Between 2007 and 2009, the number of people uninsured in NC rose by 322,000, or 3.1% to 1.8 million, according to findings from the N.C. Institute of Medicine. That was the biggest gain in the country, in percentage terms. The increase in the nation overall was 2percentage points. The number of uninsured people in North Carolina has risen precipitously since the recession began in 2007. Here are the statistics: As of January, an estimated 1.8 million people in the state lacked health insurance. That translates to more than 21 percent of all non-elderly North Carolinians. What this shows is we shouldn't always think about health-care issues as separate from the economy,. Indeed, the increase in unemployment is a big factor in the rise of the uninsured. According to the report, North Carolina has lost employer-sponsored health insurance at a rate almost twice that of the nation. The statistic suggests some of the increase in uninsured will recede as the economy recovers and more people go back to work. But that won't be enough to reverse more systemic problems.

N.C TOPS NATION AT LOSING HEALTH COVERAGE By Jonathan B. Cox Mar. 26, 2009 02:00AM

The federal government made good on its plan to cut 2010 payments for private Medicare plans, whittling the [overly generous] subsidies to health insurers sooner than the industry originally expected. The cuts are slightly less severe than the 5% reduction the federal agency signaled in February, but still raise concerns about what has been a critical source of profit growth for many health insurers. Reimbursements to private insurers that administer so-called Medicare Advantage plans would fall by as much as 4% to 4.5% next year [they may still be the most profitable section of private health insurance.]. The move makes clear the Obama administration's intent to rein in the private plans. More than 10 million Medicare beneficiaries get their medical and drug benefits through Medicare Advantage plans. Republicans during the Bush administration pushed the plans' extra benefits for seniors and subsidies to insurers to promote more private-sector involvement in Medicare.

US REDUCES SUBSIDIES FOR PRIVATE MEDICARE The Wall Street Journal Digital Network APRIL 7, 2009 By Vanessa Fuhrmans And Jane Zhang

There was never any doubt in my mind that once PBS was moved by the Republicans to corporate sponsorship instead of full public funding, their content would inevitably grow to reflect the viewpoints of the people who wrote the checks. It seems that insurance company investments are paying off in the healthcare debate. While this Frontline piece does address corporate abuses of their clients, the journalist who worked on it says it was altered to reflect insurance company interests. Last year, former Washington Post reporter T.R. Reid made a great documentary for the PBS show Frontline titled "Sick Around the World." Reid traveled to five countries that deliver health care for all -UK, Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Taiwan -to learn about how they do it. Reid found that the one thing these five countries had in common -none allowed for-profit health insurance companies to sell basic medical coverage. Frontline then said to Reid -okay, we want you to go around the United States and make a companion documentary titled "Sick Around America." The documentary that resulted -"Sick Around America" -aired Monday night on PBS. The film didn't present Reid's bottom line for health care reform -don't let health insurance companies profit from selling basic health insurance. They can sell for-profit insurance for extras -breast enlargements, botox, hair transplants. But not for the basic health needs of the American people. Instead, the film that aired Monday pushed the view that Americans be required to purchase health insurance from for-profit companies.

WAS FRONTLINE DOCUMENTARY EDITED TO REFLECT HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY INTERESTS? Crooks and Liars April 3, 2009 By Susie Madrak

Just nine people accounted for nearly 2,700 of the emergency room visits in the Austin area during the past six years at a cost of $3 million to taxpayers and others. The patients went to hospital emergency rooms 2,678 times from 2003 through 2008, said the report from the nonprofit Integrated Care Collaboration, a group of health care providers who care for low-income and uninsured patients. The average emergency room visit costs $1,000. Hospitals and taxpayers paid the bill through government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, Kitchen said. Solutions would include referring some frequent users to mental health programs or primary care doctors for future care.

NINE PATIENTS MADE NEARLY 2,700 ER VISITS IN TEXAS Yahoo News Apr 1

Facing a difficult economy and running short of ways to reduce health-care costs, employers are becoming more aggressive about checking the eligibility of their workers' dependents. A Watson Wyatt survey of 489 employers this month for the National Business Group on Health found that audit reviews are the fastest growing change that companies are making to their health-care programs, well ahead of health risk appraisals or improving case management. During an eligibility audit, employees are asked to document that family members on their health plans are eligible for coverage. They may be required to produce marriage certificates, proof of college enrollment or tax forms. Ex-spouses are not eligible. Nor are sickly uncles who live with the family. Stepchildren may not be eligible either, depending on the plan.

