Drugstores are trying to bolster their presence in the in-store clinic market, even though the concept has thus far not been a particularly profitable one. The WSJ reports that CVS Caremark may double its number of MinuteClinic retail operations over the next five years.

See more here:
Retail Clinics: CVS to Double Presence, Walgreens Seeks Partners

This post by WSJ’s Laura Meckler also appears on the Washington Wire blog The complex legislative maneuvering to pass health-care overhaul legislation has produced many questions and among them this: When can the White House declare victory? If the House passes the Senate health bill on Sunday, as Democrats hope, and President Obama signs it into law, the overhaul will be official -– signed, sealed and delivered

More:
Health-Care Bill: When Might the White House Celebration Begin?

President Obama was back on the campaign trail Monday, using his election-style oratory to stump for a health-care overhaul that still awaits an uncertain fate in Congress. As is the case routinely these days, the president took aim at health insurers

View post:
Obama Takes Case Against Health Insurers on the Road

The sales volume of soda and other drinks shipped for sale at U.S. secondary schools has dropped 72% since late 2004, resulting in an 88% drop in beverage calories sold in schools, drink makers said today.

See the original post:
Soft-Drink Score: Lower Sales in Schools; More Talk About Taxes

A version of this post by WSJ’s Jean Spencer also appears on the Washington Wire blog. A coalition of consumer, public-health and food-safety advocates is trying to jumpstart the food-safety legislation that is stalled in the Senate

View post:
A Jumpstart for Food-Safety Bill?

The clock is running out before a 21% cut in Medicare payments to doctors kicks in. Plans to block the reductions have gotten hung up in Congress.

Original post:
Tick Tock: Medicare Payment Cuts for Docs Due to Start Monday

In case your invitation got lost in the mail, here’s what you need to know for tomorrow’s bipartisan health summit: When and where: The festivities kick off at 10 a.m. Washington time, and are slated to run six hours.

Read the original here:
Summit Dream: Washington Sets Aside Politics, Solves Health Woes

Proxy season! Time, once again, to learn how much the captains of industry are pulling down. First up for the Health Blog this year is Eli Lilly, which just filed its preliminary proxy . John Lechleiter, the company’s CEO, had a package totaling $16.4 million, according to an analysis by Dow Jones Newswires .

More:
Eli Lilly CEO’s 2009 Compensation Totaled $16.4 Million

President Obama’s budget is still in the news this morning, and there’s plenty of interesting health stuff in there. But it’s worth pausing to note that the big drivers are mandatory spending on Medicare and Medicaid — huge, rapidly growing costs that are outside the purview of Obama’s (or any president’s) annual recommendations for discretionary spending. Take a look at the table on pages 5-7 of this PDF , which explains Obama’s proposed funding of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Read more:
Reminder: Medicare, Medicaid Are Gobbling Up the Budget

Some health-care news out of Washington this afternoon: More fees may be coming for drug and device makers , the WSJ reports . Dems may add $10 billion in fees for device makers over 10 years, on top of the roughly $20 billion already included in the House and Senate bills.

Read more from the original source:
Dems May Seek Billions More From Drug and Device Companies