We are deeply disappointed in the lack of action by the Senate Health Committee today. The failure to vote for health care reform was in effect a vote for the status quo.

Facing a projected $14 billion budget shortfall, California lawmakers are right to consider how the landmark health care reform bill, ABX1-1, will affect the deficit.

By overwhelming margins, the House and Senate passed this week significant reforms to the Food and Drug Administration’s drug safety review system. The centerpiece of the bill includes strong consumer protections. President Bush has sent mixed signals on whether or not he will sign the bill, which passed the House 405 to 7 and passed the Senate unanimously.

Consumers scored a victory today over the powerful pharmaceutical industry when the House voted 403 to 16 to pass drug safety legislation as part of a comprehensive Food and Drug Administration reform bill.

The California Assembly Health Committee passed the Pharmaceutical Drug Information and Safety Act, SB 606 (Scott), today with all members present voting in favor of the bill. The measure will require pharmaceutical companies to disclose the results of clinical studies, meaning that doctors, patients, researchers and even industry competitors will gain access to information on the side effects and effectiveness of medicine currently on the market.

U.S. PIRG urges Congress to allocate more money for drug safety.

Doctors and patients are one step closer to getting information on the effectiveness and side effects of medicines.

Today Governor Ritter signed an executive order to allow Colorado to establish a preferred drug list and to then join a multi-state prescription drug purchasing pool.

By overwhelmingly approving measure 44, Oregon voters have enacted a powerful solution to the problem of skyrocketing prescription drug costs.

November 2005 saw the most expensive ballot initiative fight in American history when the pharmaceutical industry spent more than $78 million to defeat a California prescription drug discount measure proposed by public interest advocacy organizations.

Prescription drug marketers made deceptive claims to doctors and consumers about 150 different drugs including Vioxx and OxyContin, according to a new report released today by U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the NJPIRG Law and Policy Center.

Responding to public outcry over recent prescription drug scandals, CALPIRG and Senator Jack Scott (D-Altadena) have introduced legislation in Sacramento to make sure that drug companies finally come clean about the safety of the medicines.

PHILADELPHIA—A groundbreaking report released by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) shows that Pennsylvania hospitals reported more than 11,600 patients got infections in 2004 while seeking medical care. These infections—often the result of inadequate sanitary practices or failure to use effective prevention procedures—led to the death of 1,793 patients in the state.

A California law that prohibits prescription drug industry’s inappropriate gifts to doctors took effect on July 1st, making this month the first chance to see if the companies are adhering to the law.

Consumer groups hailed the introduction today of bipartisan legislation that, for the first time ever, would mandate public disclosure of results from all new clinical drug trials.