EMPLOYERS GETTING MORE STRICT ON HEALTH-CARE ELIGIBILITY By Steve Twedt Pittsburgh Post-Gazette March 25, 2009

Bankruptcy filings in Sacramento and the Central Valley continue to soar as weary residents seek relief from the grip of foreclosures and rising unemployment. More than 31,000 personal and business bankruptcy petitions were filed in the Eastern District of the US Bankruptcy Court in 2008, an increase of 79 percent over 2007's filings, according to a report released by the federal court. "With unemployment comes the loss of health insurance- so many of our bankruptcies are triggered by uninsured health care costs," Heltzel said. "I expect to see close to 40,000 cases this year."

BANKRUPTCY FILINGS SOARED IN 2008 By Darrell Smith The Sacramento Bee March 17, 2009

Tenet Healthcare, the owner of three Orange County hospitals, has agreed to pay $85 million to settle claims that nurses and other 12-hour-shift employees were denied extra pay after a change in California law entitled them to overtime. At the time the law changed, Tenet was the county's largest hospital owner with 10 facilities. In settling, the Texas-based company admitted no wrongdoing. To avoid overtime costs, Tenet lowered the hourly pay rate for employees when they worked more than eight hours a day. That meant that while technically earning overtime, their net wages remained the same as before.

O.C. HOSPITAL OWNER TO PAY $85M TO SETTLE OT DISPUTE By Courtney Perkes The Orange County Register March 11, 2009

Despite a full plate that seems to be getting fuller all the time, the Obama administration has made healthcare reform a top priority. In his budget, the President establishes a reserve fund of more than $630 billion over 10 years to finance fundamental reform, while also appropriating billions directly to support more immediate healthcare initiatives. Lawmakers in Congress have already responded with proposals of their own, including one to keep any reserve fund budget neutral. But, whatever happens to the President's budget priorities in the next few months, Washington has already injected billions of healthcare dollars into the system via the stimulus package passed and signed into law in February. Of the $787 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), roughly $150 billion is directed to healthcare.

STIMULUS PACKAGE HAS BILLIONS FOR HEALTHCARE Wayne J. Guglielmo March 27, 2009 Reuters Health Information © 2009

Reform of the US healthcare system is vital this year because of growing costs and worsening care, the Health and Human Services Department said. Dozens of studies have justified calls for a complete overhaul of the healthcare system. While the need for change is not controversial, conservatives and liberals differ on how that should be approached. President Barack Obama has said he wants legislation this year but is leaving the details up to Congress to work out. "Across 37 performance indicators, the United States achieved an overall score of 65 out of a possible 100," [despite spending twice what any other natin does per capita].

HEALTHCARE REFORM VITAL, US HEALTH AGENCY SAYS

Senator Baucus backs US health insurance mandate, influential coalition (dominated by helth care industry) also supports idea and President Obama appears to soften stance on mandate Support has grown for insurance industry demands that all Americans be required to obtain (private, public-subsidized) coverage as part of a planned healthcare system overhaul, with a senior Senate Democrat and a coalition of business and consumer groups promoting the idea. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Democrat who is helping write healthcare legislation, said an insurance requirement, or mandate, would help the market function better and reduce premium costs for everyone. [especially those of us dependent on enormous health care industry remittances to our campaign war chests]. Obama said he was still "skeptical" about a mandate because people who lack health insurance do so because they cannot afford it, not because they do not want it.

US HEALTH INSURANCE MANDATE GAINS SUPPORT Reuters Health Information © 2009

The government should broaden its efforts to overhaul the US healthcare system to include steps that provide better access to good food and recreation. Rather than an intense focus on just how much it costs to treat the sick, more work must be done in schools and cities to give people better access to nutritious food and places to exercise concluded a report commissioned by the nonprofit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "It's clear that as a nation we have tried to spend our way to better health through medical care, and it hasn't succeeded."

US EXPERTS URGE HEALTH REFORMS IN SCHOOLS, CITIES By Susan Heavey Reuters Health Information © 2009

Administrative and financial barriers to accessing children's mental health services in primary care should be removed. Although 1 in 5 children in the USA have a diagnosable mental disorder, most of which could be effectively treated by primary care physicians, existing barriers hinder provision of adequate behavioral and mental health treatment. "The acute shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists makes coordination of treatment between primary care physicians and child and adolescent psychiatrists paramount," AACAP President Robert Hendren, DO, said in a news release. "Primary care physicians have unique strengths, skills, and opportunities to identify and address the vast unmet mental health needs of children and adolescents." Each year, only about 300 child and adolescent psychiatrists complete training, in part because of debt from school loans, incentives encouraging primary care rather than specialty careers, long specialty training, and reimbursement issues. In the primary care setting, children's mental health care can be completely coordinated with their other healthcare, making this an ideal environment to begin mental health treatment for children and adolescents.

