Exposed: Tobacco companies efforts to influence industry privatisation
...e through the growth of advertising and decline in prices effective tobacco control policies, particularly comprehensive advertising bans and adequate taxation rates, should be implemented before privatisation occurs."...Competition in health care may not result in better quality
...industry has been touted as the way to curb rising prices by reducing inefficient practices and improving quality and safety. But a study of 341 HMOs suggests that more competition may not automatically solve price and quality-of-care problems as hoped for by legislators, regulators and employers. "Our find...Cost-effectiveness of drugs may vary across borders
...cal practice patterns, and differences in relative prices cross-country. This variability is a particular concern for decision makers, those conducting economic studies and particularly pharmaceutical manufacturers, who may have to consider repeating studies in every possible setting....Annals of Internal Medicine, tip sheet, June 21, 2005
... provider market of physicians and hospitals keeps prices and quantity (numbers of visits and procedures) high. The interaction of this "provider power" and the rapid dissemination of new technologies, he says, explains why health expenditures are higher in the United States than in other developed countri...Assuring the supply of vaccines
...s be required to cover immunizations, that vaccine prices be set in advance of their development, and that vaccine coverage decisions include societal benefits and costs, including consideration of the impact of the price of a vaccine on recommendations for its use, there were widespread and varied response...Costs of coronary artery bypass graft surgery
...st differential primarily reflects higher resource prices for products and labor and higher overhead costs in the United States resulting from a nonsocialized medical system. However, U.S. hospitals also appear to streamline services better to reduce LOS, a strategy Canadian hospitals might emulate to furth...US still spends more on health care than any other country
...ited States is that malpractice suits increase the prices charged by doctors and cause them to practice defe...es back to the fact that we are paying much higher prices for health care goods and services in the United States. Paying more is okay if our outcomes were be...Are some medicines so good they should be free? In diabetes, the answer may be yes
...ess. The new Medicare drug plan will not negotiate prices on a national level because of a clause in the law that establishes it. If Medicare paid for the cost of the drug for all adults over age 65 who have diabetes, added to the existing cost of all their healthcare until death, the total savings would be...Pricey new versions of old drugs fuelling huge rise in drug spending
.... The rising cost of using these "me-too" drugs at prices far exceeding those of time-tested competitors deserves careful scrutiny, say the authors, based at the University of British Columbia in Canada, where spending on drugs doubled between 1996 and 2003. They used classifications from the Canadian Paten...Key strategy to limit managed care drug costs failing, survey shows
...icine and health policy. HMOs negotiated their own prices for drugs with the manufacturers via pharmacy benefit managers but typically failed to disclose that information to physicians, the survey revealed. "Profitably managing something as complex as prescription drug risk requires accurate, timely inform...Tip sheet for Annals of Internal Medicine, Sept. 20, 2005 issue
...Internet Drugs A December 2, 2004, survey of drug prices of 41 retail brand-name medications advertised on Web sites of 12 Canadian pharmacies and 3 large American pharmacy chains found that 43 of the 44 drugs were less expensive at the Canadian pharmacies (Article, p. 397). The three drugs more expensive ...Satellite survey of Elbe flood helps Swiss Re insure for disaster
...e precisely how risky, in order to set appropriate prices for its policies. Accurately assessing the likel...osses they might cause, and do we charge the right prices for the policies we sell?" Precise cataloguing of past disasters and the insurance losses they incu...Government plans for NHS more aggressive than Tories ever were
...c basis, usually to meet year-end targets. But at prices sometimes 40% higher than the average NHS cost for each operation, Health Secretary Alan Milburn was keen to find a more cost-effective system, says the author. Independent sector treatment centres, derived from fast-track surgery units in the US and...Caution: New Medicare drug plan may cause headaches
...care plans, which typically offer widely differing prices for 'included' and 'not included' pharmaceuticals." In sum, according to Kaplan, Medicare Part D may help many seniors save on prescription drugs, especially those with incomes below 150 percent of the federal poverty line, who will receive special d...Time is right for vets and doctors to debate food policy
...e purviews. The 20th century's drive to lower food prices has resulted in many hidden costs for consumers, animals, and society, write Caroline Hewson and Tim Lang. Doctors and vets have an important opportunity to guide the public about these costs and to encourage the relevant policymakers to make changes...Government reforms may bring an end to free healthcare
...- external companies vying for NHS contracts. But prices have been fixed in advance, neutralizing the benefits of market forces. In addition, more resources are going into the "black hole" of the hospital sector, and the way Foundation Trusts are funded heavily distorts the market. Such a system will not b...Medicare fraud settlement causes oncologists to lose income
... AstraZeneca cases alleged that the spread between prices paid by physicians for cancer drugs and the amount...d from 12 percent to 77 percent of the acquisition prices and was an important factor used in the marketing of the prostate cancer drugs. TAP and AstraZeneca...Free care by Florida emergency physicians climbs faster as uninsured patient visits increase
... Second, emergency physician groups may set higher prices to try to offset higher levels of uncompensated care, Dr. Orban said, but the attempt to cost shift does not necessarily result in higher reimbursement rates from third party payers. Emergency care for uninsured patients is an extremely important saf...Raising alcohol prices can lead to more drinking instead of less
...makers and researchers believe that increasing the prices of alcohol beverages will help to reduce alcohol s... policy initiatives tend to support increasing the prices of alcohol beverages as a way of reducing alcohol sales and related problems. However, a study in t...International research reveals proven ways to reduce drug costs
...Medicine. "Americans don't need to pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs with our aver...rly and low-income Americans cannot afford current prices without major sacrifice." Furberg is widely recognized as a drug safety expert and has served on the...