Today the House Labor Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee on Health will vote on a FY 2020 spending bill that includes a $2 billion funding increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a $300 million funding boost for the National Cancer Institute (NCI), including an additional $50 million specifically for childhood cancer research.
Washington, D.C. – Media reports indicate Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) intends to introduce legislation to raise the purchase age for tobacco products from 18 to 21.
Congressman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, introduced legislation today that aims to address the skyrocketing rates of youth use of tobacco products, a trend that has been largely driven by the popularity of flavored e-cigarettes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a clarification to its Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain (Guideline) yesterday, noting the 2016 guidance is not meant to restrict access to appropriate pain treatment for people living with chronic pain from certain serious conditions like cancer.
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced legislation today that would task the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop a comprehensive strategy to reduce the skyrocketing rates of tobacco product use among youth.
Today the House Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to approve a series of bills that would reverse harmful insurance rule changes, including the expansion of short-term limited duration insurance (STLD) plans, help lower out of pocket costs for consumers, and protect access to health care for people with pre-existing conditions.
Seventeen patient groups representing millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions filed an amicus curiae brief today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in the case Texas v. United States, citing the devastating impact patients would face should the court uphold the District Court ruling to invalidate the Affordable Care Act.
A federal judge has blocked a rule change that would have expanded the availability of Association Health Plans (AHP). These plans often leave beneficiaries underinsured because they are exempt from covering the essential health benefits required under the health care law, including prescription drug coverage, and can also cap coverage based on the number of hospital days or cost of services and cover less than 60 percent of a patient’s medical costs.
A new nationwide survey of cancer patients, caregivers and doctors details the negative effects insurance utilization management policies in private insurance have had on patient care and what those policies could mean should proposed changes to Medicare’s Part D’s “six protected classes” prescription drug coverage policy go into effect.
Washington, D.C. – Legislation introduced today by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) aims to decrease disparities in access to cancer clinical trials that persist within certain underrepresented communities. The Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act of 2019 would direct the U.S.