Food and Drug Administration commissioner Margaret Hamburg on Wednesday issued a public statement that the agency was prepared to approve Plan B as a nonprescription medication, but reversed that decision following a directive from the Department of Health and Human Services Wednesday morning.

The Obama administration confirmed last week that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Donald Berwick will step down from his post on Dec. 2.

In response to a new second set of limits on generic drug pharmacy reimbursement that recently were proposed by federal Medicaid officials, the National Community Pharmacists Association on Tuesday reiterated its concerns with what the group characterized as the "flawed methodology" being used by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to determine the payment caps.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius will receive her seasonal flu vaccine and will talk about the importance of prevention measures and flu season preparedness Wednesday morning at a Walgreens "health and daily living" pilot store in Chicago.

The use of over-the-counter medicines as a cost savings tool is catching on, of all places, at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.

The National Community Pharmacists Association on Monday urged the federal government to reject Florida’s request to extend and expand its Medicaid managed care pilot program statewide from five to 67 counties.

The National Community Pharmacists Association last week delivered a letter to the Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules opposing an Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services proposal to sharply decrease Medicaid reimbursements and “slow-walk” reimbursement payments.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday proposed a framework to assist states in building Affordable Insurance Exchanges, state-based competitive marketplaces where individuals and small businesses will be able to purchase affordable private health insurance.

A Georgetown University Health Policy Institute study of Florida’s Medicaid Managed Care pilot program should raise doubts for states considering the use of for-profit managed care companies to reduce Medicaid costs, the National Community Pharmacists Association cautioned on Friday.

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force on Thursday charged 111 defendants in nine cities — including doctors, nurses and healthcare company owners and executives — for their alleged participation in Medicare fraud schemes involving more than $225 million in false billing. The operation marks the largest federal healthcare-fraud takedown.

Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Wednesday announced a $750 million investment in prevention and public health, funded through the Prevention and Public Health Fund created by the new healthcare law.