His Tone - washingtonpost.com: "Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday traded accusations of negative campaigning as they headed toward a critical showdown in the Pennsylvania primary."

Drug Makers Push Easing Off-Label Rules - WSJ.com

Drug Makers Push Easing Off-Label Rules - WSJ.com: "WASHINGTON -- Drug-industry representatives are descending on the capital to protect their freedom to advertise their wares directly to consumers and to push for looser government restrictions on their ability to promote off-label uses of their medicines."

Researcher Received Industry Funds - WSJ.com

Researcher Received Industry Funds - WSJ.com: "A Boston University researcher who authored an article in the New England Journal of Medicine last year recommending the moderate use of tanning beds as a way to treat or avoid vitamin-D deficiency has received research funding from an organization funded and controlled by the tanning-bed industry."

Panel’s Bipartisan View: F.D.A. Is Underfinanced - New York Times

Panel’s Bipartisan View: F.D.A. Is Underfinanced - New York Times: "WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration needs far more money than the White House has proposed for next year, senators of both parties said Tuesday."

Citing Ethics, Some Doctors Are Rejecting Industry Pay - New York Times

Citing Ethics, Some Doctors Are Rejecting Industry Pay - New York Times: "With little fanfare, a small number of prominent academic scientists have made a decision that was until recently all but unheard of. They decided to stop accepting payments from food, drug and medical device companies."

Drug Safety Monitoring for the 21st Century-WSJ Health Blog

Drug Safety Monitoring for the 21st Century-WSJ Health Blog: "For all the health data sitting on computers in this country, our drug safety surveillance is remarkably primitive, relying on clinical trials (which capture a tiny percentage of those taking prescription drugs) and sporadic reports from doctors and drugmakers."

OPINION: Drug Makers’ Advantage - New York Times

OPINION: Drug Makers’ Advantage - New York Times: "Like the doctrine of pre-emptive war that led to Iraq, F.D.A. pre-emption is a policy concocted in oblivion, an ideology without connection to the ways the agency and industry actually work. The editors of The New England Journal of Medicine recently wrote that that policy would have cataclysmic consequences for patients’ rights, industry accountability and public health. It is not often that doctors defend trial lawyers. Having now heard what the most respected voice in American medicine has to say, we should have no illusions where we are headed."

EDITORIAL - The Dangers in Pre-emption - New York Times

EDITORIAL - The Dangers in Pre-emption - New York Times: "Injured patients should not lose the right to sue if they are harmed by duplicitous manufacturers.Injured patients should not lose the right to sue if they are harmed by duplicitous manufacturers."

In U.S., Few Alternatives To Testing On Animals - washingtonpost.com

In U.S., Few Alternatives To Testing On Animals - washingtonpost.com: "Instead of acting as an advocate for companies and nonprofits proposing non-animal tests, the [Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods - or ICCVAM] panel has become an obstacle, animal welfare groups say. They point to Europe, where a similar panel has approved 34 alternatives to animal tests and has another 170 in its pipeline. Critics say the U.S. panel is slow and favors older animal tests that have never gone through the same rigorous scientific review."

Comparative-Effectiveness Bill to Hit Senate - FDA News

Comparative-Effectiveness Bill to Hit Senate - FDA News: "A bill establishing a comparative-effectiveness research institute is scheduled for introduction in the Senate this week, congressional staffers say."

Drug companies to disclose spending practices - Health care- msnbc.com

Drug companies to disclose spending practices - Health care- msnbc.com: "For years, the nation's largest drug and medical device manufacturers have courted doctors with consulting fees, free trips to exotic locales and sponsoring the educational conferences that physicians attend."

Drug Companies to Reveal Grant Practices - Los Angeles Times

Drug Companies to Reveal Grant Practices - Los Angeles Times: "-- For years, the nation's largest drug and medical device manufacturers have courted doctors with consulting fees, free trips to exotic locales and by sponsoring the educational conferences that physicians attend."

Sen. Grassley Knocks Psychiatrist's Funding from AstraZeneca- WSJ Health Blog

Sen. Grassley Knocks Psychiatrist's Funding from AstraZeneca-WSJ Health Blog: "A University of Cincinnati psychiatrist who was the lead author of a 2002 study that concluded kids did well on AstraZeneca’s antipsychotic Seroquel has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the company since then, according to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa)."

Appeals Court Backs Drugmakers in Antidepressant Suicides-WSJ Health Blog

Appeals Court Backs Drugmakers in Antidepressant Suicides-WSJ Health Blog: "Federal appeals court yesterday sided with drugmakers in a case brought by the families of two people who committed suicide while taking antidepressants. The ruling is important because it turns on the concept of preemption, likely to be the most important legal topic in the drug world this year."

In the Balance Some Candidates Disagree, but Studies Show It's Often Cheaper To Let People Get Sick - washingtonpost.com

In the Balance Some Candidates Disagree, but Studies Show It's Often Cheaper To Let People Get Sick- washingtonpost.com: "An ounce of prevention may have been worth a pound of cure in households down through the ages, but in the world of health economics the adage, alas, is not true."

Medical Errors Costing U.S. Billions-HealthDay

Medical Errors Costing U.S. Billions- HealthDay: "TUESDAY, April 8 (HealthDay News) -- From 2004 through 2006, patient safety errors resulted in 238,337 potentially preventable deaths of U.S. Medicare patients and cost the Medicare program $8.8 billion, according to the fifth annual Patient Safety in American Hospitals Study."

