Opinion
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Consumers Embrace HSAs
Opinion -Health savings accounts are off to a robust start, according to a new survey released by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a Washington-based trade association. -
Will Hospital Care Be There When We Need It?
Opinion -By now it is common knowledge that the retiring Baby Boom generation will impose tremendous pressure on Social Security and private pension plans as the number of workers per retiree shrinks. -
Rogue Pharmacies
Opinion -There are a growing number of unscrupulous Internet Web sites that deceive the public into believing they can purchase quality prescription drugs at half the cost without a doctor’s prescription. -
Employer Mandate Rejected by California Voters
Opinion -On Election Day 2004, California voters rejected a law, previously passed by the state legislature, that would have required all businesses in California with more than 50 employees to provide full medical insurance for those employees. -
Drug Regulations Cause Millions of Deaths Each Year, Study Finds
Opinion -Over-reaching FDA regulations have caused the premature deaths of millions of Americans, according to research scientist Mary J. Ruwart, Ph.D. -
Vioxx Backlash Could Derail Future of Medicine
Opinion -The backlash after the withdrawal of the arthritis drug Vioxx is in full swing. -
It’s the Risk
Opinion -Illegal traffic in prescription drugs from foreign countries is now at an all-time high. What used to be smuggling in bulk shipments is now smuggling in millions of personal packages. -
Bogus Pills
Opinion -An endless stream of offers to purchase drugs from the Internet is creating a perfect cover for an alarming rise in counterfeit drugs. -
Aging Well
Opinion -Let’s talk briefly about aging and injuries from falling and driving a car. In the United States, one of every three persons aged 65 years and older falls each year. -
Consumer Choice Matters: The Importance of Tax Reform
Opinion -President George W. Bush has made a fundamental rewriting and simplification of the nation's tax code a stated priority for his second term. He also says he wants to use federal tax policy to expand health insurance coverage. -
Resolutions for a Happier New Year … or Not
Opinion -While the talking heads slice and dice November's election results, one thing is certain: Belaboring the minutiae of what happened in that election, and why it happened, distracts from important issues--health care among them. -
Be Careful What You Ask For
Opinion -The major candidates in Canada’s recent national election agreed the Canadian health care system is failing. On this side of the border, presidential candidate Senator John Kerry is promoting the Canadian health care system to U.S. -
Busting the Price of Your Rx
Opinion -Did you know that more than 30 million uninsured Americans just became eligible for savings of between 25 and 40 percent on 275 brand-name and generic prescription drugs? -
Congress to Tackle Wide Range of Health Policy Issues
Opinion -President George W. Bush's reelection means the direction of Executive Branch policies on health care is unlikely to change significantly in the next four years, although some personnel turnover is expected over the next few months. -
Early Detection
Opinion -Women with breast cancer detected early because they had a mammogram screening have a lower risk of tumors returning than women who chose to delay the mammogram or ignore its results. -
Embryonic Stem Cells Create New California Gold Rush
Opinion -A far-reaching stem cell research ballot measure passed by a 59 to 41 percent vote in California on November 2, winning support across political, ideological, and religious lines. -
Fast Facts on the Flu
Opinion -Fast facts to help fight the flu bug: A sick person who coughs, sneezes, or speaks and sends the virus into the air spreads the flu. Be considerate of others if you have the flu and cover up when you sneeze or cough. -
Florida, Pfizer Team up to Improve Medicaid Patients’ Use of Health Services
Opinion -The State of Florida and Pfizer Inc. announced in November they have contacted nearly 150,000 Medicaid beneficiaries with serious medical conditions and worked to monitor and improve their health through the Florida: A Healthy State program. -
Flu Vaccine Shortage May Not Be a Real Crisis
Opinion -There's plenty of junk science going around when it comes to flu vaccine issues. Closer examination of the matter suggests the shortage has not one but several causes, and it may not result in any real risk to the public's health. -
Health Savings Accounts Catching on in Connecticut
Opinion -Six months ago, whenever Stephen Glick would ask business people if they knew about health savings accounts, or HSAs, two or three people out of a hundred might raise their hands. -
Need, Not Greed, Is What’s Causing High Prices for Prescription Drugs
Opinion -Editor's note: In part 1 of this article (Health Care News, December 2004), the author explored how the pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca developed a heartburn drug, Nexium, when the patent on the drug company's other heartburn drug, Prilosec, was -
Ounces of Prevention
Opinion -The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 means Medicare will pay for a preventative physical exam for new enrollees. It’s called the Welcome to Medicare Physical Exam. -
Patients at the Mercy of Health Care Bureaucrats
Opinion -Lives at Risk: Single-Payer National Health Insurance Around the World by John C. Goodman, Gerald L. Musgrave, and Devon M. Herrick ($22. -
Specialty Hospitals Offer Savings, Improved Care in Future
Opinion -The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 included an 18-month moratorium on the development of new physician- and investor-owned medical facilities.
