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Health Reform: Good For Small Business, According To President's Economic Advisors
A report from President Obama"s Council of Economic Advisers finds that "health care reform would be good for small businesses because it would enable them to obtain better insurance coverage for less money," The Denver Business Journal writes. "Small businesses pay up to 18 percent more than large businesses do for the same coverage because of high broker fees, administrative costs and adverse selection, according to the CEA"s report." Christina Romer, chair of the CEA, "said the health care reform bills moving through Congress are specifically designed to address the burden the current health care system places on small businesses. The legislation would create insurance exchanges, where individuals and small businesses could "choose among a multitude of plans that would provide better coverage at lower costs than they could find in the current small group market," the report said." But, The Journal notes: "Many small business groups also doubt that health insurance would be cheaper under the House bills or the Senate HELP Committee bill. Including a government-run plan in the insurance exchange would undermine private insurers, ultimately driving premiums higher, they contend. Not all small businesses would be able to access the exchange. Plus, the bills call for the federal government to establish minimum coverage levels for insurance plans, which could be pricier than what small businesses now provide. (Hoover, 8/3).
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Healthcare Costs For U.S. Companies Seen Rising Nine Percent
"Healthcare costs for U.S. businesses are seen rising by 9 percent in 2010, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers PWC.UL survey, which showed that employers will expect workers to pay more of the bill," Reuters reports. "PwC"s annual "Behind the Numbers: Medical Costs Trends for 2010," released on Thursday, showed that one of the factors driving costs was more workers using health insurance plans if they expected to be laid off. And, it showed that as unemployment rises in the United States, leaving more people uninsured or underinsured, there will be a decline in membership in commercial plans and greater dependence on public programs, such as Medicaid." Of the 500 employers surveyed, 42 percent said they "would increase workers" share of healthcare costs," and 41 percent that they "would increase medical cost sharing through changes to plans." In addition, "more than two-thirds of employers offer wellness and disease management programs, but few said they were very effective at lowering costs."
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Take Steps To Learn From Child Medication Errors, MDU Urges GPS, UK
The Medical Defence Union (MDU) is reminding its GP members about the steps they can take to avoid medication errors when treating children and the importance of learning from errors. The advice follows the publication of the National Patient Safety Agency"s (NPSA) first review of patient safety incidents involving the under 18s reported under the national reporting and learning system (RLS).
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FDA Approves ADCIRCA(TM) (Tadalafil) Tablets For The Treatment Of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

United Therapeutics Corporation (Nasdaq: UTHR) announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ADCIRCA(TM) (tadalafil) tablets for oral administration, with a recommended dose of 40 mg, as the first once-daily phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibitor for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). ADCIRCA is indicated to improve exercise ability in WHO Group I PAH patients, which encompasses patients with multiple forms of PAH including etiologies such as idiopathic and familial PAH as well as PAH associated with scleroderma and congenital heart disease. "Today, thanks to the clinical development efforts led by Eli Lilly & Company, we are thrilled to make available an effective, convenient and economical therapy for PAH patients," said Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D., United Therapeutics" Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "The FDA"s action in approving once-a-day ADCIRCA is a big plus for all three P"s: patients, physicians and payors." In the PHIRST-1 randomized, double-blind, 16-week placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial of ADCIRCA for PAH, patients taking ADCIRCA 40 mg (administered as two 20 mg tablets) once daily achieved a 33 meter improvement in six-minute walk distance compared to the placebo group. In addition, PHIRST-1 patients taking ADCIRCA 40 mg experienced less clinical worsening (defined as death, lung transplantation, atrial septostomy, hospitalization because of worsening PAH, initiation of new PAH therapy, or worsening WHO functional class) compared to the placebo group. The most common adverse events in the trial were generally transient, mild to moderate in intensity and included headache, muscle pain, flushing, nasopharyngitis, respiratory tract infection, nausea, pain in the arms, legs or back, upset stomach and nasal congestion. "Our dedicated team at United Therapeutics looks forward to working closely with the PAH community as we prepare to launch ADCIRCA in the United States at the beginning of August this year," said Roger Jeffs, Ph.D., United Therapeutics" President and Chief Operating Officer. About ADCIRCA ADCIRCA is a prescription medicine used to treat PAH, a life-threatening disease that constricts the flow of blood through the pulmonary vasculature. United Therapeutics licensed the rights to develop, market, promote and commercialize ADCIRCA for pulmonary hypertension in the United States and Puerto Rico from Eli Lilly & Company in November 2008. ADCIRCA contains the same active ingredient as CIALIS (tadalafil), which is marketed by Eli Lilly & Company to treat erectile dysfunction (impotence) in more than 100 countries. Important Safety Information for ADCIRCA ADCIRCA should not be used in patients taking medicines that contain nitrates (often used for chest pain) as the combination could cause a sudden, unsafe drop in blood pressure. If a patient experiences anginal chest pain after taking ADCIRCA they should seek immediate medical attention. Patients with a known serious hypersensitivity to tadalafil (ADCIRCA or CIALIS) should not take ADCIRCA. PDE5 inhibitors, including tadalafil, have mild systemic vasodilatory properties that may result in transient decreases in blood pressure. Before prescribing ADCIRCA, physicians should carefully consider whether their patients with underlying cardiovascular disease could be adversely affected by such effects. Pulmonary vasodilators may significantly worsen the cardiovascular status of patients with pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD) and administration of ADCIRCA to these patients is not recommended. Patients should discuss their medical condition and all medications with their physician before starting ADCIRCA. The use of ADCIRCA with alpha blockers, blood pressure medications, and alcohol may cause a lowering of blood pressure. Use of ADCIRCA with potent CYP3A inhibitors, such as ketoconazole and itraconazole, should be avoided. For patients on ADCIRCA therapy that require treatment with ritonavir, dosage adjustments are required. Certain populations of PAH patients such as those with mild-to-moderate renal or hepatic impairment or those taking the drug ritonavir should use a dose of 20 mg daily when beginning therapy with ADCIRCA. Use of ADCIRCA with potent inducers of CYP3A, such as rifampin, should be avoided. The safety and efficacy of combinations of ADCIRCA with CIALIS or other PDE5 inhibitors have not been studied. Therefore, the use of such combinations is not recommended. The most common side effects with ADCIRCA seen in the PHIRST-1 clinical trial were headache, myalgia, nasopharyngitis, flushing, respiratory tract infection, extremity pain, nausea, back pain, dyspepsia and nasal congestion. In rare instances, patients taking PDE5 inhibitors (including tadalafil) reported a sudden decrease or loss of vision or hearing, or in men, an erection lasting more than four hours. A patient who experiences a decrease or loss in vision or hearing or prolonged erection should seek immediate medical attention. About United Therapeutics United Therapeutics Corporation is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of unique products to address the unmet medical needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening cardiovascular and infectious diseases and cancer. Forward-looking Statements Statements included in this press release concerning the benefits of ADCIRCA for patients, physicians and payors, and United Therapeutics" plans for the product launch for ADCIRCA are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are qualified by the cautionary statements, cautionary language and risk factors set forth in our periodic reports and documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, which could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results. We are providing this information as of May 26, 2009, and assume no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason. [uthr-g] United Therapeutics Corporation


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