Reading Room
Welcome. Below you will find our growing collection of readings relevant to the NPA's mission.
President Bush Threatens Veto of SCHIP Legislation
President Bush Threatens Veto of SCHIP Legislation, Saying It Would Lead to People Dropping Private Health Coverage
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, July 19, 2007
Rep. Waxman To Introduce Legislation To Guard Surgeon General From Political Interference
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) on Thursday said he plans to introduce legislation that would aim to protect the Office of the Surgeon General from political interference....
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, July 16, 2007
Surgeon General Nominee Dismisses Homosexuality Paper
President Bush's nominee for surgeon general sought to distance himself yesterday from his controversial 1991 paper on homosexuality and health, saying that it was not a scientific study and that many issues it raised are outdated.
-- Washington Post, July 13, 2007
House Approves FDA Overhaul Legislation That Would Improve Prescription Drug Safety
The House on Wednesday voted 403-16 to approve a bill that would expand FDA oversight of prescription drug safety and reauthorize the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, which expires on Sept. 30....
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, July 12, 2007
Surgeon General Sees 4-Year Term as Compromised
Former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona told a Congressional panel Tuesday that top Bush administration officials repeatedly tried to weaken or suppress important public health reports because of political considerations.
-- NYT, July 10, 2007
House Subcommittee Hears Testimony on Mental Health Parity Legislation
Mental health parity bill meets with support from house committee members...
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, July 11 2007
A State Finds No Easy Fixes on Health Care
Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell is learning that to contain costs is eventually to pluck dollars from someone’s pocket. His plan has incited protest from hospitals, doctors, insurers and small businesses, each of them finding something to detest.
-- NYT, July 10, 2007
Congress Seeks to Balance Drug Safety, Quick Approval
Many experts now hope that efforts to do a better job of identifying the "unexpected toxicities" in drugs that have reached medicine cabinets will get a boost from an unexpected source -- the Prescription Drug User Fee Act.
-- Washington Post, July 5, 2007
Editorial: Pharmaceutical Industry Should Not Oppose Registry of Gifts to Physicians
Senators call for national registry of gifts from pharmaceutical manufacturers to physicians....
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, July 2, 2007
Massachusetts Begins Universal Health Care
Today, the home of some of the nation's most prestigious hospitals and medical schools becomes the first state to require its residents to have health insurance or face financial penalties.
-- Washington Post, July 1, 2007
Conflict Alleged in Drug Firms' Education Role
Drug companies have become the biggest sponsors of CME courses in recent years, even at top medical schools, a fact that critics say raises health-care costs, skews treatment decisions & allows industry to skirt laws against advertising "off-label" uses.
-- Washington Post, June 27, 2007
A Drug on The Market
The U.S. has no rational system for...the evaluation of drugs after they’ve been approved. Instead, oversight is left to...altruists, academics, lawyers, self-publicists, and drug companies, who make their own arbitrary decisions....
-- The New Yorker, June 25 2007
SCHIP Waivers Allowing States To Expand Coverage to Adults Break From Bush Administration's Position
With lawmakers working to reauthorize SCHIP before it expires on Sept. 30, some lawmakers, including many Republicans, have said that the program should refocus on children in families with annual incomes less than 200% of the federal poverty level.
-- Kaiser Family Foundation June 21, 2007
Community Health Clinics Flourish, but Doctors Are Few
The promise of better health care for millions of Americans in underserved communities is being undermined by a chronic shortage of doctors -- one that some officials of the health centers say the administration has done too little to address.
-- Washington Post, June 19, 2007
FDA To Appoint Panel That Will Advise Agency on Public Disclosure of Medication Risks
FDA on Monday said that it would appoint a panel of outside specialists to advise the agency on how to inform the public about the risks and benefits of medicines and medical devices, Reuters/New York Times reports.
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, June 5, 2007
Drugmakers woo med students
Experts say drug companies spend about $19 billion a year marketing to doctors. Few medical schools have comprehensive policies that strictly limit industry access to students, said a report released by the American Medical Student Association last month.
-- Baltimore Sun, Jun 3 2007
F.D.A. Still Unsettled in Wake of New Questions
Concerns over Avandia and other drugs have led Republicans and Democrats in the House and the Senate to call for investigations. A House hearing is planned for June 6.
-- NYT, May 30 2007
House, Senate Approve $120B Supplemental Appropriations With Funds for SCHIP, Health Care for Vets
$650 million approved for SCHIP, Veterans' Health Care...
-- Kaiser Family Foundation, May 25 2007
Doctors, Legislators Resist Drugmakers' Prying Eyes
Many doctors object to drugmakers' common practice of contracting with data-mining companies to track exactly which medicines physicians prescribe and in what quantities -- information marketers and salespeople use to fine-tune their efforts.
-- Washington Post, May 23, 2007