FINANCIAL BARRIERS TO CHILDREN'S MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES SHOULD BE REMOVED Laurie Barclay, MD Reuters Health Information © 2009 April 6, 2009

US officials launched a five-year, $45 million AIDS awareness campaign they said would focus on the groups most likely to be infected, starting with black men and women and later targeting Latinos and others. Several studies have shown that AIDS prevention messages do not reach the people who most need to hear them, and officials said they would try harder. "Our goal is to remind Americans that HIV/AIDS continues to pose a serious health threat in the United States and encourage them to get the facts they need to take action for themselves and their communities." "Reducing the disproportionate toll of HIV in black communities is one of CDC's top domestic HIV prevention priorities, and African-American leaders have long played an essential role in this fight," said Dr. Kevin Fenton, who directs AIDS efforts at the CDC.

US LAUNCHES AIDS CAMPAIGN AIMED AT MOST AFFECTED By Maggie Fox Apr 07

The United States' current healthcare system needs to be reformed to provide all Americans access to an affordable standard healthcare, according to an article published in the April 7 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. "The coverage, cost, and quality problems of the US health care system are evident," wrote Dr. Arrow, Nobel "Sustainable health care reform must go beyond financing expanded access to care to substantially changing the organization and delivery of care. We must simultaneously build the capabilities, infrastructure, and incentives to ensure that all Americans receive high-quality care." The group split their recommendations between delivery system reforms and financing reforms. "It is impossible to solve the problem of access to health care services without fixing the financing system," they write. "But without fixing the delivery system, it is impossible to solve the cost and quality problems in a sustainable manner."

HEALTHCARE LEADERS PROPOSE EXTENSIVE US HEALTHCARE REFORMS Deborah Brauser April 8, 2009 Ann Intern Med. 2009;150:493-495, 498.

President Barack Obama's top healthcare adviser said she was optimistic the White House and congressional Democrats could overcome opposition by Republicans and insurers to a proposed new government-run health insurance program. "I'm actually very hopeful that we will be able to reach an agreement on that," Nancy-Ann DeParle, who was tapped by Obama to head the newly created White House office on health reform, told reporters. The public health plan envisioned by Obama is shaping up to be one of the more contentious issues among lawmakers as they try to overhaul the $2.5 trillion US healthcare industry in an effort to contain costs and expand coverage to an estimated 46 million uninsured people. DeParle said Obama asked her to try to reach bipartisan agreement on a sweeping healthcare overhaul. Acceptance of a new public plan will depend largely on how it is designed and whether objections voiced by Republicans and private insurers reflect policy differences or ideological opposition to a broader government role in healthcare, she said.

OBAMA AIDE SEES PUBLIC HEALTH PLAN AS PART OF REFORM By Donna Smith Apr 15

Expanding healthcare access through the individual insurance market could eliminate the need for a public insurance plan, the chief executive of Wellpoint Inc said. Creating a government-run insurance plan to compete with companies such as Wellpoint has emerged as one of the most contentious issues in President Barack Obama's drive to overhaul the US healthcare system. "We do have concerns about the government plan," Wellpoint said CEO Braly. "It's really not a level playing field if the government comes in and participates in the market on a different footing." Most Americans-- about 170 million-- get private health coverage through an employer, although some buy their own private insurance through the individual market. Others are eligible for public programs such as Medicare for the elderly and disabled or Medicaid for the poor.

WELLPOINT CEO WARY OF US GOVERNMENT HEALTH PLAN By Lisa Richwine Apr 15

Twenty percent of Americans say they have delayed or postponed medical care, mostly doctor visits, and many said cost was the main reason. The Thomson Reuters survey found 21 percent of US adults expected to have difficulty paying for health insurance or healthcare services in the next three months. "The results of this survey have serious implications for public health officials, hospital administrators, and healthcare consumers," Gary Pickens of the Healthcare division of Thomson Reuters, who led the study, said in a statement. "We are seeing a positive correlation between Americans losing their access to employer-sponsored health insurance and deferral of healthcare." Pickens added that "if this trend continues, it will ultimately have an impact on our collective well-being."

