- Center on Health Equity and Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
What We're Reading: Senate Passes Government Budget Bill With Zika Virus Funding
What we're reading, September 29, 2016: as part of the bill to prevent a government shutdown, the Senate has finally approved Zika virus funding; electronic health record breaches skyrocketed from 2014 to 2015; and California passes "right to try" law for terminally ill patients.
Congress managed to agree to a government budget bill to avoid a shutdown. Included in the bill, which passed the Senate and is pending in the House, is $1.1 billion to fight the Zika virus, according to NPR. In order to get the deal made, language that prevented money from going to Planned Parenthood clinics was removed. The New York Times also reported that the bill, which funds the government through December 9, also authorizes aid for Flint, Michigan.
From 2014 to 2015, the number of electronic health record breaches skyrocketed from 12.5 million to 113 million. The Washington Post reported that hackers are becoming more creative and successful when it comes to accessing personal information, and the healthcare system has been hit hard. Health records are valuable for use or sale because they contain extensive amounts of information about an individual.
California has passed legislation that would allow terminally ill patients to have access to experimental treatments. Under the “right to try” law, drug manufacturers can offer new treatments to patients who have tried FDA-approved ones, according to The Hill. California’s governor vetoed a similar bill last year because he was hoping the FDA would shorten its approval process. Some experts believe the law offers false hope to patients with life-threatening illnesses since experimental drugs have a small chance of success.
Standard Criteria for Loss of Ambulation Needed in DMD
April 19th 2024A recent study suggests the differences between ambulation definitions for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) can impact the identification of ambulant vs nonambulant individuals, and standard criteria across settings are needed.
Read More
Government agencies have created an online portal for the public to report potential anticompetitive practices in health care; there are changes coming to the “boxed warning” section for chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies (CAR T) to highlight T-cell blood cancer risk; questions about the safety of obesity medications during pregnancy have arisen in women on them who previously struggled with fertility issues.
Read More
Gene, Light Therapy Combo Shows Promise Against Prostate Cancer Cells in Proof-of-Concept Study
April 18th 2024In their preclinical model, the researchers found efficacy both in vitro and in vivo by using CRISPR-Cas9 to mimic porphyria and combining the technology with light therapy.
Read More
Pegcetacoplan for PNH More Cost-Effective Than Anti-C5 Monoclonal Antibodies
April 18th 2024A cost-utility analysis conducted from the perspective of the Italian health system found that pegcetacoplan was more effective and less costly than 2 complement 5 (C5) inhibitors for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH).
Read More
