Content about Politics

BLOOMFIELD, Conn. Americans can lower their total medical costs significantly by taking simple steps to prevent or manage disease and by switching to generic drugs whenever possible, new research from health insurance giant Cigna confirmed.

CHICAGO Spurred by a difficult economy, over-the-counter medications increasingly are playing a dual role for consumers looking to minimize healthcare expenditures, the SymphonyIRI Group found in a new research paper titled “Over-the-Counter Medications: State of the Industry 2010” that was released last week.

WASHINGTON Enactment by the White House of a landmark, pharmacy-friendly drug-disposal bill won quick praise from chain pharmacy leaders Thursday.

President Obama signed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act into law Wednesday, changing the way the Drug Enforcement Administration regulates the return and destruction of unused and unwanted higher-risk medications. The new law establishes a legal process by which consumers can return their lawfully obtained controlled substance medications to DEA-authorized entities for disposal.

With rising healthcare costs, fewer patients visiting physicians and some 30 million people standing to gain insurance under healthcare reform and entering an already bottlenecked system, CVS Caremark has been working to position itself along the front lines and leverage its broad-reaching points of care to lower overall healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes. Click below to download the PDF of the CVS Caremark report.

NEW YORK CVS Caremark has no doubt been a trailblazer in the healthcare arena, positioning itself along the front lines to leverage its various points of care to improve outcomes and lower healthcare costs. But with all that CVS Caremark has done and will continue to do in the healthcare space -- and it is no doubt a lot -- it still has more than 7,000 retail locations, and the front of the store continues to be a critical part of its business and a major growth driver for the company.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. The National Community Pharmacists Association is urging the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to follow guidance that Congress included in the healthcare-reform law in its implementation of a new Medicaid generic drug reimbursement formula based on average manufacturer price, the organization said Tuesday.

CMS recently withdrew provisions that would have dramatically cut Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement to community pharmacies from a previously proposed AMP rule due to an injunction that the NCPA obtained in 2007.

WASHINGTON McNeil products soon will repopulate shelves, Johnson & Johnson chairman and CEO Bill Weldon shared on Thursday during his testimony before the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

WASHINGTON The Federal Trade Commission has sued the maker of a pomegranate juice that touts health benefit claims.