Medicare Drug Plan ‘Doughnut Hole’ Could Impact Seniors’ Health

Lack of coverage can spur cutbacks in necessary prescriptions, study finds (HealthDay News) – American seniors who reach the no-coverage “doughnut hole” in the Medicare Part D drug plan are less likely to use prescription drugs than those with an employer-based plan, a new study finds. The finding raises concerns about health consequences and increased costs [...]

Soaring Cancer Drug Costs May Cripple Medicare

(Businessweek)- A new report says laws crimp Medicare’s ability to control costs on cancer, leading to a 267% increase in drug spending over seven years Medicare spending on cancer drugs has skyrocketed in recent years, and Congress has severely limited the program’s ability to do anything about it, says a report in the Feb. 7 [...]

Medicare Widens Drugs It Accepts for Cancer

(The New York Times)- Medicare, with little public debate, has expanded its coverage of drugs for cancer treatments not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Cancer doctors had clamored for the changes, saying that some of these treatments, known as off-label uses, were essential if patients were to receive the most up-to-date care. [...]

Can Obama Make Government Solvent?

Start by reforming Social Security and Medicare. The Wall Street Journal-Barack Obama thus far has treated politics mainly as a business of mobilization, not persuasion. That will now have to change. He’s had the audacity to inspire more hopes than he can deliver, especially with his new talk of entitlement reform. He might, if he [...]

Report Criticizes F.D.A. on Device Testing

(The New York Times) WASHINGTON — Most medical devices have never been shown to be safe or effective, and for the riskiest devices this must change, Congressional investigators concluded in a report released Thursday. The Food and Drug Administration has promised for decades that it would fix the problem. It has not, leading the Government [...]