Senate unanimously pass 340B program reforms
Senators unanimously approved a plan Thursday evening to reform Illinois’ 340B program.
Senate approves stricter PBM regulations
Senators approved a plan Thursday night that would reform how pharmacy benefit managers operate in Illinois.
Insurance regulations, overdose reporting among proposals passed by Senate committees
Senators approved various healthcare bills ahead of a Friday deadline to advance legislation out of committees.
Senators Discuss Making Medicare’s Relaxed Telehealth Rules Permanent
It’s the rare Senate hearing when the only disagreements occur not between senators, but between panelists themselves. Yet that’s what happened at Tuesday’s Senate Finance Healthcare Subcommittee hearing on making particular telehealth rules permanent for the Medicare program. The senators present all agreed on one thing: the current flexible rules for telehealth — such as […]
FDA Chief Gets Grilled Again Over Baby Formula Shortage
WASHINGTON — FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, MD, pushed back Thursday at assertions by senators that FDA staff isn’t working hard enough to ease the nation’s baby formula shortage. “Complacency is apparently the FDA’s catchphrase when it comes to infant formula,” Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) […]
Two Senators on Different Sides Unite on Mental Health Law Reauthorization
WASHINGTON — Two senators are spearheading a bipartisan effort to reauthorize a bill focusing on mental health care. When Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) set out to develop a mental health bill, they agreed to disagree on some issues, “but it turns out we had much, much more common ground […]
Abortion Stays in Spotlight at SCOTUS Nominee’s Senate Hearing
WASHINGTON — During the third day of her Senate Judiciary Committee nomination hearing, Republican senators continued peppering President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson Wednesday with questions about her views on abortion. “Can an unborn child feel pain at 20 weeks?” asked Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “I don’t know,” replied Jackson, who, if confirmed, […]
Are Nurse Staffing Agencies Overcharging Hospitals?
A group of U.S. senators and representatives penned a letter to the COVID-19 Response Team and other agencies on Wednesday, urging them to investigate allegations of overpricing by nurse staffing agencies relied on to fill gaps in hospital staffing during the pandemic. In the letter, Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), and […]
School Mask, Vaccine Mandates Take Center Stage at Senate Hearing
Senators sparred over school mask mandates and whether the federal government can and should mandate COVID vaccines for eligible kids during a Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on Thursday. While new CDC data showed that schools without mask mandates were 3.5 times more likely to have a COVID-19 outbreak, some governors and […]
Three U.S. Senators Report Breakthrough Coronavirus Infections
Latest Coronavirus News FRIDAY, Aug. 20, 2021 (HealthDay News) Three vaccinated U.S. Senators reported coronavirus infections on Thursday, adding to the growing number of breakthrough cases among American politicians. The positive tests were announced by Sen. Roger Wicker, of Mississippi, Sen. Angus King, of Maine, and Sen. John Hickenlooper, of Colorado. “Senator Wicker […]