This week, two bipartisan members of the Senate Budget Committee launched an investigation into private equity and its impact on healthcare. They initiated the probe to get answers about “questionable financial transactions” that could be hurting care quality for patients at hospitals owned by private equity firms.
In a letter to Senate leadership, several organizations asked for the passing of legislation that would reform the patent system and improve competition in the prescription drug space.
In a webinar on April 16 at 1pm ET, Aneesh Chopra will moderate a discussion with executives from DocuSign, Velatura, and behavioral health providers on eConsent, health information exchange and compliance with the CMS Final Rule on interoperability.
This week, senators introduced a bipartisan bill that would make it a federal crime to assault hospital workers. Even though nearly 40 states have passed laws to intensify penalties for violent acts committed against healthcare personnel, there is currently no federal law protecting hospital employees from assault or intimidation.
Legislation introduced by Utah Senator Mike Lee would eliminate testing to show a biosimilar can be substituted for a reference biologic product. Lee contends the current testing requirement adds costs and delays market access for these lower-cost biological medicines.
The Senate Finance Committee voted 26-1 to advance the Modernizing and Ensuring PBM Accountability Act. The bill has several provisions, including delinking PBM income from prescription drug prices under Medicare Part D and banning spread pricing in Medicaid.
During a Monday hearing, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions discussed which changes to telehealth coverage made during the Covid-19 pandemic should stay.
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Congressional Democrats and Republicans introduced privacy bills that attempt to rein in what companies can do with data collected during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Wyden are demanding that Cigna turn over documents on insulin pricing, as part of a larger probe on rising insulin costs. The lawmakers claim that large pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts, which Cigna acquired in 2018, is failing to comply with the investigation.
Nine senators sent a letter to FTC Chairman Joseph Simons urging greater scrutiny over like the one between BMS and Celgene, expressing concern over antitrust issues, innovation and drug pricing.
Five Democratic senators - two running for president - wrote in a letter to the FDA's acting commissioner that the scandal highlighted industry "privilege and greed."
Munck Wilson Mandala Partner Greg Howison shared his perspective on some of the legal ramifications around AI, IP, connected devices and the data they generate, in response to emailed questions.
The Senate Finance Committee grilled executives from seven of the biggest drugmakers about the dramatic rise in drug costs.
Novartis spokesperson says company cooperated with inquiries and disputes conclusions in the report.
The legislation, which has drawn criticism from researchers, patient advocates and industry, would enable patients to request experimental drugs while bypassing the FDA.
A bill introduced by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) in March would allow patients to visit an audiologist to get a hearing test to diagnose a hearing problem without first being referred by a physician or nurse practitioner.
In a 55-43 vote, the Senate has confirmed Alex Azar as the new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. President Donald Trump nominated Azar in November following the resignation of Tom Price.