At House Party on Health Care, the Diagnosis Is It’s Broken - NYTimes.com

At House Party on Health Care, the Diagnosis Is It’s Broken - NYTimes.com: "When a dozen consumers gathered over the weekend to discuss health care at the behest of President-elect Barack Obama, they quickly agreed on one point: they despise health insurance companies."

Emory Professor Steps Down - WSJ.com

Emory Professor Steps Down - WSJ.com: "Charles Nemeroff, a prominent researcher in clinical depression, has agreed to step down from his long-time position as chairman of Emory University's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, following an investigation by the university into allegations of possible conflicts of interests by the medical professor."

Why Becerra rebuffed Obama - Politico.com

Why Becerra rebuffed Obama - Politico.com: "With one decision last night, Rep. Xavier Becerra pulled a twofer: He rebuffed the Obama administration and dashed the hopes several young Democrats who covet Becerra’s House leadership slot."

Advocates Weigh In on FDA Leader - WSJ.com

Advocates Weigh In on FDA Leader - WSJ.com: "Health groups, some backed by the drug industry, have joined the heated lobbying battle in Washington over the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, sending a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle urging him to pick a person familiar with the industry"

Grassley Targets Nonprofit Hospitals on Charity Care - WSJ.com

Grassley Targets Nonprofit Hospitals on Charity Care - WSJ.com: "Sen. Charles Grassley is weighing proposing legislation in early 2009 that would hold nonprofit hospitals more accountable for the billions of dollars in annual tax exemptions they enjoy, aides to the Iowa senator said."

Insurers Seek Presence at Health Care Sessions - NYTimes.com

Insurers Seek Presence at Health Care Sessions - NYTimes.com: "When supporters of President-elect Barack Obama hold house parties to discuss ways of fixing the health care system over the next two weeks, they may find some unexpected guests."

Dems scramble to replace Salazar - Politico.com

Dems scramble to replace Salazar - Politico.com: "Barack Obama’s decision to tap Ken Salazar as his interior secretary has set off a Democratic scramble to keep the Colorado senator’s seat in the party’s control."

Medicare Plans Draw Criticism on Drug Pricing - WSJ.com

Medicare Plans Draw Criticism on Drug Pricing - WSJ.com: "Figuring out which Medicare drug-insurance plan is right for you is confusing enough. Now, complaints are mounting about an obscure drug-pricing system that can force many older Americans to pay stiff penalties when they opt for brand-name drugs instead of a generic"

FDA Commissioner Eschenbach to Resign - WSJ.com

FDA Commissioner Eschenbach to Resign - WSJ.com: "Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach has told his staff that he plans to resign effective Jan. 20, 2009."

Government's Test: Reforming Health Care - washingtonpost.com

Government's Test: Reforming Health Care - washingtonpost.com: "On the same morning that President-elect Barack Obama introduced Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader, as his prospective secretary of health and human services and his point man on health-care reform, a panel of key constituency group leaders met to assess the prospects for success."

Necessary Medicine? - NYTimes.com

Necessary Medicine? - NYTimes.com: "President-elect Barack Obama placed a heavy bet last week that the recession-wracked country he is about to inherit has finally reached its tipping point on health care."

Wyeth Is Pressed on Drug Reviews - WSJ.com

Wyeth Is Pressed on Drug Reviews - WSJ.com: "Congressional investigators are probing drug maker Wyeth's practices concerning scientific-paper writing and whether its marketing employees help shape manuscripts for medical journals."

Medtronic to Tell FDA About Patient's Death - WSJ.com

Medtronic to Tell FDA About Patient's Death - WSJ.com: "Medtronic Inc. said it was unaware for more than three months that a patient who underwent spinal surgery with one of its products had died, and the company is now moving to report the death to the Food and Drug Administration."

Daschle Will Oversee Health Reform Office - WSJ.com

Daschle Will Oversee Health Reform Office - WSJ.com: "Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle will pull double duty in the Obama administration, where he will serve not only as the Health and Human Services secretary but also oversee a new White House Office of Health Reform."

