| GOP BLOCKS DRUG NEGOTIATION EFFORT
Senate Democrats could not find the 60 votes necessary Wednesday to bring a bill up for vote that would have let the government negotiate drug prices, according to The Associated Press. Democrats argue the government could offer a better bargain than individual insurers, resulting in lower prices.
Private insurance plans negotiate with drug companies over the price of prescription drugs. There are currently 22 million senior and disabled Americans in such programs. Republicans contend the program costs less because the Secretary of Health and Human Services is not conducting the negotiations.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-N.V.) asked why Medicare should not be able to negotiate for lower drug prices while the Department of Veterans Affairs can, according to The New York Times.
Dealing with disputes
Many years ago, Parliament included in a portfolio piece of legislation some clauses dealing with construction contracts. This was the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 and, among other things, it made adjudication a statutory right. Adjudication is the method by which disputes arising under construction contracts can be determined. Adjudication was supposed to be quick and temporary - a way of getting most of the right cash into the right pocket pending a full-blown dispute later on, be that in the courts or in front of an arbitrator. .
Padres agree to deal with Gonzalez
SAN DIEGO ---- Padres manager Bud Black has penciled in Adrian Gonzalez as the cleanup hitter in the team's Opening Day lineup.General manager Kevin Towers said Gonzalez is "the centerpiece of this infield and this lineup." Sunday, the Padres compensated their first baseman accordingly, ripping up a contract he signed in spring training and rewarding the 2006 team MVP with a four-year deal with a club option for a fifth. The deal is worth $9.5 million over four years and potentially $15 million over five years. Gonzalez will receive $500,000 this season, $750,000 in 2008, $3 million in 2009 and $4.75 million in 2010. The option year is for $5.5 million. .
Last-minute mediation talks between union, health boards
Last-minute talks between district health boards and the Medical Laboratory Workers Union to avoid a nationwide strike on Wednesday have begun in Auckland. Lab workers from the 16 boards are scheduled to walk off the job for 48 hours on Wednesday from 8am, and 24 hours on 24 April over a contract dispute. The strike will disrupt medical labs in hospitals, at the Blood Service, and in some community labs in the South Island. Life-preserving services will be in place, but dozens of elective surgeries will be cancelled. A spokesman for the Blood Service, Paul Hayes, says the threat of strike action a worry, but business will continue in a reduced capacity. The union is seeking improved pay, control over working hours and retention of conditions for workers who are contracted out to private laboratories.
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