-
Congress Looks at Fast-Tracking Drugs, Devices Approved in Other Countries
“Washington bureaucracy and regulations far too often interfere with health care decisions of patients and their doctors,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in joining forces with Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) to reintroduce the bicameral Reciprocity Ensures Streamlined Use of Lifesaving Treatments (RESULT) Act, opening the door for more drugs, devices. The legislation would allow the…
-
New York Backs Off Ban on ‘Consent to Pay’ Patient Forms
The state of New York is revising a law that would have prohibited hospitals and health care practices from requiring patients to sign “consent to pay” forms before receiving treatment. NY Public Health Law (PHL) 18 was set to take effect in late 2024. It is in limbo after the New York State Department of…
-
Baby Formula Will Get First Federal Review Since 1998
Government health agencies have launched an effort to ensure “quality, safety, nutritional adequacy, and resilience” of infant formula in the United States. Under Operation Stork Speed, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will review the nutrients in infant formula and increase testing for heavy-metal contamination. Companies will have to provide transparent and clear labeling on…
-
Feds Allocate Another $1 Billion to Stop Bird Flu, Cut Egg Prices
The federal government is allocating an additional $1 billion to combat the avian flu, an outbreak of which led to the killing of millions of healthy chickens and soaring egg prices over the past 12 months. Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins unveiled a “comprehensive strategy to curb highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), protect the U.S.…
-
Trump Administration Downsizes Federal Health Agencies
Ten thousand staffers at federal health agencies received pink slips on April 1 in a major overhaul to shrink the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) headcount from 82,000 to 62,000. “Our hearts go out to those who have lost their jobs,” posted HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy on X. “But the reality is…
-
Trump Orders Hospitals to Disclose Prices, ‘Not Estimates’
President Donald Trump ordered the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services to develop a framework to enforce hospital price transparency, within 90 days. Trump originally established the rule during his first term in office, but compliance and enforcement under the Biden administration were weak. Trump signed the new “Making America Healthy Again…
-
Federal Court Blocks NIH Research Grant Administrative Fee Rate
A federal judge in Massachusetts issued a nationwide preliminary injunction to stop the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from setting “indirect costs” for grants at a flat rate of 15 percent. “Indirect costs” are paid to universities and research institutions to cover administrative expenses attributed to research projects. Indirect costs can run as high as…
-
Judge Blocks President’s Ban on Child Trans Treatments
A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order defunding institutions that perform transgender treatments on children. U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson in the District of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction on March 4 preventing the order, “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” from going into effect. The judge ordered the injunction in response…
-
ID Verification for Entitlements Can Save $1 Trillion a Year, CEO Tells Congress
Simply verifying recipients’ identification could save $1 trillion in entitlement spending per year, LexisNexis Special Services CEO Haywood Talcove told a congressional committee. “Between federal, state, and local government, you can save one trillion dollars a year by simply putting in front-end identity verification, eliminating self-certification, and monitoring the back-end of the programs that are…
-
What Should Republicans Do About Medicaid? – Commentary
Republicans are in a bind. To give substance to their new budget bill, they need to cut Medicaid spending by billions of dollars. Yet the White House and many congressional Republicans insist that they do not want to cut Medicaid benefits. Here is where the Department of Government Efficiency can come to the rescue. In mainstream…
Latest Issue – June 2025
2025 Archived Editions: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May
2024 Archived Editions: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, June Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov
2023 Archived Editions: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov
2022 Archived Editions: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, July, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov
2021 Archived Editions: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, June, July, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov
2020 Archived Editions: Jan, Mar, Apr, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
For back issues and articles published before January 2020, click here.
