Nh h v a c

DURHAM, NH (CBS) – A Durham, New Hampshire celebration scheduled for the beginning of holidays is undergoing some changes this year in an effort to remove religious overtones. Formerly called the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony, the newly named Frost Fest will include the absence of a formal tree lighting. Santa will be at the event but he will not arrive in a town firetruck as he has in the past. The wreaths that traditionally adorned lampposts on Main Street will also not be present this year. Town Councilor Sally Tobias says the changes came about after some controversy last holiday season. “There was another private citizen that came forward and said that he had always had a problem with the Christmas tree, as he called it,” Tobias said. After holding a public meeting, the town formed a working committee and made changes to the event. “There were a couple of people that did express some concerns about how they felt being included,” Tobias said. Tree … [Read more...] about After Complaints, Durham, NH Removes Tree Lighting From Annual Holiday Celebration

Labour’s NHS “rescue package” will be funded by higher income tax rates, at 45p for those earning more than £80,000 a year and 50p for those bringing in over £150,000, John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, has said. He said the higher income tax rates would be in Labour’s manifesto, matching its pledges from the 2017 election. Speaking at the Royal College of Medicine, McDonnell outlined Labour’s promises to spend about £6bn more than the Conservatives on raising the NHS’s budget for day-to-day spending. “The day-to-day spending increase will be funded by taxing the top 5% at a higher rate of income tax,” he said. “Income tax rates, national insurance and VAT will not increase for 95%. It is only the 5% we will ask to pay a little more. We will reduce the threshold for 45p rates for £80,000 and reintroduce the 50p rate for £125,000. That is our pledge.” McDonnell said the shoulders of the wealthiest … [Read more...] about Labour’s NHS ‘rescue package’ to be paid for by higher taxpayers, says McDonnell

Today, in front of the health select committee in the Commons one of the bravest and best elements of the NHS has been giving evidence against Vertex, a pantomime-villain US drug company. Caught in between are unfortunate patients also giving evidence today about their need for Vertex’s cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi, which Nice is so far refusing to approve. This is an everyday painful dilemma in the life of Nice – the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – one of the Blair government’s best creations. With transparent criteria, panels of expert and lay assessors examine the evidence to decide which new drugs offer enough new benefit at an acceptable price. The Nice rule of thumb (there are exceptions) is a price of some £30,000 for every good year of life gained by a patient – a QALY – a quality-adjusted life-year. This is the only logical way to ration the NHS’s resources, trying to treat all patients equally, regardless of … [Read more...] about Sick children being denied drugs are a grim foretaste of a post-Brexit NHS

Two UK directors of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, the company in a standoff with the NHS over the high price of its breakthrough cystic fibrosis drug, made more than £15m from share options in 2017, the Guardian can reveal. Vertex refuses to drop the price of Orkambi, a drug that treats the underlying causes of the life-shortening disease, to a level the NHS says it can afford. The two-year negotiations have been in stalemate for six months, while children and young adults with cystic fibrosis who could be helped suffer infections and irretrievably lose some of their lung function. Vertex has put a price tag of £105,000 per patient per year on the drug that must be taken for life. About 40% of the 10,400 people with cystic fibrosis in the UK could benefit from it. NHS England has offered to pay £500m over five years for access to Orkambi and other drugs in the Vertex pipeline that are expected to be more effective, renewable for a further five years. The company has rejected … [Read more...] about Directors of cystic fibrosis drug firm in NHS standoff made £15m

A crook conned an 86-year-old man out of £18,000 by telling him he needed to pay for his ­medicine after Brexit . The scam started on July 5 when Harry had a phone call from a man who announced himself as being from the “NHS Brexit Team”. The caller asked if he could confirm what medication he was being prescribed. Thinking he was speaking to someone from the NHS, Harry, from Cardiff, obliged. The caller then informed Harry that two of the items he had listed were on the “warning list”. He explained this meant there would be shortages of these ­medicines as soon as Brexit ­happened on October 31. Harry was immediately alarmed and asked what he could do. Of course the caller had all the answers. In short, he explained to Harry that the NHS was able to “advance order” these medicines from Europe but Harry would have to pay for this up front. He said the NHS would pay him the money back in three equal instalments in November, … [Read more...] about Man, 86, tricked out of £18,000 by crook claiming NHS prescriptions end after Brexit