Democrats have introduced a bill that would allow anyone over age 50 to buy into Medicare; an FDA advisory panel has endorsed a ketamine-like depression drug; and the EPA is set to limit the amount of manmade chemicals allowed in drinking water.
On Wednesday, House and Senate Democrats introduced legislation that would allow anyone over age 50 to buy into Medicare. According to POLITICO, the bill sponsors said that the plan will pay for itself with the premiums from new enrollees and more of the money collected would pay for patient care because of “the relative lack of overhead and profit requirements in Medicare compared to the private insurance market.”
An FDA advisory panel has endorsed the experimental medication esketamine for depression. Determining that the benefits outweigh the risks, the panel voted 15-2 in favor of the ketamine-like drug. If the drug, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, is approved, it would be the first major depression treatment approved in decades, according to STAT News. Some experts have expressed concern that the drug has a high potential for abuse because ketamine is often abused.
The EPA is expected to announce today that it will limit how much toxic chemicals from cookware and carpeting are allowed in drinking water, reported Reuters. The group of chemicals, known as PFAS, have been linked to cancer, liver and thyroid damage, and other health effects. HHS’ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry said the risk level for exposure to these chemicals should be at least 7 to 10 times lower than the threshold currently recommended by the EPA.
The Supreme Court seems likely to reject a challenge to the abortion pill mifepristone; the FDA is inspecting far fewer pharmaceutical companies conducting clinical research; AstraZeneca has sued to block an Arkansas law that it said would unlawfully expand the 340B program to include for profit-pharmacy chains.
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Most private health insurers have yet to publish criteria for when they will cover postpartum depression drug, zuranolone; state lawmakers are increasingly opposing health care mergers that they believe do not serve the public interest; Medicaid extensions made in 2021 led to a 40% decline in postpartum lack of insurance.
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President Biden will preview his plan to more than double the size of Medicare’s new drug price negotiation program in the upcoming State of the Union address; Mexicans and Central Americans were most affected by the pandemic in terms of all-cause mortality; two Alabama fertility clinics said they expect to resume in vitro fertilization (IVF) services after a bill was passed to protect doctors.
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