In the face of criticisms aired by California physicians that a request by Blue Cross to uncover pre-existing medical conditions of new policy holders may violate the patient-physician confidentiality, Blue Cross stopped sending letters to the doctors.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Blue Cross said, "Today we reached out to our provider partner and California regulators and determined this letter is no longer necessary and, in fact, was creating a misimpression and causing some members and providers undue concern. As a result, we are discontinuing the dissemination of this letter going forward

Blue Cross is tapping the assistance of California doctors to uncover patients' pre-existing medical conditions not disclosed in their insurance policies. The move is part of the health insurance firm's strategy to cut down on costs. But state physicians are not inclined to grant Blue Cross' request.

Blue Cross sent California medics letters, together with the copies of health insurance applications of new policy holders. Included in the pre-existing conditions that Blue Cross wants divulged prior to signing up or else face cancellation of their policy was pregnancy

Research is showing that pharmacies are placing American lives at stake with the dispensation of wrong drugs, due to an increase in patient volume and disproportionate staffing.

A 2004 case arose from drug firm Walgreens which mistakenly gave the parents of a five-year-old child Methitest, a steroid for older males, while Trey Jones instead needed Inderal to control tremors

Pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co. Inc. agreed Thursday to pay the federal government, 49 states and the District of Columbia $650 million plus interest to settle two whistleblower lawsuits alleging it fixed drug prices to defraud Medicaid and other healthcare programs.

Merck, however, said the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing and liability. It maintained that its pricing, sales and marketing policies and practices are legal

Americans struggling to make ends meet, including those who have seen their out-of-pocket costs for health care rise might see some relief from having their costs rise more because of inflation. During a hearing before Congress Thursday morning, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said he was willing to act to stimulate the economy to stave off inflation and that helping the poorest Americans was the quickest way to do so.

That potentially good news could help ease the drain on the wallets of Americans who have faced rising out-of-pocket expenses since 2001 that have been worsened by rising unemployment and a credit crunch that has been fueled in part by the slumping housing market