STRESSED AMERICANS POSTPONE HEALTHCARE: STUDY WASHINGTON Reuters Health Information © 2009 Apr 20

A study of US Census Bureau data "portend(s) difficulties if private coverage continues to decline and is not offset by further expansions of public insurance," Harvard University economists warn. An increase in the number of uninsured individuals was seen in all age groups and among all educational levels. The periods without insurance were shorter in 2001-2004 than they were in 1983-1986, but this is because "a decline in private coverage, especially for persons with a lower educational level, has been offset by an increase in public coverage," according to the investigators. "Serious problems could lie ahead if employer-based coverage continues to decline while the availability of public coverage remains the same or is reduced," the Harvard team warns.

PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE RATES DOWN, PUBLIC INSURANCE RATES UP Reuters Health Information © 2009 Apr 23 N Engl J Med 2009;360:1740-1748.

High copayments deter many patients newly diagnosed with chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia from starting their drug therapy, especially if they have never had to take prescription drugs before. "The interruption of drug therapy can have negative health consequences for the chronically ill, particularly for elderly patients who have the highest rates of chronic disease and prescription drug use. Although several studies suggest...increased cost sharing may decrease 'nonessential' drug use more than 'essential' drug use, few studies have dissected the multiple mechanisms by which patients reduce their utilization in the face of higher cost sharing." For all study conditions, higher copayments were associated with delayed initiation of therapy. At 5 years after diagnosis, the percentage of patients remaining untreated with medications was 21.5% , 19.9% , 36.0% for hypercholesterolemia, and 32.5% for diabetes. When copayments doubled, the predicted percentage of patients with newly diagnosed hypertension initiating pharmacotherapy fell from 54.8% to 39.9% at 1 year and from 81.6% to 66.2% at 5 years.

HIGH COPAYMENTS DETER PATIENTS FROM STARTING DRUG THERAPY Fran Lowry Reuters Health Information © 2009 April 27, 2009 Arch Intern Med. 2009;169:740-748, 748-749.

Medscape: What ideas do you view as important for improving healthcare access, quality, and efficiency? Mr. Doherty: Getting universal health coverage is critical, but we also need to look at how to make the healthcare system work better for patients and physicians, so that the care provided is more effective and efficient. What we’re talking about is redesigning healthcare in this country from a system where people are treated when they get sick to one that works on preventing illness. In this system, it’s vital that primary care doctors get the support they need to manage their patients’ conditions for the best possible outcomes. In fact, the cost for the care of chronic diseases is one reason why the cost of healthcare is climbing in this country. Yet there is evidence that you can keep people out of the hospital and keep them healthier by helping primary care physician provide good follow-up. So we need to fund support systems for patients and physicians that prevent disease whenever possible. That’s a very different notion from just looking at improving access, and getting people insurance cards, as important as that is.

IMPROVING HEALTHCARE ACCESS, QUALITY, AND EFFICIENCY: AN EXPERT INTERVIEW WITH PUBLIC POLICY ANALYST ROBERT DOHERTY Barbara Boughton Reuters Health Information © 2009 May 3, 2009

The aging of America will contribute to a 45% increase in the total number of annual cancer cases from 1.6 million to 2.3 million over the next 2 decades (from 2010 to 2030). By 2030, Americans 65 years and older will account for 70% of all cancer diagnoses up from about 61% of current cases. The expected increase in cancer as the Baby Boomer generation ages is a daunting clinical and political challenge. "It is not politically popular to say, but we will need an increase in taxes," Dr. McKoy told Medscape Oncology. "As a people, we can either get older or die. To live, we need to invest in healthcare," she said,

AGING BABY BOOMERS AND CANCER: THE ONCOMING BURDENS Nick Mulcahy Reuters Health Information © 2009 May 5, 2009 J Clin Oncol. Published online before print April 29, 2009. Abstract, Abstract

Healthcare reform is the top priority for the US government this year, and the momentum is there to achieve it said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Sebelius said there was "unprecedented" bipartisan cooperation to speed through reforms this year. "Just last week, Congress passed a budget blueprint that includes an historic commitment to funding comprehensive health care reform," said Sebelius. "At the same time, the old opponents of reform have joined our effort to change the status quo. Groups and organizations that were once fierce enemies have come to the table and embraced the call for real health care reform."

