Congress reached an agreement on a $1.3 trillion spending bill that includes a provision allowing gun violence research, but does not include 2 drug pricing measures or a provision to stabilize the Affordable Care Act markets; and FDA has released 2 draft guidances on postmarketing safety reporting requirements.
Congress reached an agreement for a $1.3 trillion federal spending bill that would boost investment in the National Institutes of Health by $3 billion but is also missing some key health measures. The bill left out a provision that would reduce drug companies’ share of costs when beneficiaries reach the Medicare donut hole, as well as the CREATES Act, which would crack down on delay tactics pharmaceutical companies use to prevent competition of cheaper generic drugs. The bill also did not include a fix to stabilize the Affordable Care Act markets.
The funding bill opens the path for public health research into gun violence. Such research by the CDC had been banned under the 1996 legislation known as the “Dickey Amendment,” but the new provision partially alters that ban, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Dickey Amendment was supposed to prevent the CDC from advocating for gun control, but it had been interpreted as a blanket prohibition on gun violence research. The new provision will allow CDC to conduct research on the public health impact of gun use, but still prohibits the agency from advocating for gun control.
The FDA has released new guidelines on extending the postmarketing safety reporting requirements for some combination treatments. FierceBiotech reported that one draft guidance provides clarity on meeting requirements, as well as streamlining opportunities, and the second outlines the compliance policy.
Dr Kathy Zackowski Discusses the Importance of Rehabilitation Research and Trials in MS
April 26th 2024Kathy Zackowski, PhD, National MS Society, expresses the inherent value of quality rehabilitation trials for broadening clinical understandings of multiple sclerosis (MS) and bettering patient outcomes.
Read More
Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Listen
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.
Listen
Kaiser Permanente was hit by a data breach in mid-April, impacting 13.4 million health plan members; GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) sued Pfizer and BioNTech for allegedly infringing on its messenger RNA technology patents in the companies’ COVID-19 vaccines; the CDC announced the first-known HIV cases transmitted via cosmetic injections.
Read More