Uninsured RX

The Wall Street Journal on Thursday examined how the "number of Americans burdened with massive medical bills has soared" and how hospital bills that exceed $1 million, "while still unusual, are becoming more common as insurance policies once thought to provide catastrophic coverage prove inadequate when it comes to high-cost illnesses." According to a recent survey conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, 34% of U.S. [click link for full article]

Advocacy groups have begun to lobby lawmakers as Senate Finance Committee members discuss a Medicare bill that likely will decrease reimbursements for some health care providers to finance the suspension of a 10% reduction in payments for physicians scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2008, CQ HealthBeat reports. [click link for full article]

The American Health Information Community on Wednesday recommended that HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt seek authority from Congress to mandate electronic prescribing in Medicare, CQ HealthBeat reports. [click link for full article]

More than 850,000 of Texas' 1.5 million uninsured children are eligible for SCHIP or Medicaid but are not enrolled in the programs, Texas Health and Human Services Executive Commissioner Albert Hawkins said Tuesday, the Austin American-Statesman reports. [click link for full article]

InforMedix Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: IFMX, http://www.informedix.com), developer of the Med-eMonitor?, an interactive smart pillbox system for medication adherence and health management, is planning to introduce a new device, the Med-ePhone?. [click link for full article]

According to a new study from Thomson Medstat, as patients face higher out-of-pocket costs for cholesterol-lowering drugs, they are less likely to take their medicine and more likely to end up in the emergency room or a hospital bed. The study that appeared recently in The American Journal of Managed Care analyzed the healthcare use, costs, and behaviors of more than 100,000 people who were prescribed statins, a common treatment for high cholesterol, from 2000 to 2003. [click link for full article]

Thomson Scientific, part of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) and leading provider of information solutions to the worldwide research and business communities, has issued its quarterly The Ones-to-Watch report. It provides expert insight into the five most promising drugs entering each new phase of clinical development between July and September 2007. [click link for full article]

Molecular Profiles, a global leader in the provision of innovative contract research services to the pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical and biomedical sectors worldwide, announces the appointment of Dr. Rob Whittock as Associate Director of Materials Characterisation. [click link for full article]

The Australian Medical Students' Association (AMSA) welcomed the appointment of Nicola Roxon as Federal Minister for Health and Ageing. AMSA President Mr. Rob Mitchell said, "I look forward to working with Ms. Roxon in her capacity as Health Minister. [click link for full article]

Cook Medical launches the EVOLUTION(R) Mechanical Dilator Sheath Set from its Coronary strategic business unit. The first showcase for this innovation in lead extraction will be at the XIII World Congress on Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology in Rome between 2nd and 6th December. By the end of 2007 approximately 750,000 leads will have been implanted in patients with pacemakers and defibrillators across Europe. [click link for full article]