President Bush

As expected, President Bush nominated Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach to head the FDA. Von Eschenbach, who is serving as the acting head of the agency, is a former head of the National Cancer Institute. Observers predict a difficult and politically-charged confirmation process. Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Patty Murray (D-WA) have vowed to block the nomination unless the agency rules on Plan B, the emergency contraceptive pill. Washington insiders say the administration is likely …

In a speech in upstate New York, President Bush acknowledged that the new Medicare prescription drug benefit has had a rocky start. Bush defended the program as a good deal for seniors in a half hour forum, saying "Any time Washington passes a new law, sometimes the transition period can be interesting." Analysts expect Democrats to try to use the benefit's problems as political leverage in November.

The New York Times compared the speech to earlier talks in which the …

President Bush continued his drive for changes in the healthcare system, participating in a panel discussion hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services. The President continued to stress ownership themes, arguing that patients need to take responsibility for their healthcare choices and that injecting market forces into the healthcare system will radically reduce costs. "When somebody else pays the bills, rarely do you ask price or ask the cost of something," Bush said. "The …

Customs agents appear to have stepped up seizures of shipments from Canadian Internet pharmacies since the launch of Medicare Part D, according to the Los Angeles Times. Most of the Canadian suppliers the newspaper contacted say the number of confiscations has risen sharply over the past month. "It's huge--we've had over 800 seizures in January, up from 15 in a typical month," one importer told the paper. Shipping prescription drugs into the country without FDA approval has always …

> A number of tech industry publications examine President Bush pledge to modernize electronic medical records systems in the State of the Union. Other observers wonder if a further announcement is forthcoming. Article

> GE Healthcare and Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee, have reached a seven-year agreement to help Aurora improve its operating expenses and patient care. …

President Bush is expected to focus on healthcare reform in his Tuesday evening State of the Union speech. Over the last few weeks many details of the Bush healthcare plan have leaked out. We know, for example, that the President's speech is likely to focus on healthcare costs, with the administration expected to push for the "consumerization" of healthcare with an emphasis on health savings accounts, greater transparency and increased use of technology. The only real question: What will …

Additional information continues to emerge about the health policy changes President Bush is expected to propose in his State of the Union address next week. It is becoming increasingly obvious that healthcare providers will want to pay close attention to the speech. The Los Angeles Times reports that in addition to expanding tax free HSAs, the proposals are likely to include an "expanded system of 'report cards' on doctors and hospitals, stricter enforcement of anti-monopoly laws …

The New York Sun reports that President Bush will announce a major new drive to encourage health care providers to adopt electronic medical records (EMR) technology in February. The President will request an additional $100 million to $200 million in funding for EMR projects. The newspaper reports the new initiative will include nationwide personalized medication histories, the increased use of email for secure messaging between physicians and patients and a drive for …

The Department of Health and Human Services released details of the federal plan to respond to a possible H5N1 epidemic, following yesterday's announcement by President Bush that his administration plans to spend $7.1 billion preparing to fight the disease. In the event of an outbreak, authorities are likely to impose travel restrictions. State and local officials are reportedly "concerned" that they will be responsible for rationing vaccines and flu medicines and also for ensuring that …

President Bush announced details of the government's plan to respond to a potential outbreak of the H5N1 virus this morning in a speech at the National Institutes of Health. Bush said the US government will spend $7.1 billion to protect the country from a possible outbreak of the disease. The plan includes $1 billion for government stockpiles of antiviral drugs, $2.8 billion to improve vaccine development technology and $583 million for state and local governments to develop their …