HFS seeks members for new Medicaid beneficiary advisory council
The Department of Healthcare and Family Services is seeking members to serve on a new advisory council to help “shape future policy decisions” for the Medicaid program.
Duckworth renews push to protect IVF services for service members
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., has renewed her push to ensure service members and their families can access fertility services like in vitro fertilization.
RFK Jr. Reportedly Planning to Fire All USPSTF Members
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is planning to fire all the members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and replace them with members of his own choosing, according to media reports. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Kennedy plans to remove the 16 task force members because […]
House Committee Wrestles With Lab Test Regulation
Members of a House committee mostly agreed that laboratory-developed tests need more oversight, but were divided Thursday on how best to approach the topic. The issue at hand was a proposed rule from the FDA that would require medical facilities that use lab tests developed in-house to get the tests approved by the FDA, something […]
AMA Punts on Vaccine Strategy for Immigrants
Members of the American Medical Association (AMA) weighed the risks and benefits of the U.S. implementing a vaccine mandate for immigrants and examined policy recommendations around short-term medical trips during the House of Delegates annual meeting. Sarah Mae Smith, an alternate delegate from California who spoke on behalf of AMA’s Medical Students Section, said that […]
Senators Grill NIH Director Nominee on Drug Prices, Gender-Affirming Care
WASHINGTON — Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee questioned Monica Bertagnolli, MD, President Biden’s nominee to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about the high cost of prescription drug prices, the limits of transgender care, and rebuilding faith in the agency, during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday. Biden tapped Bertagnolli, […]
FDA Advisors Grapple With Logistical, Ethical Issues of Artificial Womb Technology
While members of the FDA Pediatric Advisory Committee (PAC) said much of the existing artificial womb technology (AWT) research is promising, they noted that the logistical and ethical concerns previously raised by the agency’s staff members are complicated. The committee did not vote during their 2-day meeting this week. Further discussion about first-in-human trials for […]
Top Patient Advocacy Orgs Have Industry Ties in Leadership, Study Shows
Three-quarters of the highest-revenue patient advocacy organizations (PAOs) in the U.S. have board members or senior leadership with ties to the pharmaceutical or medical device industry, a cross-sectional study showed. Of the 50 PAOs reviewed, 74% had board members with prior or current industry ties, and 50% had paid staff or executives with these ties, […]
Airlines Need to Let Wheelchair Users Use Them on Planes, AMA Members Say
CHICAGO — Airlines need to do more to help patients in wheelchairs use them on the plane, members of the American Medical Association’s (AMA) House of Delegates said here Sunday, but they were divided on how to make that happen. Delegates attending a Sunday morning reference committee meeting were debating a resolution from two specialty […]
Medicare’s Policy on Alzheimer’s Drugs Comes Under Fire at House Hearing
WASHINGTON — House members on both sides of the aisle were in surprising agreement on a number of healthcare issues Wednesday, most notably the need for Medicare to reconsider its coverage decision on amyloid-inhibiting Alzheimer’s drugs such as aducanumab (Aduhelm) and lecanemab (Leqembi). “There’s been a lot of attention to a decision by CMS [the […]