Health Care Roundup: Drug Pricing, “Surprise Billing” Bills Advance; “Rebuilding” After Diagnosis; Study on Depression in Lung Cancer Patients; More
House Members Solicit Public Input on "Cures 2.0" Bill – Representatives Fred Upton (R-MI) and Diana DeGette (D-CO) released a request for public input on a potential new bill they are calling “Cures 2.0” which would build on the 21st Century Cures Act. The duo says this legislation would focus ...
Health Care Roundup: ACA Open Enrollment and “Junk” Insurance; E-Cigarette Ban; Integrative Oncology; FDA Breast Implant Warning; More
Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) Healthcare.gov marketplace is in full swing. After major technical glitches, in addition to cuts to enrollment marketing and assistance, the number of enrollees is down this year from past years. As the Washington Post reports, the administration is also redirecting some Healthcare.gov ...
NCCS Urges FDA to Finalize Graphic Health Warnings for Cigarette Packs and Advertisements
NCCS joined with public health and medical organizations in a comment letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the proposed rule to establish health warnings for cigarette packages and advertisements. The comment letter outlines the overwhelming evidence that shows color graphic health warnings on cigarette packages and ...
Health Care Roundup: White House Proposes Health Care Cuts; NCI’s Sharpless to Head FDA; Care Planning; Patient Safety; More
White House Releases FY 2020 Budget – Earlier this week, the White House released the President’s Budget. This year's budget proposes to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and cap Medicaid, and cuts federal health spending by $659 billion over 10 years. The budget also proposes shaving $818 ...
Health Care Roundup: FDA’s Gottlieb Steps Down; Hearings on High Costs; Coping with Cancer’s Aftermath; Why Insurers Deny Claims; More
FDA Commissioner Gottlieb Announces Resignation — On Tuesday, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, announced that he would be resigning in the next month. Two focus areas during Commissioner Gottlieb’s tenure at the FDA include curbing vaping and making generic drugs more accessible. Dr. Gottlieb says ...
Health Care Roundup: Senate Hearing w/Pharma CEOs; Medicare for All Introduced; Logistical Toxicity; FDA Warns About Robotic Surgical Devices; More
Senate Finance Hearing on Drug Pricing — The Senate Finance Committee held a hearing this week on drug pricing, and Senators questioned seven CEOs from top pharmaceutical companies. While Senators of both parties asked tough questions about pricing practices and price increases, some experts suggested that the hearing was tamer ...
NCCS Joins Letter Highlighting Impact of Gov’t Shutdown on FDA’s Work on Behalf of Patients
The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) joined with 46 other patient and provider organizations to call attention to the impact the government shutdown is having on the work of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “On behalf of patients across this country, we are greatly concerned that the agency ...
Health Care Roundup: CMS Issues New Waiver Options to States to Undermine ACA; Open Enrollment Numbers Still Lag; Role of AI in Health Care; More
CMS Issues New Waiver Options to Undermine the Affordable Care Act — This week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released four new waiver concepts that would allow states to pursue alternatives to the ACA. This announcement follows recent CMS guidance that outlined broad authority to the states ...
NCCS Joins Cancer Leadership Council Recommendations to FDA Regarding the Biosimilar Action Plan
NCCS joined with other organizations of the Cancer Leadership Council (CLC) in commenting on the FDA Biosimilar Action Plan (BAP). The comment letter commended the FDA for the development of a plan that balances both innovation and competition. The letter stated that these products provide significant benefits to cancer patients, ...
Health Care Roundup: Trump Drug Pricing Plan; HHS Cuts ACA Navigator Funding; CAR-T Therapy Coverage Issues; Biosimilar News; and More
Comment Period Closed for Trump Drug Pricing Plan — Comments for the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) drug pricing proposal were due this week. The plan, introduced by the Trump administration, outlined proposals seeking to increase competition, reduce out-of-pocket costs and incentivize better negotiations for lower drug prices ...
