On Thursday, December 12, the House of Representatives adopted HR 3, Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act. It passed by a vote of 230 to 192. The legislation would create new methods to control prescription drug prices. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had been guiding the package for several months with an eye toward a possible
Late on Friday Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) released their bill, “Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act.” It includes provisions identical to the Family First Transition Act—the bill that would provide $500 million to states to help implement the Family First Act. The bill also extends home visiting programs for two years.
On Tuesday, November 19, the National Prevention Science Coalition with support from the Congressional Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus conducted a Capitol Hill briefing on the opioid crisis in terms of dependency and addiction. The briefing focused on how the significant difference between the two conditions and how policymakers misunderstandings are affecting pain management. A
On Tuesday, November 19, Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-IL) and Congresswoman Alma S. Adams (D-NC), co-chairs of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, partnered with March of Dimes and First Focus to bring attention to the significant maternal health crisis happening in America today. “Mothers in our country are more likely to die giving birth than in
On Wednesday, November 13, 2019, the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) hosted a facilitated discussion with representatives from child welfare and healthcare agencies from Colorado, Delaware, and New York. The webinar provided an overview of the treatment needs of pregnant women with substance use disorders and the effects of exposure to
Open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act (ACA-Obamacare) continues this week. People can get started or renew their policy by going to HealthCare.gov. HHS reported new enrollees of 196,005 for the second week of open enrollment (November 3 through November 9). Total new enrollments since November 1, 2019, is 244,000. When the new enrollments are
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new report, Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Leveraging the Best Available Evidence, last week. Research and studies have proven that ACEs is a critical public health issue. The report estimates the number of Americans that are affected by adverse childhood experiences and provides strategies for
On Thursday, November 7th, March of Dimes held a briefing to discuss their 2019 Annual Report Card for Maternal and Child Health. Stacey Stewart, President and CEO of March of Dimes, opened by illustrating the ongoing and growing infant and maternal health crisis in the United States today. , There are significant geographical and race
Open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act (ACA-Obamacare) continues this week. People can get started or renew their policy by going to HealthCare.gov. HHS reported increases in the enrollments the first week compared to last year at this time. Approximately 177,000 consumers successfully selected a plan on the first Saturday and Sunday of this year’s
Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its 42nd report on the country’s health status, Health, United States, 2018. The new report indicates progress in infant mortality and teen pregnancy rates but still highlights differences within subpopulations. While infant mortality was down by 14 percent between 2017 and 2007, the differences