Reading Room
Welcome. Below you will find our growing collection of readings relevant to the NPA's mission.
In Guilty Plea, OxyContin Maker to Pay $600 Million
The company that makes the narcotic painkiller OxyContin and 3 current & former execs pleaded guilty today in federal court to criminal charges that they misled regulators, doctors and patients about the drug’s risk of addiction....
-- NYT, May 11, 2007
Medial Schools "Under the Influence"
Only six U.S. medical schools are free of the influence of pharmaceutical companies, according to a new report by the American Medical Student Association.
-- United Press Intl May 10, 2007
States Increasingly Expanding SCHIP Coverage to Middle-Class Families
Several states are working to raise income eligibility limits for SCHIP, despite White House opposition....
-- Kaiser Family Foundation April 30, 2007
Physicians Continue To Receive Gifts, $$ From Pharmaceutical Industry Despite Voluntary Guidelines
A new NEJM study finds that 94% of physicians have relationships with pharmaceutical companies in which the companies provide them with food and beverages, medication samples, and other gifts and payments...
-- Kaiser Family Foundation Apr 26, 2007
In Turnabout, Infant Deaths Climb in South
The setbacks have raised questions about the impact of cuts in welfare and Medicaid and of poor access to doctors, and, many doctors say, the growing epidemics of obesity, diabetes and hypertension ....
-- NYT, Apr 22 2007
States Cracking Down on Drug Marketing
Legislators are taking a hard look at data-mining companies that keep detailed records on exactly what drugs are prescribed by nearly every doctor in the U.S.
-- Associated Press, Apr. 12, 2007
Pharmaceutical Industry Spends Record $155M Lobbying Fed Govt From '05 Through First Half '06
Pharmaceutical companies and their trade associations spent a record $155 million lobbying Congress from January 2005 through June 2006, according to a study released on Sunday by the Center for Public Integrity, Bloomberg/Chicago Tribune reports.
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, Apr 03, 2007
HHS Inspector General Office To Review Conflicts of Interest for NIH Grantees, Employees
HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson has announced that investigators will examine conflict-of-interest policies at NIH regarding scientists who are not employed by the agency but who use federal grant money
-- Kaiser Family Foundation Mar. 30, 2007
Controversial HHS Appointee Eric Keroack Resigns
The head of the federal office responsible for providing women with access to contraceptives and counseling to prevent pregnancy resigned unexpectedly yesterday after Medicaid officials took action against him in Massachusetts.
-- Boston Globe, Mar. 30, 2007
All Low-Income Newborns to Receive Equal Access to Medicaid
Reversing a July 2006 interim ruling, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that all infants born to mothers on Medicaid will receive one year of automatic or "deemed" Medicaid eligibility.
-- US Dpt of HHS, Mar. 20, 2007
Democratic Presidential Candidates All Support Univeral Health Care Coverage
Seven Democratic presidential candidates appearing at a forum on Saturday promised to work toward universal health care if elected, the Chicago Tribune reports.
-- Chicago Tribune, Mar. 26, 2007
Doctors’ Ties to Drug Makers Are Put on Close View
"[R]esearch shows that doctors who have close relationships with drug makers tend to prescribe more, newer and pricier drugs — whether or not they are in the best interests of patients."
-- NYT, Mar 21 2007
Pelosi Says House Budget Resolution Will Include Reserve To Cover All Children Elgible for S-CHIP
House Speaker Pelosi Says House Budget Resolution Will Include Reserve Fund To Cover All Children Eligible for SCHIP
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, Mar. 12, 2007
Health Parnership Act is Needed Legislation
Sen Voinovich writes: The Health Partnership Act has the support of approx 90 national, state and local organizations, including the Nat' Governors' Assoc (NGA), the Nat'l Assoc of Counties (NACo) and the National Physicians Alliance (NPA).
-- Chillico Gazette, Mar 3, 2007
Poll Shows Majority Back Health Care for All
A majority of Americans say the federal government should guarantee health insurance to every American, especially children, and are willing to pay higher taxes to do it, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.
-- NYT, Mar 1, 2007
House Appropriations Chair Says Supplemental Funding Bill for Military Ops Will Include $ for SCHIP
House Appropriations Committee Chair David Obey (D-Wis.) on Tuesday confirmed that the committee will include funds for SCHIP in a supplemental appropriations bill for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, CQ Today reports.
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, Feb 28, 2007
Lawmakers Discuss Plans for SCHIP Reauthorization at Forum
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) on Monday at a forum co-sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said that Congress likely will have the ability to authorize the $50 billion over five years....
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, Feb 27, 2007
Campaign Will Seek To Limit Physicians' Contact With Pharmaceutical Companies
The consumer advocacy group Community Catalyst and the Institute on Medicine as a Profession, a research group at Columbia University, on Tuesday plan to launch a campaign that will seek to limit the number of meals and other gifts that physicians accept.
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, Feb 12, 2007
Health Program Splits Parties
A successful lobbying campaign could be crucial to the passage of a SCHIP reauthorization bill....
-- The Hill, Feb 8, 2007