Month: March 2014

The White House on Wednesday defended extending some enrollments for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act past a March 31 deadline, saying doing so was comparable to allowing voters who are in line when polls close to cast their ballots. The administration late on Tuesday granted an extension until mid-April to people who say they have started to apply for coverage through the HealthCare.gov website but are unable to complete the process before the deadline. “We expect there to be increasing numbers as the deadline approaches,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. The administration expects criticism of the extension “by those who want to deny Americans quality, affordable health insurance, and want to put insurance companies back in control,” he told reporters traveling with the president to Europe.

By Philip Pullella and Jeff Mason VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Despite differences on moral issues, U.S. President Barack Obama will find in Pope Francis a welcome ally on issues of poverty and social justice when they meet for the first time at the Vatican on Thursday. Obama, a Christian, has kept his religion a mostly private affair, rarely attending church in Washington, D.C., since his election in 2008.

By Susan Cornwell and Thomas Ferraro WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House and Senate leaders said on Wednesday they were working to avert looming Medicare pay cuts for doctors, with a House vote on a temporary solution expected on Thursday and Senate action also possible in the coming days. Many lawmakers in both parties support the idea of finding a permanent solution to the Medicare payment system, fearing that otherwise doctors will be forced to turn away patients seeking access to care under the government-funded healthcare program for the elderly. Republican House Speaker John Boehner said on Wednesday he expected Congress to act swiftly after he and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, agreed to a proposal to delay the cuts for another year. The House of Representatives will vote on Thursday, Boehner said, adding he expected the Senate would follow quickly.

Two firefighters were reported killed and at least 17 people injured as a nine-alarm fire raced through a four-story building in the city’s historic Back Bay neighborhood on Wednesday, drawing a large-scale emergency response, local officials said. The Boston Globe, quoting two people with direct knowledge of the fire, said the two Boston firefighters died while battling the blaze but gave no further details. All residents of the apartment building escaped unharmed, said Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve MacDonald. With the winds, “it’s hard fighting it from the outside.” Boston Emergency Medical Service said it had taken 17 people to area hospitals.

Boston judge slams parents, rules state to keep custody until age 18.

(Reuters) – Merck and Co Inc and GlaxoSmithKline Plc are not reimbursing drug co-payments for patients who purchase their health insurance through state and federal exchanges set up under the Obamacare program. The two drugmakers said their decision, first reported by Bloomberg News, is based on uncertainty about whether insurance programs offered under the Affordable Care Act are governed by federal laws that ban kickbacks to businesses. At the same time, most drugmakers offer patient assistance programs, or coupons, to people who might otherwise not be able to afford medications that have been prescribed by doctors. Merck, which makes drugs such as Januvia for diabetes, said it plans to revisit its decision once more information is available about implementation of the law governing the federal health program.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty-five pharmaceutical companies are voluntarily phasing out the use of antibiotics for growth promotion in animals processed for meat, the Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.

Sarah Murnaghan Rule Change Set to Expire, Under Review

By P.J. Huffstutter CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. regulators on Wednesday said that 25 out of 26 drugmakers that sell antibiotics used in livestock feed for growth enhancement have agreed to follow new guidelines that will make it illegal to use their products to create beefier cattle, heftier hogs and other outsized animals. The companies – which include Eli Lilly & Co’s Elanco Animal Health unit, Bayer Healthcare LLC’s animal health division and Zoetis Inc – have agreed to start the process of removing any growth promotion claims on their products’ labeling, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA announced the guidelines in December, as part of an ongoing bid to stem a surge in human resistance to certain antibiotics.