1997 top stories

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Dec. 22/29: "No" to endorsements AMA House of Delegates stands firm against product endorsements, names Lynn E. Jensen, PhD, interim EVP
Dec. 15: NYU-Mt. Sinai merger NYU medical school faculty makes recommendations in response to merger proposal
Dec. 8: Tobacco settlement The AMA and others push to maximize public health gains as tobacco settlement segues into a bipartisan flurry of bills
Dec. 1: Managed care face-off Advocates of patient protections blame GOP congressional leaders for delay
Nov. 24: Physicians as sales reps? Physician involvement in multilevel marketing ventures raises ethical concerns
Nov. 17: More Medicare money? Changes in the final rule on Medicare physician payment rates include shift to a single conversion factor
Nov. 10: New panel will guide AMA business deals New guidelines and a 12-member task force to help Association move past a controversial alliance with Sunbeam Corp.
Nov. 3: Non-union collective bargaining for doctors The AMA is helping Illinois doctors form an "alternative" bargaining unit under National Labor Relations Act provisions
Oct. 27: A safer, smarter health care system The National Patient Safety Foundation at the AMA is working to identify the preventing the system failures that cause most medical errors
Oct. 20: The international tobacco front Health groups are cheering efforts to curtail U.S. tobacco sales abroad
Oct. 13: Discord on managed care standards Agreement sparks debate between enforceable national rules and self-policing
Oct. 6: FDA's anti-obesity-drug ban The abrupt ban of two popular anti-obesity drugs linked to heart and lung problems has prompted a flurry of lawsuits
Sept. 22/29: Medicare physician payment changes Primary care will see increases, but surgical specialties face reductions in reimbursement
Sept. 15: Domestic violence underreported And a new survey shows victims bypass police, and rely on physicians
Sept. 8: The Army and breast cancer The Dept. of Defense musters research funds -- and military technology -- to fight the disease
Sept. 1: Kassebaum-Kennedy insurance reform law States revamp laws to meet new federal rules. Medical savings accounts Rosy prediction meets reality: "Slow rush" to buy plans
Aug. 25: Medicare preventive benefit spending New budget law adds coverage for several screening procedures
Aug. 18: Off-label agreement AMA says science must be key in off-label drug information
Aug. 11: Not a "morning after" pill But higher demand spurs look at HIV antiretroviral use
Aug. 4: Shifting to Medicaid managed care New York plan OK'd, gets extra funds; but doctors say pay is still too low
July 28: Retooling PATH audits Protests prompt HHS to announce new guidelines
July 21: Finalizing Medicare reform Balance-billing, private contracting among the issues before the conference committee
July 14: Assisted suicide ruling The Supreme Court's rejection of assisted suicide stresses the need for pain control in end-of-life care
July 7: Medicare practice-expense rule The AMA house called for a one-year delay in implementing HCFA's practice-expense reform
June 23/30: IRS recruitment ruling The IRS appears to have backed away from tighter restrictions on doctor recruitment
June 16: Cigna wants its money back AMA, N.C. doctors fighting Medicare carrier's effort to recoup $1 million it overpaid
June 9: Guilty till proven innocent? With tougher penalties and a more aggressive stance, feds step up anti-fraud efforts
June 2: Quality panel starts work A patient bill of rights is the first order of business for Clinton's new commission on quality
May 26: NCQA physician initiative Health-plan accreditor branches into physician certification
May 19: Doctor-specific data Oxford Health Plan's gambit is the latest twist as employers push for performance measures
May 12: Medical societies and fraud? Specialty societies say it was CME; lawsuits say they were promoting a dangerous device
May 5: Genetic discrimination ban? Momentum builds in Congress for a ban in health insurance and employment
April 28: Linking medicine, public health Spurred by managed care, leaders from the two fields are working hard to collaborate.
April 21: Baylor will not be sold After 2 1/2 months of debate, regents and trustees agree not to seek for-profit buyer
April 14: Primary care matchmakers 56% of graduating U.S. med schools seniors will enter primary care residencies in 1997
April 7: Blueprint for battle AMA's '96 wins set stage for reform; focus turns to Medicare practice-expense issue
March 24/31: HMO deselection Medicine backs complaint of Texas doctor who says his "deselection" violates ADA
March 17: TV violence ratings Age guides are a start, but AMA coalition pushes for content-specific ratings
March 10: PSO update Federal panel reviews Medicare provider networks; the Iowa experience
March 3: States' fair share Medicine demands that states pay co-pays for the poorest Medicare patients. Plus a special report: Late-term abortion Medicine weighs in on debate; abortion-rights leader calls for end to "half-truths"
Feb. 24: 1998 health budget Single conversion factor, some added coverage for kids, and a new cap
Feb. 17: Medicare practice expense High anxiety over HCFA's ability to fashion new values for physician payment
Feb. 10: Consumer drug ads Pharmaceutical firms' direct-to-consumer ads booming; FDA reviews restrictions
Feb. 3: State societies' HMOs State medical societies are setting up their own plans -- and some have success
Jan. 27: MSA test program Keen insurer, consumer interest in MSA pilot started Jan. 1
Jan. 20: Practice consolidation Close to half of physicians were employed in 1995
Jan. 13: New drug approvals FDA approves substantially more breakthrough drugs in '96 and does it faster
Jan. 6: Pay back up Physician income was back up in 1995, but two-year trend still shows loss