- The President submitted to Congress a Medicare reform bill as required by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. The President’s proposal calls for means tested Medicare Part D premiums, medical malpractice liability caps, and increased use of health information technology. It was not well received on Capitol Hill.
- The Senate Budget Committee held a hearing on health information technology on February 14. The testimony can be found here.
- The Senate Budget Committee also released an interesting Congressional Budget Office chart on Medicare spending in 2005 by geography. It’s worth a click.
- CVS Caremark agreed to settle a lawsuit by a group of States Attorneys General alleging that the prescription benefits manager engaged in deceptive brand name drug switching practices. Under the settlement, Caremark will pay the states $38.5 million and follow certain rules on drug switching programs. In its press release, CVS Caremark explains that the liability stems from its predecessor companies’s legacy Caremark and legacy AdvancePCS “and will not result in significant changes to current business practices.:
