7/8/2015 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released the results of a 1093-patient study on Tuesday of drugmaker, Eli Lilly’s experimental drug necitumumab, aimed at treating a certain form of lung cancer. The information comes as the FDA will be conducting a panel of outside experts on Thursday, July 9th that will review the
7/3/2015 Following last week’s landmark Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, two leading health insurers will be combining to form the second largest company in the industry. Aetna, the third-largest insurer will acquire Humana, the country’s fourth largest health plan provider. Aetna will pay a cash and stock equivalent to
7/2/2015 In what may be the largest whistleblower lawsuit ever, the Justice Department, along with 11 states, are accusing Swiss pharmaceutical titan, Novartis, of running a massive kickback scheme through the U.S. Medicare and Medicaid programs. Specifically, the U.S. is accusing the drugmaker of referring patients to a handful of specialty pharmacies who sent in
7/1/2015 In a press release on Monday, Massachusetts-based medical device manufacturer, Abiomed, notified the public that the U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its investigation of the company’s Impella 2.5 heart pump. In the press release, Company CEO, Michael Minogue said, “We are pleased that the Department of Justice has chosen to close its investigation
6/29/2015 After a historic week in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to legalize gay marriage, as well as delivering a decision that will likely entrench Obamacare as the law of the land, the Court handed President Obama a major defeat to his environmental agenda. On the last day of the Court’s session, it ruled
6/26/2015 The U.S. Justice Department along with Michigan’s Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit on Thursday, alleging that four Southern Michigan hospital systems violated antitrust laws by agreeing not to compete with each other. The civil suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, claiming that the hospitals conducted a “hands-off” marketing arrangement, with each
6/25/2015 The Supreme Court delivered the much-anticipated King vs. Burwell decision on Thursday not to strike down a key portion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare. The 6-3 decision means that enrollees in states which have not set up their own health exchanges will continue to receive federal subsidies for health insurance. Currently,
6/24/2015 Two reports released on Tuesday highlight the persistence of Medicare fraud, especially involving the Part D prescription drug program. The reports follow the largest Healthcare Fraud takedown in history last week, as officials charged 46 doctors and pharmacy owners, as well as nearly 200 others for Medicare fraud. This includes the arrest of 44
6/24/2015 For the first time in nearly 40 years, significant reforms to the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) may finally take place as the House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday by a 398-1 vote on HR 2576, offering major changes to the law. The passage comes as a Senate panel advanced another
6/18/2015 The House of Representatives will vote Thursday to repeal two controversial provisions to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare. Amidst a considerable degree of bipartisan support, Ways and Means Committee chairman, Paul Ryan (R-WI) successfully advanced measures to a vote earlier this month to cut the unpopular 2.3 percent tax on