Funeral abuses probed: elderly victim paid $132,000

Article Abstract:

Investigators for the Senate's Special Cmte on Aging have discovered what appears to be ongoing, widespread unscrupulous practices in the funeral industry, including the case of an elderly stroke patient who was pressured into buying a $132,000 funeral. The committee begun two days of hearings on Apr 10, 2000, into funeral industry practices and the failure of state and federal agencies to protect consumers. It is focusing on pre- need plans where consumers pay for their funerals and burial plots in advance. Consumers have spent more than $20 billion on pre-need products, occasionally with disastrous results. The funeral industry insists that the reported abuses are isolated cases.

Funeral Services, Funeral Homes and Funeral Services

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Antibiotic imports may have killed 17

Article Abstract:

FDA investigators have discovered that gentamicin sulfate, a commonly used antibiotic used in treating serious infections has caused toxic reactions among hundreds of consumers and may have caused 17 deaths in 1999. The drug seems to be have been sourced from foreign suppliers. Almost 80% of the active ingredients of generic drugs are foreign-made and generic drugs now account for comprise about 47% of the $92 billion prescription drug market compared to only 18.5% in the mid-1980s.

Regulation of Agricultural Marketing and Commodities, Bulk Antibiotics NEC, Food & Drug Administration, Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing

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Loophole draining Medicaid

Article Abstract:

Federal health officials have accused state officials of resorting to questionable accounting procedures to acquire over $3.5 billion annually from the Medicaid program. Medicaid is a $200 billion federal-state program that provides health benefits to 41 million mostly elderly and poor people. Officials say that states claim to spend more on the program than they usually do so they can be entitled to additional federal funds.

Medicaid, Administration of Public Health Programs

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