HEALTHCARE REFORM IS TOP US PRIORITY- SEBELIUS By Matthew Bigg Reuters Health Information © 2009 May 05

Medical bills and other health insurance issues may prompt more women than men to skip health care visits. Fully 70% of U.S. women younger than 65 reported at least one of these problems in 2007: * No health insurance or underinsurance, * Medical bill or debt problems, * Cost-related problem accessing needed care. A smaller percentage, 60%, of men younger than 65 reported those same problems in 2007. Women were also more likely than men to report not getting preventive health care services -- such as a cancer screening -- because of the cost of those services.

WOMEN MORE STRICKEN BY HEALTH CARE COSTS WebMD Health News Miranda Hitti May 11, 2009 Reuters Health Information © 2009

A coalition of "U.S. healthcare groups" pledged to help President Barack Obama rein in the growth in costs and save about $2 trillion over the next decade, a step the administration hopes will build support to reform the system this year. The push comes as the White House raised its forecast for the U.S. budget deficit for this year by $89 billion to $1.84 trillion. The higher estimate may add to challenges Obama faces in getting congressional approval for his agenda. Obama invited several large trade groups, including the American Medical Association, America's Health Insurance Plans and the American Hospital Association, to discuss wringing savings from the health system. [Corporate Health Care Seeking to Visit Greater Chaos and Personal Profittering from the System] "We will do our part to achieve your administration's goal of decreasing by 1.5 percentage points the annual healthcare spending growth rate -- saving $2 trillion or more," the groups said in a letter to Obama released by the White House.

OBAMA: HEALTH OVERHAUL COULD SAVE U.S. TRILLIONS May 11 Reuters Health Information © 2009

Oral chemotherapeutic agents (as opposed to the many IV administered agents) are becoming increasingly available, giving patients a convenient and noninvasive treatment option. However, although oral drugs might be on the cusp of heralding in a new era in cancer care, both private and public insurance plans in the United States frequently require patients to shoulder a large burden of the cost for these agents. Another issue is patient adherence to oral therapy, which in some cases stems from the inability to pay for the drugs. For cancer patients in the US, there is a big difference in how much they have to pay toward the cost of an oral drug and how much they have to pay for an intravenous product that is administered in the physician's office or clinic. The primary reason for this inequity is that oral chemotherapy is generally covered under a prescription benefit, which tends to require higher copayments. Intravenous infusions, however, are traditionally covered under a medical benefit that tends to be more generous in its coverage.

ORAL CHEMOTHERAPY POSES FINANCIAL BURDEN TO PATIENTS Roxanne Nelson Reuters Health Information © 2009 May 7, 2009 Cancer. Published online before print May 11, 2009.

Nearly 1 in 5 oncology research articles published in prestigious journals was funded by industry, raising questions about the "industrialization of clinical research,". The review authors looked at 1534 cancer clinical-research studies published in 2006 in 8 prestigious medical journals. They found that 17% were funded by industry and 29% had some kind of conflict of interest. These studies also tended to have positive outcomes. They also found that 50% of the studies were government funded and 29% had philanthropic grant funding.

CANCER STUDIES WITH INDUSTRY FUNDING IN 8 TOP MEDICAL JOURNALS Nick Mulcahy Reuters Health Information © 2009 May 12, 2009

President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders set an ambitious goal of the end of July for steering a contentious overhaul of the US healthcare system through the House of Representatives. Obama spoke after a White House meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other influential Democrats who will take the lead on shaping the healthcare legislation. "We don't have any excuses. The stars are aligned," said Obama, who has devoted much of this week to his drive to spur momentum behind the healthcare legislation. Republicans say Obama's proposal to create a new public health plan to cover millions of uninsured Americans would undermine the private health care market and exacerbate already huge budget deficits.

OBAMA SAYS HOUSE LOOKS TO BACK HEALTHCARE IN JULY Reuters Health Information © 2009 May 13

From President Obama, to members of Congress, to federal and private agencies concerned with the issue, officials in Washington and beyond are pointing to the need for more physicians and other healthcare workers, especially in primary care. The Association of American Medical Colleges, for its part, has called for a 30% increase in enrollment to meet anticipated demands up through 2025 demands that would rise dramatically if lawmakers managed to pass some form of universal healthcare. But as essential as it is, the push for more physicians and healthcare professionals will not by itself solve a related workforce problem: the maldistribution of physicians and other healthcare professionals across the nation, a problem that has left rural, frontier, and some inner-city communities especially vulnerable. Nowhere are workforce shortages showing up more clearly in these areas than in community health centers (CHCs), the outpatient clinics that receive federal and other money to provide treatment to people regardless of their income or insurance status.

