Hemophilia Federation of America is a national nonprofit organization that assists, educates and advocates for the bleeding disorders community.
It’s back to the drawing board for proponents of legislation that would prevent the online collection of minors’ health-related information. State Sen. Elizabeth Schneider says her new bill should be ready by the end of the month and will replace a law that was challenged earlier this year in U.S. District Court. Schneider says she wants greater protections for Maine teenagers who […]
With increased pressure on medical costs, many states have chosen to rely on PBM’s to help administer prescription drug benefits for state’s Medicaid and Medicare programs. A controversial issue in that cost goes down, but access and product choice are also severely limited. If cost is the only concern, then well regulated PBM’s can be […]
In politics, we often hear people talk about unintended consequences. In fixing one problem, we sometimes lay the seeds of the next one. Consider what has happened in Maine. This past spring, the Maine Legislature passed a bill addressing drug marketing practices to minors. The measure, passed with lots of fanfare from consumer protection advocates […]
New guidelines will apply in 14 states allowing medical use of marijuana Pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers should not be targeted for federal prosecution in states that allow medical marijuana, prosecutors were told Monday in a new policy memo issued by the Justice Department. Under the policy spelled out in a three-page legal memo, […]
MARKETING RULES, 2010 ELECTION DOT ME’S COMING TERM The most important development in Maine is the departure of Jude Walsh, Governor Balducci’s special assistant for Healthcare Finance to Gould Associates. Walsh was the Governor’s point person for facilitating cost containment amongst chronic conditions. Balducci’s days are numbered literally. Term limited in 2010, it is unclear […]
Every so often it is important to take stock of where you are, where you have been and where you are going in politics. The national debate around healthcare reform has garnered a majority of the TV time and column inches in the newspaper. Events happening in DC right now are critical. Regardless of the […]
When a patient fills a prescription at a major pharmacy, a record of that prescription (minus the patient name) is sold to companies – so-called health information organizations – that pool information from multiple pharmacies. The bundled information is combined with individual physician identities purchased from the American Medical Association to create prescriber profiles (name, […]
If you have found your way to this blog, you might consider yourself web savvy. Phrases like digital divide聽and things like tweeting may even be second nature to you. But if you have teenagers in your home, you are always playing catch up. Cyberspace is their playground. You and I know that. Your kids know […]
In Maine, attempts to implement a dual source contract where two providers would service all Mainers enrolled in the state’s prescription plan “Dirigo Health.” Recent personnel changes at the Capitol in Augusta have thrown the current plan into limbo.
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