Intraparty disagreements over mifepristone cause pause in spending bill agreement until August recess ends; Officials urge the FDA to regulate cannabidiol as a dietary supplement; State medical boards tasked with protecting Americans frequently failed to stop doctors for COVID-19 misinformation.
Republican Disagreements Halt Spending Bill
Intraparty friction over the abortion pill mifepristone have delayed a plan for House votes on Friday and led GOP heads to push legislation funding the FDA until August recess ends, reported The Hill. The spending bill would also fund the Department of Agriculture and contains a provision to constrict restrictions surrounding access to mifepristone, which would nullify the agency’s decision to permit the drug to be dispensed through mail and retail pharmacies.
Officials Urge FDA to Regulate Cannabidiol
Officials and hemp advocates pressed the FDA to quickly regulate cannabidiol (CBD) products as dietary supplements at a House subcommittee hearing Thursday, according to Bloomberg Law. CBD products can’t be sold or regulated as dietary supplements yet because of CBD’s intrinsic risk profile and currently incomplete risk-management resources. Customer safeguards in the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act would apply to CBD products if they were regulated as dietary supplements, including adverse event reporting and possible child-proof packaging requirements.
Doctors Spreading COVID-19 Misinformation Rarely Punished
Doctors who endangered patients’ lives by pushing medical misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath have not encountered sufficient repercussions, according to a Washington Post analysis of disciplinary records from medical boards in every state, reported The Washington Post. These medical boards, assigned with protecting the American public, frequently failed to stop doctors who went against medical consensus and prescribed treatments not approved for COVID-19 or who misled patients about masks and vaccines, found the investigation. Presently, no organization monitors how many doctors have been punished for spreading COVID-19 misinformation.
Enhancing Outpatient Hemophilia Care May Improve Health Outcomes and Costs
May 18th 2024Prospective data from patients attending a rural practice in West Virginia between 2016 and 2023 show that a quality improvement program that followed guideline recommendations and was tailored to specific patient needs reduced preventable bleeds and lowered costs.
Read More
Health Equity and Access Weekly Roundup: May 18, 2024
May 18th 2024The US Senate hosted a panel addressing physician and health care shortages and efforts to increase minority representation in the medical field. An expert discussed initiatives to prevent senior homelessness. Advocates called for the repeal of the Comstock Act. Regulatory reforms are called for to improve rural cancer patients' access to pharmacies. Research reveals the impact of denials on patient access to immunology treatments.
Read More
CMS Medicare Final Rule: Advancing Benefits, Competition, and Consumer Protection
May 7th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with Karen Iapoce, senior director of government products and programs at ZeOmega, about the recent CMS final rule on Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage.
Listen
Congress Urged to Repeal Comstock Act Threatening Reproductive Rights and Public Health
May 16th 2024In a joint letter addressed to Congress, Healthcare Across Borders, Take Back the Court Action Fund, and UltraViolet Action called out the resurgence of the Comstock Act, urging immediate action to repeal this century-old law that threatens reproductive rights and public health in the US.
Read More
After the ACA Expanded Health Care Access, 2024 Elections May See Voters Demand Affordability
May 15th 2024At the spring conference of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, speakers discussed how health policy, affordability, and transparency may play a role in voters’ decisions.
Read More