Why You Can't Tell Where Your Medication Was Made -Health Journal - WSJ.com

Why You Can't Tell Where Your Medication Was Made- Health Journal - WSJ.com: "Bananas come with those little stickers listing their country of origin. Why not pharmaceuticals?
That's what some consumers -- and even some physicians -- are asking since the Food and Drug Administration linked the deaths of 19 people to contaminated batches of the blood thinner heparin from China."

In Massachusetts, Universal Coverage Strains Care - New York Times

In Massachusetts, Universal Coverage Strains Care - New York Times - Massachusetts' health insurance law has had the "unintended consequence" of exacerbating the "imbalance" between supply and demand for primary care physicians, the New York Times reports.

Drug Makers Near Old Goal: A Legal Shield - New York Times

Drug Makers Near Old Goal: A Legal Shield - New York Times: "For years, Johnson & Johnson obscured evidence that its popular Ortho Evra birth control patch delivered much more estrogen than standard birth control pills, potentially increasing the risk of blood clots and strokes, according to internal company documents. But because the Food and Drug Administration approved the patch, the company is arguing in court that it cannot be sued by women who claim that they were injured by the product — even though its old label inaccurately described the amount of estrogen it released."

Medicare Finds How Hard It Is to Save Money - New York Times

Medicare Finds How Hard It Is to Save Money - New York Times: "An ambitious three-year experiment to see whether the Medicare system could prevent expensive hospital visits for people with chronic conditions like congestive heart failure and diabetes has suggested that such an approach may cost more than it saves."

The Next Campaign Stop: Iraq Hearings - washingtonpost.com

The Next Campaign Stop: Iraq Hearings - washingtonpost.com: "When Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker travel to Capitol Hill tomorrow, they might be the ones before the microphones, but the cameras will be trained on three of their inquisitors: Sens. John McCain, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama."

Odds Rise for FDA Shield Against Drug Liability-WSJ Health Blog

Odds Rise for FDA Shield Against Drug Liability-WSJ Health Blog: "Johnson & Johnson maintains that it can’t be sued by thousands of women who claim they were injured by the company’s birth control patch because the FDA approved the product as safe and effective.
The seemingly tautologous legal argument is called pre-emption. “After decades of being dismissed by courts, the tactic now appears to be on the verge of success,” attorneys for plaintiffs and drug makers tell the New York Times."

Seeking Alternatives to Animal-Derived Drugs - New York Times

Seeking Alternatives to Animal-Derived Drugs - New York Times: "Chopped pig pancreas may not sound appetizing. But most cystic fibrosis patients eat a refined version of it each breakfast, lunch and dinner — five large capsules a meal — to supply enzymes their bodies do not produce."

The Associated Press: Unions Pounce on Patent Reform

The Associated Press: Unions Pounce on Patent Reform: "The battle over patent reform, a sleepy sounding subject that affects new, cheaper medicines, Chinese counterfeits and BlackBerry addicts, has always sent high-tech companies and drugmakers to their respective corners.
But now organized labor is getting in the fight, using its lobbying muscle to stop — or at least shape — proposed changes to patent law."

The Early Word: Florida Awaits a Candidate Compromise - The Caucus - Politics - New York Times Blog

The Early Word: Florida Awaits a Candidate Compromise - The Caucus - Politics - New York Times Blog: "Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said yesterday that he believed “we will absolutely seat the delegation from Florida at the convention.” Now he just has to get what he calls the “critical” support from the campaigns of Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama."

Fed rules claim to pre-empt injury suits - Boston.com

Fed rules claim to pre-empt injury suits - Boston.com: "What's riling plaintiffs' lawyers, consumer groups and some regulators is agencies' assertions their rules override state product liability laws. Most such claims are rooted in statements in the introductions to their rules, not the rules themselves."

TheHill.com - Physicians arrive in D.C., pinched for cash and time

TheHill.com - Physicians arrive in D.C., pinched for cash and time: "An estimated 1,000 physicians will attend the two-day conference starting Tuesday, organized by the American Medical Association (AMA). During a day of lobbying Wednesday, doctors will hold a rally on Capitol Hill and hear from lawmakers about the difficulty of stopping the pay cut. The doctors, in turn, will try to make lawmakers understand the difficulties they will face if they fail."

As Rivals Battle, McCain Builds November Machine - washingtonpost.com

As Rivals Battle, McCain Builds November Machine - washingtonpost.com: "As his Democratic presidential rivals squabble, Sen. John McCain has moved to transform his ragtag primary campaign into a general-election operation by boosting fundraising, establishing control over the Republican National Committee, and beginning a conversation with voters who live in states where he has not campaigned."

Medical Devices Today: GMP Inspection Results Can No Longer Stay Within Borders, Says FDA

Medical Devices Today: GMP Inspection Results Can No Longer Stay Within Borders, Says FDA: "Results from manufacturing facility inspections conducted in one country will easily be shared with regulators in another in the near term, says Larry Kessler, FDA officer and chair of the Global Harmonization Task Force."

ANALYSIS-US may compare medical products; companies wary - Forbes.com

ANALYSIS-US may compare medical products; companies wary - Forbes.com: "The idea of the federal government funding independent comparative effectiveness studies has drug and medical device makers jittery. They fear such information would influence insurance coverage and jeopardize billions of dollars worth of sales for their newest and most lucrative treatments."