Content about Presidency of Barack Obama

April 10, 2013
Obama budget proposes increasing tobacco taxes

President Barack Obama has proposed increasing federal taxes on cigarettes, drawing criticism from tobacco companies and praise from anti-smoking groups.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has proposed increasing federal taxes on cigarettes, drawing criticism from tobacco companies and praise from anti-smoking groups.

As part of his proposed budget, Obama proposed raising the tax on cigarettes by 94 cents per pack, with similar increases on other tobacco products. The current tax is $1.01 per pack.

March 12, 2013
Health reform 'czar' Nancy-Ann DeParle to be NACDS-PAC breakfast keynote speaker at Annual

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has announced that Nancy-Ann DeParle, former deputy chief of staff for policy for President Barack Obama, will be the keynote speaker at the NACDS Chain Members and Political Action Committee (NACDS-PAC) breakfast, which will be held on April 22 during the NACDS Annual Meeting in Palm Beach, Fla.

 ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has announced that Nancy-Ann DeParle, former deputy chief of staff for policy for President Barack Obama, will be the keynote speaker at the NACDS Chain Members and Political Action Committee (NACDS-PAC) breakfast, which will be held on April 22 during the NACDS Annual Meeting in Palm Beach, Fla.

February 13, 2013
State of the Union address draws mixed responses from drug industry

Some people liked President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night, and some people didn't, and the response from the drug industry was no less mixed.

WASHINGTON — Some people liked President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night, and some people didn't, and the response from the drug industry was no less mixed.

The Generic Pharmaceutical Association called for measures to lower healthcare costs, including ensuring that generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars reach patients' hands quickly and also avoiding measures intended to provide savings that the GPhA said would raise prescription drug costs, though the grow didn't specify what those measures were.

November 29, 2012
Health reform stands as justices, voters ratify Obamacare

The Obama administration’s ambitious overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system weathered some significant challenges in 2012 and came through relatively unscathed.


The Obama administration’s ambitious overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system weathered some significant challenges in 2012 and came through relatively unscathed.


The first major test came in June, when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to overturn the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, while still ruling that the law’s provision requiring individuals to obtain health insurance was unconstitutional.


What saved the ACA was the court’s decision that the government’s mandate to purchase health insurance qualified as a tax. 


November 12, 2012
Obama win solidifies health reform’s future

It looks like health reform is for keeps.

It looks like health reform is for keeps.

November 7, 2012
Retail, pharmacy groups respond to election results

Americans woke up Wednesday morning to the news that Barack Obama had won a second term as president of the United States. DSN examines what it means for retail pharmacy.

NEW YORK — Americans woke up Wednesday morning to the news that Barack Obama had won a second term as president of the United States. Some people may be happy about that, others unhappy and others neutral — but win or lose, the results of Tuesday's election affect everyone, including those in the retail pharmacy industry.

September 13, 2012
NRF warns of 'regulatory train wreck' with healthcare regulations

The National Retail Federation told a congressional panel Wednesday that the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury have used too much informal guidance and not enough formal rule-making in developing regulations to implement the new healthcare reform law, complicating retailers' and other employers' ability to plan for what will be required in 2014.

WASHINGTON — The National Retail Federation told a congressional panel Wednesday that the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Treasury have used too much informal guidance and not enough formal rule-making in developing regulations to implement the new healthcare reform law, complicating retailers' and other employers' ability to plan for what will be required in 2014. NRF is concerned that the situation is the latest example of regulatory uncertainty that is hampering businesses' attempts to expand and create jobs.



February 10, 2012
Reports: Obama administration offers compromise on birth control requirements

Controversy over a plan by the Obama administration to require health insurance plans to provide free contraception to women has led the administration to seek a policy that it is calling a compromise with conservative groups opposed to the measure, according to published reports.

NEW YORK — Controversy over a plan by the Obama administration to require health insurance plans to provide free contraception to women has led the administration to seek a policy that it is calling a compromise with conservative groups opposed to the measure, according to published reports.

The controversy surrounded the new rule's requirement that employee health insurance plans provide free birth control, including those run by the Roman Catholic church, such as hospitals and universities. The Church opposes birth control.

November 28, 2011
Berwick steps down from post as CMS administrator

The Obama administration confirmed last week that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Donald Berwick will step down from his post on Dec. 2.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration confirmed last week that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Donald Berwick will step down from his post on Dec. 2.

Berwick, who was nominated to the position by President Obama in April 2010, was supposed to lead the agency through the end of the year as part of his recess appointment.

Marilyn Tavenner, CMS principal deputy administrator, will succeed Berwick, according to a statement made by Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

October 21, 2010
AP poll finds Americans evenly divided on impact, benefits of health-reform law

Seven months after President Obama signed the massive health-reform bill into law, Americans remain deeply...

WASHINGTON Seven months after President Obama signed the massive health-reform bill into law, Americans remain deeply divided over the controversial overhaul and its potential benefits, a new poll from the Associated Press and the GfK Group revealed.

 

September 12, 2010
HHS: States must ask for more Medicaid funds

When President Barack Obama signed an emergency federal spending bill Aug. 13, it gave cash-strapped...

August 26, 2010
More progress needed in health information technology

Since the turn of the 21st century, community pharmacy and its technology allies have waged...

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Since the turn of the 21st century, community pharmacy and its technology allies have waged a long fight to shift the nation’s fractious healthcare system to a common communications and record-keeping platform via electronic prescribing and information technology. Those efforts -- led by such companies as Surescripts, the pharmacy industry-founded e-prescribing network -- have made progress.

August 19, 2010
HHS Secretary says states must ask for additional Medicaid funding help

Enactment last week of a supplemental federal spending bill gave cash-strapped states a chance to...

January 31, 2010
FDA seeks budget increase from Obama administration

The Food and Drug Administration hopes to “transform” its oversight of medical product and food...

January 28, 2010
With health reform outlook dimmed, pharmacy can’t abandon its agenda

Was the massive effort by the White House and congressional Democrats to overhaul the nation’s...

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Was the massive effort by the White House and congressional Democrats to overhaul the nation’s expensive and confusing healthcare system nothing more than a wasted, year-long effort?

(THE NEWS: NCPA responds to President Obama's State of the Union Address. For the full story, click here)