Health Headlines for Thursday, March 10
Groups Scrutinize White House Plan to Cut Drug Costs in Medicare
New York Times
The Obama administration touched off a tempest on Wednesday with its plan to test new ways of paying for prescription drugs under Medicare, widely seen as the administration’s first serious attempt to rein in drug spending.
How to Reduce Medicare Drug Costs
New York Times
Prescription drug spending in Medicare has been rising fast, but it is not completely clear what policies are driving the increases. The Obama administration hopes to find ways to control costs by testing different approaches to paying for the drugs.
New Procedure Allows Kidney Transplants From Any Donor
New York Times
In the anguishing wait for a new kidney, tens of thousands of patients on waiting lists may never find a match because their immune systems will reject almost any transplanted organ.
AIDS advocate push Cuomo, Legislature for $70 M in budget
Capital New York
Several hundred advocates came to the Capitol from around the state Wednesday to push legislators and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to include $70 million in the state budget to end the AIDS epidemic.
Growing number of upstate New Yorkers needlessly choosing back surgery, insurer reports
Buffalo News
More upstate New Yorkers with back pain are undergoing surgery and taking prescription medication such as opiate painkillers even though noninvasive treatments such as simple exercises and over-the-counter drugs usually work, according to a Univera Healthcare report released Wednesday.
Catholic Health hospitals finish 2015 in the black, though net income declines 84 percent
Buffalo Business First
Catholic Health’s hospitals finished the year with combined revenue in the black, reporting a small surplus of $5.6 million for 2015, a figure that was nearly 84 percent lower than the previous year.
N.Y. expands Zika virus testing for pregnant women
Albany Times Union/Blog
The state Health Department will expand free Zika virus testing to all pregnant women who, during pregnancy, had unprotected sex with a partner who traveled to a region where there is an outbreak of the disease, officials announced Wednesday.
F.D.A. Deal Allows Amarin to Promote Drug for Off-Label Use
New York Times
In a deal that could change the way some companies market their drugs, the Food and Drug Administration has agreed to allow a pharmaceutical company to promote a drug for a use that the agency has not approved, the company said on Tuesday.