| Massachusetts Group Launches Campaign To Regulate Drug Maker Marketing
The newly formed Massachusetts Prescription Reform Coalition on Thursday announced an effort to curb pharmaceutical industry marketing in an attempt to bring down drug costs and health spending, the Boston Globe reports. The group contends that rapid drug spending growth is putting Massachusetts' health care law in jeopardy and hindering other initiatives to expand health insurance in the state.
The coalition has three objectives:
Prohibit gifts from drug makers to health care professionals who prescribe drugs;
Ban data-mining; and
Create a drug education program to provide unbiased information to physicians.The coalition was created by Health Care for All, and its members include AARP, the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group, the American Heart Association, the American Stroke Association, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Neighborhood Health Plan.
Governor's Office Re-Opens In Western Mass.
In the vestibule, empty shelves soon will be filled with new brochures on state programs, grant applications, tourism and other topics of possible interest to visitors. Cardona, 39, a Springfield native appointed in January to run the office, said she receives a steady stream of calls from throughout the four-county region. Many people have questions about state services or suggestions on improving programs. Others need help with everything from starting a new business to understanding the state's health care insurance requirements. As word has spread that the office reopened, she said, drop-in visits have increased, too. "Our goal is to make this office as valuable a resource as possible," Cardona said. "The governor has clearly said his intention is to be the governor for the entire state, and I do believe he'll be using this office frequently." Full-time branch offices are common in many larger states nationwide, Massachusetts and Connecticut are the only New England states that have them.
BearingPoint Predicts Rapid Expansion Of Health Savings Accounts If ...
BearingPoint, Inc. (NYSE:BE), one of the world's largest management and technology consulting firms, eleased projections for the impact of the most widely touted health proposal across the presidential candidates' platforms - universal coverage - on multiple health constituents. Universal coverage as described in the presidential health platforms, is being applied in California and Massachusetts and requires coverage for all (or nearly all) residents through mandates or incentives, for insurance usually supplied through employers of all sizes. In application, this would increase the offering of high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and their associated financial accounts. According to BearingPoint's forecast, the implementation of universal healthcare in the U.S. could further impact all health constituents, including increasing HSA projections beyond the current 2012 estimates of more than 20 million new accounts with more than $200 billion in assets.
Microsoft previews MSN Direct for Windows Mobile devices
MSN Direct is an initiative from Microsoft to deliver personalized information as a wireless service. Users can receive instant access to various information such weather and stock updates, as well as various news pertaining to sports, business, and world news. Content is automatically downloaded by the software client via wireless data connection. In a press release, Eric Lang, general manager of the MSN Direct initiative said, "This is the first time MSN Direct content has been made available to mobile phones, and it is a strong next step for the delivery of MSN Direct content where customers have said they need it the most. We are excited about the opportunities this new application will bring to mobile operators, consumers and the industry." The MSN Direct application is free to download and is available as a CAB installer for download.
Chubb's university challenge
Australia's catch-up cannot be predicated on a thinly spread distribution of any additional investment because of the scale and pace of our competitors. The hard reality is that the rest of the world is not waiting for Australia, and if we play catch-up politics internally waiting a few more decades in some vain hope that the Dawkins reforms will eventually give every university a place in the sun we may well be watching the world from the sidelines," he says. Professor Chubb nominates five prerequisites for an education revolution: substantive policy reform and tough decision-making; going beyond the "stretched" ranks of the public service to the university community for policy ideas; more public funding and greater cost-effectiveness; community support; and a clear vision. He commends Labor's pre-election commitment to mission-based funding compacts, in which universities are better able to respond flexibly to market demand and areas of strength as well as Labor's plans to link compact funding to tightened access to research funding and training on the basis of verified research quality.
Campbell's Lowering Sodium in Kids Soups
MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. - The Campbell Soup Co.'s kid-oriented soups, which feature characters such as Dora the Explorer and Batman on the cans, are getting their second sodium reduction in three years, the company announced Monday.
This time, the 12 soups for kids will have 480 milligrams per serving, which means the company can legally label them as healthy foods for the first time.
"Your kids can enjoy Dora the Explorer even more," said Douglas R. Conant, Campbell's president and chief executive, said in an interview. "They'll be down to heart-healthy levels."
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Perry Brown: Sali's vote shows lack of compassion for uninsured ...
Congress recently once again failed to stand up for children. On Jan. 23, U.S. Rep. Bill Sali joined with 151 other U.S. representatives to uphold President Bush's veto of legislation that would have provided health care coverage for millions of children across the United States, including 12,479 children in our own state (2005 census), who have no health insurance at all. For these million-plus families across the United States, the new year doesn't bring new opportunities. For them, 2008 is beginning to look a lot like 2007. Sali's vote to uphold the veto, means these families - our neighbors, our children's friends - will continue to hope daily that their children won't become ill or get injured, and that even a minor illness won't spiral their family into financial disaster.Just today, I cared for an uninsured child whose family could not afford asthma medications that cost $100 per month; as a result of not having these medications, the child is now hospitalized, at the cost of several thousand dollars.
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