Doctor Concerned Over Change for Heart Devices - NYTimes.com

Doctor Concerned Over Change for Heart Devices - NYTimes.com: "Federal regulators are about to approve use of a critical new electrical component for implantable heart devices without adequately testing for its potential risks, a prominent cardiologist warned Wednesday."

As Congress Circles, PhRMA Beefs Up Drug Ad Guidelines-WSJ Health Blog

As Congress Circles, PhRMA Beefs Up Drug Ad Guidelines-WSJ Health Blog: "As congressional Democrats make noise about clamping down on direct-to-consumer drug ads, the brand-name drugmakers trade group has come out with some new DTC do’s and don’ts."

Waxman Maps Health Agenda for Next Congress-WSJ Health Blog

Waxman Maps Health Agenda for Next Congress-WSJ Health Blog "Rep. Henry Waxman, incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has started laying out his health-care priorities in the new role."

Obama hopes to avoid Clinton health care missteps - USATODAY.com

Obama hopes to avoid Clinton health care missteps - USATODAY.com: "Daschle invited people around the nation to hold what amounts to house parties from Dec. 15-31. Obama's transition team will gather the information from those meetings and post the material on its Web site, http://change.gov."

Cleveland Clinic Discloses Doctors’ Industry Ties - NYTimes.com

Cleveland Clinic Discloses Doctors’ Industry Ties - NYTimes.com: "The Cleveland Clinic plans to announce this week it has begun publicly reporting the business relationships that any of its 1,800 staff doctors and scientists have with drug and device makers."

Lawmakers Divided Over Next FDA Head, Fixing Safety Issues - WSJ.com

Lawmakers Divided Over Next FDA Head, Fixing Safety Issues - WSJ.com: "A top House Democrat is asking President-elect Barack Obama to avoid naming any current officials of Food and Drug Administration to lead the agency, even temporarily, reflecting a divergence of views on Capitol Hill on how to fix the FDA's problems."

Daschle Launches Push for Health-Care Overhaul - WSJ.com

Daschle Launches Push for Health-Care Overhaul - WSJ.com: "Former Sen. Tom Daschle, who is slated to oversee health-care policy in the Obama administration, is kicking off the effort to pass a comprehensive health-care plan."

Medical Ads on YouTube Attract Fire - WSJ.com

Medical Ads on YouTube Attract Fire - WSJ.com: "Ads on video Web site YouTube for medical devices sold by Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic Inc. and Stryker Corp. violate federal rules because they don't contain required warnings and disclosures, according to an advocacy group."

Saxby Chambliss wins Georgia runoff - Politico.com

Saxby Chambliss wins Georgia runoff - Politico.com: "Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss won a resounding victory over Democrat Jim Martin in the Georgia Senate runoff Tuesday, capturing a second term and ending Democratic hopes of gaining a 60-seat filibuster-proof Senate majority."

Schwarzenegger orders special legislative session - Sacramento Politics - California Politics | Sacramento Bee

Schwarzenegger orders special legislative session - Sacramento Politics - California Politics Sacramento Bee: "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger greeted a new legislative class Monday by calling two immediate special sessions to deal with this fiscal year's $11.2 billion budget shortfall and the state's economic slowdown."

Half of U.S. Spending on Health Care May Be Wasted-WSJ Health Blog

Half of U.S. Spending on Health Care May Be Wasted-WSJ Health Blog: "The US spends more than two trillion dollars a year on health care, but are Americans getting full value for their money? “No”, answers just about anyone who is anyone inside the health-care system."

Consensus emerging on universal healthcare - Los Angeles Times

Consensus emerging on universal healthcare - Los Angeles Times: "After decades of failed efforts to reshape the nation's healthcare system, a consensus appears to be emerging in Washington about how to achieve the elusive goal of providing medical insurance to all Americans."