Reading Room
Welcome. Below you will find our growing collection of readings relevant to the NPA's mission.
States Plan To Limit SCHIP Enrollment Without Permanent Funding
Some states say that without "a stable source" of funding for SCHIP this year, they must start planning to freeze enrollment and possibly drop coverage for thousands of children....
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, Nov 26, 2007
Wall Street Journal Examines Physicians' Disclosure to Patients of Business Ties
The WSJ on Tuesday examined physicians' disclosure of business ties that might be considered conflicts of interest. According to the Journal, many "physicians don't volunteer information about financial relationships that might bear on treatment decisions.
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, Nov 20, 2007
Pharmaceutical Lobbying Stalls Legislation Intended To Prevent Delays of Generic Introductions
Legislation that would prevent brand-name drug companies from paying generic drug makers to delay market entry of generic medications "has stalled in Congress in the face of major lobbying by the drug industry....
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, Nov 13, 2007
Lawmakers Fail To Reach Agreement on SCHIP Legislations, Negotiations Continue
Lawmakers on Wednesday failed to reach an agreement on revisions to a bill that would reauthorize and expand SCHIP....
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, Nov 8, 2007
Int'l Survey: U.S. Adults Most Likely to Report Medical Errors and Skip Needed Care Due to Costs
A new Commonwealth Fund seven-nation survey finds that U.S. patients are more likely to report experiencing medical errors, to go without care because of costs, and to say that the health care system needs to be rebuilt completely.
-- Commonwealth Fund, 11/1/07
Groups Back Physician Gift Disclosure Measure
The American Medical Students Association (AMSA), the National Physicians Alliance (NPA) and the Prescription Project are supporting legislation that would require major pharmaceutical companies to disclose all gifts of $25 or more given to physicians.....
-- Congressional Quarterly, Oct 23 2007
Drug Companies' Ties to Schools Common
Nearly two-thirds of academic leaders surveyed at U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals have financial ties to industry, illustrating how pervasive these relationships have become, researchers say.
-- Associated Press, Oct 16, 2007
Minnesota Limit on Gifts to Doctors May Catch On
Two years after Minnesota officials forbade drug makers to give doctors more than $50 worth of food or other gifts per year, drug company sales representatives there are having a far harder time marketing to doctors.
-- NYT, Oct 12, 2007
Democrats Say They Will Not Compromise With President Bush on SCHIP
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Thursday said congressional Democratic leaders will not compromise with President Bush on SCHIP, after Bush on Wednesday vetoed legislation that would have reauthorized and expanded the program...
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, Oct 5, 2007
Report Assails F.D.A. Oversight of Clinical Trials
“In many ways, rats and mice get greater protection as research subjects in the United States than do humans,” said Arthur L. Caplan, chairman of the department of medical ethics at the University of Pennsylvania.
-- NYT, Sept 28 2007
House Passes Bill Giving More Power to the F.D.A.
The House overwhelmingly passed legislation on Wednesday that is expected to give federal drug regulators significantly more money and power to ensure the safety of the nation’s drug supply.
-- NYT, Sept 20, 2007
Senate Passes Mental Health Parity Legislation
The Senate on Tuesday night by unanimous consent passed legislation (S 558) that would require health insurers to provide the same level of coverage for treatment of mental illnesses as they do for physical illnesses....
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, Sept 19, 2007
NJ Attorney General to probe drug company gifts to doctors
Attorney General Anne Milgram has convened a task force to explore the issue of pharmaceutical companies and medical device makers giving gifts and other compensation to physicians, and to determine what impact, if any, such practices have on patinet care.
-- South Jersey News Online, Sept 18, 2007
Opening up the Findings of Drug Trials
Lawmakers and scientists agree clinical studies should be more transparent, but disagree on how that should be accomplished.
-- Los Angeles Times, Sept. 17 2007
Cancer Society Focuses Its Ads on the Uninsured
In a stark departure from past practice, the American Cancer Society plans to devote its entire $15 million advertising budget this year not to smoking cessation or colorectal screening but to the consequences of inadequate health coverage.
-- NYT, Sept 4, 2007
Film Spurs Conversation About Health Care Issues, Reform, Poll Finds
Only 4% of U.S. adults have viewed "Sicko," a recently released documentary on the health care industry directed by filmmaker Michael Moore, but 46% have "seen the movie or heard or read something about it"....
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, August 28, 2007
Lawmaker Calls for Registry of Drug Firms Paying Doctors
An influential Republican senator says he will propose legislation requiring drug makers to disclose the payments they make to doctors for services like consulting, lectures and attendance at seminars.
-- NYT, August 3, 2007
Senate Votes To Begin Debate on SCHIP Reauthorization, House Agrees on Revisions to Its Version
The Senate on Monday voted 80-0 to begin debate on legislation (S 1893) that would reauthorize SCHIP and expand funding for the program by $35 billion over five years....
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, July 31, 2007
Drug makers must warn patients of risks, Justices rule
Drug companies cannot escape liability for harmful prescriptions in West Virginia by laying all responsibility on doctors, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled June 27.
-- West Virginia Record, July 26 2007
House Democrats Offer Child Health Plan
House Democrats would rely less on tobacco taxes than the Senate would and more on cuts to Medicare insurers to pay for a proposed $50 billion expansion of a children's health insurance program.
-- NYT, July 25. 2007