Governor Nixon recommends a 120-million dollar funding cut for the Medicaid program. But the administration thinks the cuts will be mostly painless. [Read more...]
Health care overhaul passes without Missouri support
November 9, 2009 By
A health care overhaul has passed the House in Washington without much help from Missouri’s Congressional delegation.
Democratic leaders in the House were able to convince enough reluctant Democrats to vote in favor of the measure to squeeze out a 220-215 vote and send the massive bill to the Senate. The vote came Saturday evening after President Obama delivered a pep talk to Democrats, urging them to “answer the call of history” and approve the trillion-dollar package. [Read more...]
Jefferson City awaits Washington health care outcome
October 6, 2009 By
Health care will once again be a big topic of discussion when the legislature returns to Jefferson City in January, but that discussion could be shaped in large part by how health care legislation plays out in Washington.
State lawmakers are closely watching the developments in the health care debate in Washington. House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley (R-Perryville) says what Washington decides will have a big impact on what Jefferson City considers.
“With regards to health care, we need to get our hands around what they’re wanting to do at the federal level and then, hopefully, we can do something to dovetail it from here,” Tilley says. [Read more...]
AG Koster announces additional $22 million recovery from Pfizer today
September 2, 2009 By
"All-time high in Missouri’s Medicaid fraud recovery" Attorney General Chris Koster announced today that Missouri will receive $22 million as part of the largest nationwide Medicaid fraud settlement in history. This recovery adds to Missouri’s record-breaking year for Medicaid fraud recovery, Koster says. The Attorney General’s Medicaid fraud unit has collected more than $75 million since Jan. 1 on behalf of Missouri’s Medicaid system. (The previous high total was more than $33.5 million in calendar year 2008.) Today’s nationwide settlement is with the pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, and its subsidiaries. Missouri, in conjunction with the United States Justice Department and other Attorneys General, alleged that Pfizer and its subsidiaries paid kickbacks and engaged in off-labeling marketing campaigns that improperly promoted numerous drugs that Pfizer manufactures. "Pharmaceutical companies are a critical player in Missouri’s health-care system, and like every other part of the system these companies must play by the rules," Koster says. Pfizer will pay the states and the federal government a total of $1 billion in civil damages and penalties to compensate Medicaid, Medicare, and various federal healthcare programs for harm suffered as a result of its conduct. In addition, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company, Inc., a Pfizer subsidiary, has agreed to plead guilty to a felony violation of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and to pay a criminal fine and forfeiture of $1.3 billion. The criminal component of the agreement centers on the illegal marketing and promotion of Bextra, an anti-inflammatory drug that Pfizer pulled from the market in 2005. Because of the illegal promotion, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company, Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to a felony violation of the FDCA for misbranding the drug with the intent to defraud or mislead. The states and federal government alleged that Pfizer, the largest pharmaceutical manufacturer in the world, engaged in a pattern of unlawful marketing activity to promote multiple drugs for certain uses which the Food and Drug Administration had not approved. While it is not illegal for a physician to prescribe a drug for an unapproved use, federal law prohibits a manufacturer from promoting a drug for uses not approved by the FDA. This promotional activity by Pfizer included: – Marketing Bextra for conditions and dosages other than those for which it was approved; – Promoting the use of the antipsychotic drug Geodon for a variety of off-label conditions such as attention deficit disorder, autism, dementia and depression for patients that included children and adolescents; – Selling the pain medication Lyrica for unapproved conditions; – Making false representations about the safety and efficacy of Zyvox, an antibiotic only approved to treat certain drug resistant infections. In addition, Pfizer is alleged to have paid illegal remuneration to health care professionals to induce them to promote and prescribe Bextra, Geodon, Lyrica, Zyvox, Aricept, Celebrex, Lipitor, Norvasc, Relpax, Viagra, Zithromax, Zoloft and Zyrtec. These payments allegedly took many forms, including entertainment, cash, travel and meals. Federal law prohibits payment of anything of value in exchange for the prescribing of a product paid for by a federal health care program. As a condition of the settlement, Pfizer will enter into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General, which will closely monitor the company’s future marketing and sales practices. Listen to interview with Joe Dandurand, assistant to Attorney General Koster, below.
Jessica Machetta interviews Joe Dandurand, assistant Attorney General [Download/listen MP3 - 8 min.]
Kids Count report: child abuse down, high school dropouts up
May 17, 2009 By
The annual KidsCount report is out. It provides county-by-county data on the health and wellbeing of Missouri’schildren.
While child abuseand neglect cases in Missouriare down from last year, high school dropout rates are higher.
The Kids Countreport compares information and statistical trends on the conditions of ourstate’s children and families in all 114 counties and the City of Saint Louis.
St. Charles County,just outside of St. Louis,did the best this year. Not the case just a few miles away. St. Louis City scored lowest "across the board," says Scott Gee, director of Citizens for Missouri’sChildren. He says the areas that ranked the lowest are also the state’spoorest.
However, St. Louis did improve its numbers in all categories — save high school dropout rates — over last year.
The report breaksdown the rates for infant mortality, low birth weight, teen pregnancy, students on free or reduced lunches, babies born to mothers without a high school diploma, child deaths, children removed from homes, and violent deaths to teens.
The study also provides a breakout for various economic factors, demographics, family support systems, health and mental health.
For example, St. Louis had 1,226 high school dropouts, or 11.6 percent. St. Charles County had 449 dropouts, or 2.8 percent.
The report states that every day in Missouri:
18 babies are born with a low birth weight
41 children are born to mothers who lack high school diplomas
2 babies die before their ?rst birthday
15 children are removed from their homes
127 children receive attention from the Mo. Department of Social Services
due to reports of child abuse and neglect
1 child or teen dies
29 teens drop out of school
25 teens between the ages of 15 and 19 give birth
212,369 children live in poverty
Gee says the reportserves local and state policymakers, as well as not-for-profits at the locallevel in identifying needs and boosting certain programs.
To see how your county ranks and individual breakdowns, visit the Citizens for Missouri’s Children Web site.
