Also: governors want Medicaid relief; Virginia asks Supreme Court to review health-care law case; 10% of the world’s adults are obese. Go here to see the original:  A.M. Vitals: Pfizer and Merck Diverge in a Tough Pharma World  Read More →

Loucks calculates that from 14 settlements in two years, whistleblowers have taken home $650 million. Read the rest here: It’s Time to Cap Whistleblower Payments, Former Prosecutor Says  Read More →

The magazine has rated nine cardiovascular screening tests on the question of whether the benefits of the test outweigh the risks. Read more from the original source:  Have You Gotten a Heart Test You Didn’t Really Need?  Read More →

The pay disparity can’t be explained by medical specialty, the number of hours worked and practice type. Read more here:  Study Finds a $17,000 Gender Pay Gap For New Physicians  Read More →

“Everyone in the health-care system is feeling economic pressure and is looking for ways to assess cost and clinical effectiveness of treatments,” says an Astra exec. Go here to read the rest:  AstraZeneca and WellPoint the Latest to Focus... 

Also: disagreeing over the details of insurance decision reviews; health-care overhaul repeal dies in the Senate; birth control and prevention. The rest is here:  A.M. Vitals: Roche Lowers Sales Forecast for Avastin  Read More →

The American Red Cross is making a national appeal for blood donors in response to the wave of storms. See original here: Major Winter Storms Put Blood Donations on Ice  Read More →

For the health industry, pressure to be more transparent in their operations, to consolidate and to cut costs to protect the bottom line won’t go away. View original post here:  States, Companies Wonder What’s Next For Health-Overhaul Law  Read More →

Health Blog readers, when do you expect a new weight-loss drug to hit the U.S. market? Original post: And Orexigen’s Contrave Makes 3: FDA Rejects (Another) Diet Drug  Read More →

If the performance of Pfizer stock is any indication, new CEO Ian Read struck the right notes in his big earnings-announcement debut. View post:  Wall Street Gives New Pfizer CEO High Marks, But Challenges Remain  Read More →