Prescription Drugs

Helping more seniors afford prescription drugs is a worthwhile national goal. But is it the only worthwhile goal? Senate Democrats this week are pushing for a vote on a proposal that elevates prescription drugs for seniors over all other domestic needs. The plan is so expensive that if it ever passed, it could squeeze out the party's other priorities--such as education or health coverage for the uninsured--for years.

Imagine a war on crime in which nobody knew how many murders occurred, or a Federal Aviation Administration that was unaware of how many airplanes had crashed. Suppose we were so casual about fatal automobile accidents that it was not even necessary to report one. This is how we monitor the risks of prescription drugs, though they account for more deaths each year than all murders, auto accidents and airplane crashes combined.

The federal government has "lost control" of prescription drug sales and may no longer be able to assure their safety because pharmaceuticals are being distributed at discount prices through a submarket that thrives in California, according to a House subcommittee report scheduled for release today.

Denver Bronco linebacker Bill Romanowski was acquitted Friday on charges of illegally obtaining prescription diet pills. Romanowski, 35, was accused of obtaining phentermine from prescriptions written for his wife and two other people during the 1998 NFL season. Investigators said Romanowski used phentermine, a drug that is not banned by the NFL, to enhance his play.

A Van Nuys woman was charged Monday with illegally selling prescription drugs from a swap meet booth, the second person this month to be charged with such a crime by the city attorney's office, officials said. Bertha Cortes, 29, was charged with unlawfully selling a prescription drug without a license, attempting to sell prescription drugs without a license and attempting to sell an improperly labeled and packaged prescription drug, said Mike Qualls, a spokesman for the city attorney's office.

How pathetic that the chairman of the Assembly Health Committee should even have to consider a bill to legalize the import of prescription drugs from Canada (Jan. 21). It seems unconscionable that drug manufacturers, while relying on the United States for protection, comfort and even research dollars, choose to sell their pharmaceuticals at substantially lower prices to other nations. If they can afford to do that, then the doubling and tripling of prices to their fellow countrymen exhibits incredible greed.

A Los Angeles County jury Thursday convicted Anna Nicole Smith's longtime companion and a psychiatrist of conspiring to provide powerful prescription drugs to the model for several years before her fatal overdose in 2007. The jury acquitted a third defendant ? one of Smith's doctors ? of all charges. The panel deliberated for more than two weeks before convicting Howard K. Stern and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich on two counts each of conspiring to obtain controlled substances by fraud and by providing false names.

Those prescription drugs can be so gosh-darn expensive, but if you don’t buy them, you’ll just wind up paying more in medical bills down the road. So says a new study published Thursday in the journal Health Affairs. It says that people with four common chronic illnesses saved themselves – and the healthcare system – big bucks by taking their meds instead of skipping them. The study was funded by … CVS Caremark, which bills itself as “the largest pharmacy healthcare provider in the United States.

If you read TV Guide, People or other publications, you've probably spotted the trend: Ads that urge you to ask your doctor about a specific prescription drug. They seem to be popping up everywhere. Most often advertised are treatments for chronic conditions such as arthritis and allergies. Until recently, these ads were likely to be seen mainly in medical or trade journals.