PHYSICIAN DISTRIBUTION: AN OLD PROBLEM RECEIVES NEW ATTENTION Wayne J. Guglielmo Reuters Health Information © 2009 May 14, 2009

Fewer than a third of US adults would get a shot intended to protect against the new H1N1 influenza virus popularly known as swine flu, according to a poll. Most are simply not that worried about the new flu, which has spread around the globe, killed more than 60 people and brought the world to the brink of a pandemic.

FEWER THAN A THIRD IN US WOULD GET "SWINE FLU" VACCINATION Reuters Health Information © 2009 May 14

Senators leading the debate on revamping the US healthcare system held out hope of bipartisan compromise on even the most contentious issue of broadening the government role in providing medical coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Democrat, and the panel's top Republican, Senator Charles Grassley, told reporters lawmakers were still weighing options on how to cover the uninsured and had not ruled out a proposed new government plan, sought by many Democrats. "We might be able to find a consensus," said Grassley.

US SENATORS OPEN TO COMPROMISE ON HEALTHCARE REFORM By Donna Smith Reuters Health Information © 2009 May 15

In this study, about 10% of colon cancer patients participating in a clinical trial were concerned about being able to afford supportive medications, which include agents for managing the adverse effects of chemotherapy. In addition, the study raises the concern that patients treated outside the context of a trial might have a harder time affording supportive-care medicines. Even though the ability to afford medication was not a major concern for clinical-trial participants, few stated that their doctors discussed the cost of prescription medications. "As oncologists, our goal is to provide the highest quality of care to our patients, which can include everything from ensuring that they receive the best treatment to helping them cope with side effects, this highlights an important and growing issue in oncology field -what role we as doctors should play in helping our patients address the costs of cancer care."

PHYSICIANS NEED TO ADDRESS COST OF CANCER CARE WITH PATIENTS Roxanne Nelson Reuters Health Information © 2009 May 18, 2009

As the length of stay at US Veterans Affairs hospitals decreased in the past decade, the 30-day readmission rates have also fallen, especially for patients with common chronic diseases. "It is reassuring to show that increased inpatient efficiency has not resulted in increased hospital readmissions," said the presenting author, Jorge Go, MD. Government data show that 20% of Medicare patients return to the hospital within 30 days of discharge, at a cost of $17.4 billion in 2004, Dr. Go said during his presentation. "Understanding the relationship between length of stay and readmission is important since readmission rate will probably be used as a performance measure in the future," he said in an interview with Medscape Internal Medicine.

READMISSION RATE DOES NOT GO UP AS LENGTH OF STAY FALLS AT VA HOSPITALS Reuters Health Information © 2009 Kathleen Louden May 19, 2009

The US Justice Department said that it and 16 states had joined two whistleblower lawsuits filed against Wyeth which allege the drugmaker failed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in rebates to Medicaid. The lawsuits accuse Wyeth of giving hospitals steep discounts on the drugs Protonix Oral and Protonix IV, which reduce stomach acid, with the goal of winning the retail business of the same patients once they were released from the hospital. The result was that Wyeth allegedly failed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in rebates due to state Medicaid programs for the drugs. Medicaid is the joint federal-state healthcare program for the poor.

US , STATES JOIN MEDICAID SUITS AGAINST WYETH Reuters Health Information © 2009 May 19

Little progress has been made to reduce deadly medical errors in the US in the past decade despite a call to action in 1999. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine issued an alarming report titled "To Err is Human," detailing the toll of preventable medical errors in the U.S; it estimated that up to 98,000 Americans die annually from them. The report triggered a flurry of activity, including congressional hearings, introduction of legislative bills, and promises of reform. But today, more than 100,000 people a year still die from medical errors, says Lisa McGiffert. "As a country we haven't moved forward as the Institute of Medicine has hoped," McGiffert tells WebMD.

DEADLY MEDICAL ERRORS STILL PLAGUE US Reuters Health Information © 2009 May 20, 2009

Makers of medical isotopes used in scores of diagnostic imaging tests are scrambling to find new suppliers after Canadian health officials temporarily closed a nuclear reactor last week that produces a third of the world's supply. The reactor is expected to remain out of operation for more than a month but some analysts think it could be months. Only five nuclear reactors in the world produce molybdenum-99 or Mo-99, which is used in diagnostic tests for cancer, heart disease and a host of other ills.

HOSPITALS BRACE FOR SHORTAGE OF MEDICAL ISOTOPES By Julie Steenhuysen May 21 Reuters Health Information © 2009