New bill would boost FDA's drug safety muscle
Longtime drug safety watchdog Rep. John Dingell and other members of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee today introduced a new version of the comprehensive Drug Safety Enhancement Act, which would strengthen the FDA and close critical gaps in the
Ryan's Plan CHIP-ing Away at Children's Coverage
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s Federal Fiscal Year 2012 budget blueprint, dubiously titled The Path to Prosperity, has damaging implications for children’s health. The Republican budget plan would dramatically cut funding for Medicaid and the
Rx Data-mining guide, Part 3: Docs tell Court practice invades medical privacy
In the third part of our Supreme Court prescription data-mining review (here’s Part 1 and Part 2) we look at the amicus briefs filed by groups of major physician organizations that represent hundreds of thousands of US physicians and a prominent medical j
In Minnesota -- A New Approach to Filling Gaps in Dental Care
In 2008, nearly 350,000 Minnesotans did not receive regular dental care. One of the major reasons was a lack of dentists to adequately treat the population. To meet their unmet needs, Minnesota policymakers embraced an innovative approach – enhance the de
A Government Shutdown of Women’s Health?
Since the new Congress came to Washington DC some Republicans in the House have been very concerned with women’s health care; however, not necessarily in a good way.
In the last few months, the House Leadership has tried to eliminate funding for Title X,
Toward Better Health for People of Color
Focusing unprecedented federal attention on the barriers to good health for people of color, the US Department of Health and Human Services unveiled a two-part plan today of federal and community strategies designed to move the nation toward health equity
What documents? What inspections? When suppliers shrug
Where do we start? seemed to be the gist of an FDA warning letter to Ningbo Smart Pharmaceutical, a Chinese API supplier who reported clean inspections on batches of raw materials –which were easy to fudge because the inspections were never done.
Pharmalo
Rx Data-mining Viewer's Guide, Part 2: Consumers weigh in
As part of our multi-blog review of friend-of-the-court briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in the prescription data-mining case IMS v. Sorrell, today we look at the amicus briefs filed by major consumer groups and policymakers in favor of Vermont’
Sliding further down a slippery slope: Congress weakens ACA affordability protections again
Earlier today, Congress approved a bill that reduces paperwork requirements on small businesses by repealing what’s known as the enhanced 1099 reporting requirements passed as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA.) Congress paid for this change by weakeni