Florida cracks down on 'pill mills'

A series of high-profile arrests and a legislative crackdown on storefront "pill mills" in FLORIDA led to a dramatic decline in the number of oxycodone pills sold in that state last year. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, sales of oxycodone pills from doctors' offices and pain clinics dropped 97% from 2010 to 2011. Authorities credit a state law that largely bans physicians from dispensing oxycodone and other narcotics from their offices for the reduction.

The COLORADO General Assembly is considering a measure to restore circumcisions as a covered medical procedure for that state's Medicare recipients. Colorado and 17 other states dropped funding for the procedure last year to save money. Reinstating coverage could cost the state about $230,000 a year. Proponents of reinstating coverage said circumcision could prevent disease, including AIDS, but opponents argued that the procedure is not medically necessary.