Federal: The Congressional Budget Office released its report on a single-payer healthcare system: Key Design Components and Considerations for Establishing a Single-Payer Health Care System. The document addresses such questions as: How would the government administer a single-payer health plan? Who would be eligible for the plan, and what benefits would it cover? What role,…
Author: Carmen Howard
Legislative Update, 04/30/2019
Federal With measles outbreaks spreading, vaccination law may become a partisan issue. From Politico. Abortion legislation is in the news as many states vote on proposed abortion bills. The Guttmacher Institute has a summary of abortion laws enacted in each state. The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics recently released a Data Brief (no. 333)…
Legislative Update – 04/02/2019
Federal News Health care law is again in the spotlight: Trump Administration And Democrats Return Health Law To Political Center Stage (Kaiser Health News) In Blow to Trump, Judge Blocks Health Care Law ‘End Run’ (The New York Times) Medicare for All Would Abolish Private Insurance. ‘There’s No Precedent in American History.’ (The New York…
Legislative Update, 03/19/2019
Federal news: An international group of scientists call for a moratorium on human germline gene editing in this commentary to Nature, and NIH files their support in this follow-up correspondence, also published in Nature. While Congress is unlikely to implement his recommendations, President Trump’s proposed budget includes a 13% cut to NIH funding. Read more…
Legislative Update, 12/14/2018
Federal news While a government shutdown looms, Medicaid legislation (H.R. 7217, IMPROVE Act) passed in the House and has moved to the Senate. Bills passing both House and Senate include S. 2465, Sickle Cell Disease and Other Heritable Blood Disorders Research, Surveillance, Prevention, and Treatment Act and S. 3029 PREEMIE Reauthorization Act of 2018 (to…
Legislative Update – 11/30/2018
Federal news Some post-election headlines include focus on news related to health care: With Democrats in control of U.S. House, science panel gets fresh start (Science) Psychiatric nurse-turned politician, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) will chair the House science committee. Nurse Lauren Underwood (D-IL) and pediatrician Kim Schrier (D-WA) are both eyeing seats on one…
Legislative Update, 10/03/2018
Federal News: The FY19 appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services, which was approved by the House and Senate on Sept 13, 2018, includes: $2 billion increase in funding for NIH $425 million increase for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research $100 million increase for cancer research $86 million increase for All…
Legislative Update, 08/17/2018
Federal: More information on the ECRI-backed National Guideline Clearinghouse, including financial forecasting, has been posted by MLA. Read more from MLA News. Toxic substance regulation will change if the EPA moves forward with a plan to rely more on industry-backed research than academic studies on asbestos and other toxic chemicals. Read the full story from…
Legislative Update 06/06/18
Federal: The EPA’s Science Advisory Board voted on May 31, 2018 to review two recent proposals by EPA administrator Scott Pruitt: (1) to require that only publicly-available data be used to make environmental regulations, and (2) to repeal the Obama-era Clean Power Plan. Since public health data are often restricted to protect patient privacy, there…
Legislative Update 05/04/2018
Federal: 1) Take action in National Library Legislative Day from home, if you’re not traveling to D.C. for the event next week. Here are the priorities this year: House & Senate: Reauthorize the Museum and Library Services Act (S. 2271) House & Senate: Fully Fund LSTA and IAL for FY 2019 House & Senate: Visit…