Health care

Stern Is Only Labor Leader To Testify At Bipartisan Health Care Summit

June 16, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC – SEIU International President Andy Stern told a key Senate committee today that they must make fixing health care a “top priority,” urging Congress to immediately tackle the growing crisis.

Stern, who is President of the largest union of health care workers in North America, testified this morning at the Senate Finance Committee forum, titled “Prepare for Launch: Health Reform Summit 2008: Trends in Employer Sponsored Health Coverage.” Stern was the only labor leader represented on the panel.    » read more »

06/17/2008 -- BOSTON – Senator John Kerry today urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to explain the long delays in getting new generic prescription drugs out on the market.

People across Massachusetts and throughout the nation are facing rising costs for medications they depend on every day. For some, especially the elderly and low-income families, affordable generic drugs can be the difference between life and death.

The FDA is currently required to review a generic drug application within 180 days. However, the median approval time for a generic drug application now takes longer than 21 months - well beyond the 180 day requirement. These delays create a serious backlog of applications.    » read more »

Washington -- 17 June 2008 -- The nation's chief economist says the cost of health care will claim an increasingly larger share of consumer and government spending, unless something is done to curb it. Speaking at a Health Reform Summit in Washington on Monday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said improving the nation's health care system is one of the biggest economic challenges facing the United States.

New medical technologies and treatments are allowing Americans to live healthier and more productive lives. But improving quality of life is becoming more expensive. Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke told a meeting of health and government officials that without reforms, the cost of health care could spiral out of control.    » read more »

06/16/2008 -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced more than $6 million in grants aimed at promoting health information technology, medical education and coordinated care programs-all focused on improving California's health care delivery system for underserved populations.

This grant funding comes from a total of $50 million in charitable investments required by the state from PacificCare Health Systems when it merged with UnitedHealth Group in 2005.    » read more »

June 12, 2008 -- AARP issued a statement in response to today’s vote to block necessary Medicare legislation in the U.S. Senate. The statement, from AARP CEO Bill Novelli, follows:

“Partisanship and inaction continued to grip the Senate today, derailing a bipartisan bill to improve Medicare for millions of older Americans. While we thank those Senators from both sides of the aisle who supported this critical bill, we are troubled that people in Medicare will once again see negative consequences because of partisan gridlock.    » read more »

Employees at Miller’s West Virginia Distributor Fight for Health Care and Livable Wages

June 13, 2008 -- (Charleston, WV) – Workers at the West Virginia distributor of Miller and Coors beers will kick off a summer handbilling series at local bars and restaurants today. The workers say they want to bring attention to contract demands by SABMiller’s West Virginia distributor, Capitol Beverage Company, that would hike workers’ cost for family health care.    » read more »

June 3, 2008 -- LANSING - Michigan has one of the best health care systems for children, according to a recent nationwide study. The Commonwealth Fund Report, titled U.S. Variations in Child Health System Performance: A State Scorecard, examines state-by-state information and evaluates how the health system is performing for children.

"It is our goal to ensure universal access to affordable health care to all of our citizens, so it is good news for Michigan families that kids are getting health care," said Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. "It is an honor for our state to be recognized has having one of the top health care systems for children in the nation."    » read more »

06/02/2008 - WASHINGTON - Wounded servicemembers in need of accommodations for their visual, hearing, dexterity and cognitive disabilities are the fastest-growing group requesting assistive technologies, a senior Defense Department official said in a May 29 interview.

“Recently, we have been overwhelmed with requests from our wounded servicemembers as they are coming back and also learning that they need to have a different type of technology or can benefit from assistive technology,” Dinah Cohen, director of the department’s Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program, or CAP, said on the “Dot Mil Docs” program on BlogTalkRadio.com.    » read more »

Senators ask for explanation of ABI investigation delay

May 27, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - Two weeks after the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Marion, Illinois resumed outpatient surgeries, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Barack Obama (D-IL) and Representative Jerry Costello (D-IL) today requested a meeting with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, James Peake, to discuss the progress at the Marion facility.

The Senators are asking for an update on the status of a pending Administrative Board of Investigation (ABI) report at the Marion facility to determine which individuals were responsible for allowing a decline in the quality of patient care, including nine deaths as a result of substandard care.    » read more »

Largest Health Care Union Details How McCain’s Plan Would Make It Harder for Americans to Get Coverage

May, 2008 -- As part of an extensive campaign to educate voters about where John McCain stands on the issues, SEIU today released a review of some of his disastrous health care proposals.

John McCain speaking at a Memorial Day event: Photo by T toes (CC)

The research will be shared with the more than 500,000 health care voters SEIU has identified through its Americans for Health Care campaign, as well as other voters, union members and community allies.    » read more »

May 23, 2008 -- HONOLULU – Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle today signed into law three bills to improve the treatment and increase recovery of people with mental illness in Hawai‘i. The measures build on the Lingle-Aiona Administration’s ongoing efforts to work with mental health professionals, community organizations, the Legislature and other partners to improve access to mental health care across the state. The signing of the bills coincides with events scheduled throughout May as part of Mental Health Awareness Month.    » read more »

May 22, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that by a vote of 75-22, the US Senate passed the domestic funding portion of the emergency supplemental bill that included an amendment to extend the current one year moratorium on a Medicaid rule regarding public health care providers that would have cut up to $255 million a year in federal funding to Illinois’ Medicaid program, including $179 million to Cook County.

This is the second time Durbin was able to extend the moratorium. The extension of the moratorium is until April 1, 2009 and was passed with a veto proof majority.    » read more »

Feingold welcomes Collins’ support for effort to cover the uninsured

May 22, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) welcomed the support of Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) for the State-Based Health Care Reform Act, a state-based approach to ensure all Americans receive health care coverage.

Additional support for the bill, which Feingold authored with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, coincides with a Badger Poll conducted by the University of Wisconsin Survey Center that finds a majority of Wisconsinites think states would do a better job reforming the health care system rather than the federal government.    » read more »

Record-Breaking Agreement Requires Company to Submit Ads to FDA Prior to Airing

May 20, 2008 -- Chicago - Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced a landmark financial settlement with Merck and Company, Inc., that also requires the pharmaceutical manufacturer to submit television drug advertisements to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for review before their broadcast.    » read more »

Boise – The State of Idaho will receive more than $1.1 million as a result of a consent judgment with Merck and Company, Inc., Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced today. Wasden’s office filed a consent judgment resolving a three-year investigation by 30 states concerning the company’s deceptive promotion of the drug Vioxx.

The judgment, filed Tuesday in Fourth District Court in Ada County, will largely restrict Merck’s ability to deceptively promote any Merck product.    » read more »