Senate Votes Down First Health Bill Option
After narrowly voting in favor of the motion to proceed (Vice President Mike Pence had to cast the tie-breaking vote), Senate Republicans went on to vote down the first option for repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). According to The Washington Post, the Senate’s health bill was defeated 43-57 with 9 GOP senators defecting. The bill needed to pass with 60 votes since provisions in it made it ineligible to be passed through budget reconciliation, which only requires 50 votes, so leadership did not expect it to pass. The Senate will now take up a bill that repeals the ACA, but delays the effects for 2 years.
Support for Paid Parental Leave Grows
The United States does not guarantee paid leave to care for a new child, a sick family member, or the worker’s own health condition, but there may be bipartisan work to change that. The Trump administration called out paid leave for new parents in its 2018 budget, and Republicans and Democrats have both introduced bills that would allow for paid family leave, reported Kaiser Health News. The Democrats reintroduced a 2013 bill providing up to 60 days leave and 66% of regular wages up to $1000 a week. Republicans propose providing a tax credit to employers offering at least 2 weeks of paid family or medical leave.
Celgene Settles Fraud Lawsuit
Celgene will pay $280 million over claims it marketed 2 cancer drugs, Thalomid and Revlimid, for unapproved uses. The New York Times reported that Celgene will pay $259.3 million of the settlement to the federal government and $20.7 million to 28 states and the District of Columbia. In 2006, Thalomid was approved to treat multiple myeloma, but for years before that, Celgene was marketing it to treat cancer, even though it was approved in 1998 to treat patients with a complication of leprosy.
Empowering Community Health Through Wellness and Faith
April 23rd 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. In the third episode, Camille Clarke-Smith, EdD, MS, CHES, CPT, discusses approaching community health holistically through spiritual and community engagement.
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Data Back Neoadjuvant Combo vs Chemo Alone for Early-Stage NSCLC
April 24th 2024For patients with early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), combining neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitors and platinum-based chemotherapy improves 2-year outcomes over chemotherapy alone, suggest findings of an extensive literature review and meta-analysis.
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Overcoming Employment Barriers for Lasting Social Impact: Freedom House 2.0 and Pathways to Work
April 16th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our second episode, in which we learn all about Freedom House 2.0 and the Pathways to Work program.
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Patient Navigation in Oncology at Heart of Priority Health White House Visit
April 24th 2024On March 27, Priority Health's president and CEO, Praveen Thadani participated in a discussion on how to expand and optimize patient navigation services in oncology care, as part of the Cancer Moonshot initiative.
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