alleging

A group of ten former Blue Cross of California patients has filed a lawsuit against the health plan, alleging that the company engaged in a systematic attempt to deny patients coverage after they contracted serious illnesses. The lawsuit charges that the insurer created a special in-house unit to do background checks on patients' cases in an attempt to find grounds to deny them coverage. In the past, insurers responding to similar complaints have argued fraud makes it necessary to closely …

In a move likely to be noticed, the Teamsters filed a lawsuit against Pfizer over off-label sales of Lipitor, alleging the pharmaceutical company illegally promoted the drug for purposes other than that for which it was approved. The suit requests class-action status and notes that the government Medicare and Medicaid were both hurt by the company's marketing strategy. Lipitor is the world's best selling drug, with annual sales of $13 billion.

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A doctor who worked as a communicable disease control expert for BD (until recently known as Becton Dickinson) has filed a lawsuit against the device maker alleging that he was fired after reporting serious safety and quality control problems at the company. Dr. Zeil Rosenberg, who at one time managed the global immunization group for BD, also charged that the company illegally copied a competitor's syringe and deliberately withheld new syringes from the market that could have extended …

The Wall Street Journal reports that closer FDA scrutiny of Guidant's product lines led to yesterday's recall of its Insignia and Nexus pacemaker models. The paper says the problem was uncovered during last week's FDA inspection of the Guidant plant in St. Paul Minnesota. Initial evidence suggests the defects are non-fatal and have led to only a few hospitalizations.

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> The HN51 virus is making headlines, but according to the World Health Organization, the real killer in Asia today is air pollution, which is claiming thousands of lives every month. Story

> Critics target church-owned, non-profit hospitals, saying they are making huge profits while overcharging those who cannot afford to pay for …

Health insurance giant WellPoint said its second-quarter profit was up sharply, news which comes as little surprise. The company said net income for the quarter was $559.4 million, an increase which reflects the company's merger with Anthem late last year. The results include a $135 million charge WellPoint took earlier this month as it settled a class-action suit with doctors alleging the company systematically underpaid them. As of June, the Indianapolis-based Blue Cross Blue …

The attorney general of the state of Texas filed a lawsuit against Merck and company, charging the drug maker with misleading consumers about the safety of the painkiller Vioxx. The suit seeks at least $250 million in damages from Merck, alleging the pharmaceutical company violated Texas Medicaid fraud rules by not informing patients and their doctors of the growing body of evidence linking the drug to serious cardiovascular problems.

While thousands of patients have filed …

Angry about decisions made by insurance companies in the area, a group of physicians in Kansas City has filed a lawsuit accusing local insurers of collusion. More than 2,000 doctors have joined forces to accuse six major insurers operating in the Kansas City area of an attempt to "systematically deny, delay and diminish" patient care and costs. Many are especially angry that their clinical decisions are being overridden by insurers. One doctor participating in the case comments, "You …