Los Angeles Times: Herman Cain Dodges Scandal Questions On Capitol Hill Herman Cain came to Capitol Hill to address the congressional healthcare caucus at a House office building Wednesday, but it was clear from the media scrum inside the room and outside in the hallway that health policy was the last thing on anyone's mind. ??¦ Cain gave a short speech on healthcare policy, citing, as has in the past, his own experience as a cancer survivor as an argument against the Democratic healthcare reform law. He said he would plan to sign a bill repealing the plan on March 23, 2013, his son's birthday. "I'm going to unpass it on my son's birthday," he pledged (Oliphant and Hennessey, 11/2).
NPR Shots Blog: Rising Health Costs Lead Companies To Drop Part-Time BenefitsWal-Mart's recent decision to cut benefits for new, part-time employees may be part of a trend, as companies grapple with higher health costs (Husted, 11/2).
The Wall Street Journal: Glaxo Settles With U.S. For $3 Billion GlaxoSmithKline PLC said it will pay the U.S. government $3 billion to settle several long-running criminal and civil investigations into the company, including allegations that Glaxo marketed some drugs illegally and defrauded the Medicaid program. The settlement will also cover a Department of Justice probe into Glaxo's development and marketing of the diabetes drug Avandia, which has been linked to heart attack risks (Whalen, 11/3).
NPR Shots Blog: Religious Groups Want Relief From Birth Control MandateFaith-based health providers got a chance to vent about new federal rules that require them to offer prescription contraceptives as part of their health insurance plans at a House subcommittee hearing today. They also proposed some changes (Rovner, 11/2).
Los Angeles Times: Shortage Of Cancer Drugs Tied To Simple EconomicsEconomics are no small part of the problem, according to a Perspective published online this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. In this eye-opening report, a pharmacist and a physician explain why so many cancer drugs are in short supply and offer some prescriptions for how to fix things (Kaplan, 11/2).
Los Angeles Times: Hospital Group Sues Over Cuts To Medi-Cal ProgramThe trade group for California's hospitals has sued state and federal officials to block a 10% cut in government reimbursements for healthcare providers who treat low-income patients. The California Hospital Assn. said in its suit, filed in federal district court in Los Angeles, that cuts to the Medi-Cal insurance program will threaten the ability of many hospitals to continue operating skilled nursing facilities (Helfand, 11/2).
The Associated Press/Wall Street Journal: 12 Charged In NYC With $95 Million Medicare FraudFederal authorities in New York City charged 12 people -; including several doctors -; with scheming to submit more than $95 million in false Medicare claims. The 12 were charged Wednesday with participating in Medicare fraud and money-laundering offenses in Brooklyn and Queens. In addition to three medical doctors, they include a chiropractor and a doctor of osteopathy (11/2).
This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.