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There were two healthcare stories that were covered by correspondents on all three networks. ABC led with Vioxx. Lisa Stark (subscription required) observed that Merck "had vowed to fight every Vioxx lawsuit to the bitter end"--before offering its settlement to as many as 50,000 plaintiffs. To qualify for damages, patients would have to prove they "used Vioxx within two weeks of having a heart attack or stroke." The painkiller Vioxx "burst on the market" in 1999. "It quickly became a blockbuster, heavily marketed and advertised" before being pulled from sale in 2004, Stark recalled. In total, 20m patients used Vioxx of whom 30,000 may have been killed by it, NBC's Tom Costello told us, citing Food & Drug Administration estimates. The billions in payouts amount to "less than one year's profits," CBS' Nancy Cordes pointed out. However, settling the civil lawsuits does not mean Merck is in the clear: "It is still facing criminal inquiries into charges it knew about Vioxx' deadly side effects and tried to cover them up."
The second healthcare story also arose from lawsuits--this time challenges to the insurance industry in California for finding pretexts to rescind coverage of individual policyholders once they become sick. For NBC's In Depth, Chris Jansing quoted the explanation of lawyer William Shernoff, who is representing hundreds of patients who were accused by insurers of deceit about pre-existing conditions: "They make you fill out these really detailed, confusing applications, which they know you are going to make a mistake on--because everybody will." The poster woman for these lawsuits was Patsy Bates, a hairdresser from Gardena Cal, who was in the middle of breast cancer chemotherapy when HealthNet, her insurer, canceled her coverage and stopped payments. Bates' bills now total $200,000. All three networks followed up on the coverage of Bates' lawsuit by The Los Angeles Times. Pre-trial discovery had uncovered HealthNet memos about Barbara Fowler, the analyst who canceled Bates. ABC's Brian Rooney quoted HealthNet as praising Fowler for the "successful execution of her job responsibilities." She was "vital to the profitability of the Individual Family Product policy line." CBS' Bill Whitaker noted that 2003, when Bates' coverage was axed, was "a banner year for Fowler." It earned her a $20,000 annual bonus.
UPDATE: George in Comments calls me a "dumbass" for the reference to Fowler's bonus and he is correct. ABC's Rooney made no reference to a timeframe for the $20,000--that was the total amount Fowler received in bonuses not the annual amount. My apologies. Posting corrected.
There was no "$20000 annual bonus" dumbass. That was biased reporting by the LA Times, but even the Times refers to that amount of money allegedly related to a bonus structure as over several years. Details are so bothersome aren't they?
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