- Center on Health Equity and Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
What We're Reading: Synthetic Nicotine Regulation; Philadelphia Mask Mandate Lawsuit; Hydration, Heart Failure Risk
The FDA is increasing oversight of e-cigarettes and similar products that use synthetic nicotine; a lawsuit is brought over Philadelphia's reinstated mask mandate; a study shows drinking water may lower risk of heart failure.
FDA Regulating Synthetic Nicotine Products
The Associated Press is reporting that a law that took effect last Thursday, April 14, will allow the FDA to regulate e-cigarettes and similar products that use synthetic nicotine. The move will specifically target Puff Bar and other vaping companies that switched their formulas to synthetic nicotine as a loophole to avoid FDA oversight. Companies will now have to register with the agency and submit their products for review within 30 days. Although not automatically banning these products from the market, the law will ensure companies are now under the same regulatory authority as older e-cigarettes that use nicotine from tobacco.
Businesses, Residents Issue Lawsuit Against Philadelphia Mask Mandate
The renewed indoor mask mandate that took effect today in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is being challenged by several businesses and residents who filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania’s state court on Saturday, April 16, to overturn the rule. As the first major US city to reinstate its indoor mask mandate amid a rise in COVID-19 infections, the Associated Press reports the lawsuit states that city health officials lack the authority to impose such a mandate that goes against CDC recommendations. Last December, the state Supreme Court ruled that Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf had no legal authority to require masks in the state’s schools and childcare centers as the pandemic state of emergency was no longer in effect.
Hydration May Lower Risk of Heart Failure
Fox News reports that findings of a recent study published in the European Heart Journal indicate staying hydrated may reduce the risk of heart failure by maintaining a healthy sodium level in the bloodstream. Research showed that heart failure risk was increased by 39% among participants whose middle-age serum sodium levels exceeded 143 mmol/L, corresponding to 1% body weight water deficit, with a 62% increased risk of developing left ventricular hypertrophy also identified for the middle-age cohort who presented with these sodium levels. Several study limitations were noted, including its observational design and inability to prove a higher blood sodium level caused heart failure.
The Importance of Examining and Preventing Atrial Fibrillation
August 29th 2023At this year’s American Society for Preventive Cardiology Congress on CVD Prevention, Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM, delivered the Honorary Fellow Award Lecture, “The Imperative to Focus on the Prevention of Atrial Fibrillation,” as the recipient of this year’s Honorary Fellow of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology award.
Listen
Study Shows Higher Infection Risk in Patients With T1D in Primary, Secondary Care
November 22nd 2023Researchers concluded there is a clinically important increase in infection risk among patients with T1D in both primary care and hospital settings, and that guidelines must be developed to reflect this risk and encourage earlier treatment.
Read More
Navigating Medicare's Part D Subsidy Program to Achieve Value-Based Care
May 26th 2023On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the lead researcher from a study published in the May 2023 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about the impact of low-income subsidies on the uptake and equitable use of expensive orally administered antimyeloma therapy.
Listen
