The Only Person Not Killed Or Hospitalized In This COVID Outbreak Was Vaccinated
Two people are dead after a recent COVID-19 outbreak in the IT department of a county government building in Manatee County, Florida ― leaving only one person, who was vaccinated, unscathed. Of the six known exposures that occurred around the same time, at least four people have reportedly been hospitalized and two have died. One of those people […]
Probe Into Private Equity in Healthcare Launched
Government officials announced a joint investigation into the role of private equity and “corporate profiteering” in healthcare during an online workshop hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Tuesday. The goal of the public inquiry is to collect information to guide agencies’ understanding of the impact of private equity acquisitions in healthcare so they […]
Opinion | ‘A Cash Cow for Hospitals’: What We Heard This Week
“A government program meant to provide incentives to serve lower income Americans is actually a cash cow for hospitals.” — Michael Barnett, MD, of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, on the pitfalls of the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program. “In practice, it’s just not happening.” — Samuel Dickman, MD, […]
With Shutdown Likely, Policy Experts Weigh Health Risks
Unless Congress acts to pass a spending package on or before September 30, the federal government is hurtling toward a shutdown. How will that affect federal healthcare programs? Stakeholders and policy experts, including former government officials, shared with MedPage Today their forecasts around which health programs and personnel might be most impacted by a shutdown […]
Feds Spent Even More on PrEP Combo Than Previously Thought
The federal government may have contributed far more to the development of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) than previously estimated, researchers reported. While previous estimates said the federal government spent $50 million on the development of combination tenofovir/emtricitabine, or TDF/FTC (Truvada), it actually spent at least $143 million, according to a new estimate by Frazer Tessema, […]
Opinion | Ashish Jha on the End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
This video is part of an ongoing series of interviews with government leaders in healthcare. In this video, Jeremy Faust, MD, editor-in-chief of MedPage Today, and Ashish Jha, MD, MPH, the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator for the Biden administration, discuss the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) in May and what that […]
Opinion | The Eye Surgery Turf War Isn’t Serving Veterans
Ask any American how they think our government should be treating the nation’s veterans, and almost everyone will say that those who served our country should be treated at least as well as the average person on the street. Thankfully, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is taking proactive steps to honor the debt […]
Senate Eases Medicare Cuts as Part of $1.7 Trillion Spending Bill
WASHINGTON — As the clock ticked down the hours before the federal government was due to run out of money, the Senate on Thursday afternoon passed — by a 68-29 vote — a $1.7 trillion spending package that included partial relief from pending cuts in Medicare physician payment. The omnibus bill, which the House was […]
Memory Decline Slower for Eligible Seniors Who Use Government Food Benefits
Eligible older adults who participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) of government food benefits showed slower memory decline than those who didn’t participate. SNAP users had about 2 fewer years of cognitive aging over a 10-year period compared with eligible non-users, reported Adina Zeki Al Hazzouri, PhD, epidemiologist at Columbia University Mailman School […]
U.S. Government Extends Baby Formula Waivers, Rebates for WIC Families
Latest Pregnancy News THURSDAY, Aug. 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) To help parents who use government nutrition benefits cope with an ongoing shortage of baby formula, U.S. federal officials will extend a program giving them more choice at the grocery store. Families who buy formula through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children […]