Wednesday, September 28, 2022: Payers

The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) sent a letter to House members urging them to vote against the Mental Health Matters Act. The legislation would authorize the Department of Labor (DOL) to enforce requirements regarding mental health and substance use disorder...

Wednesday, September 28, 2022: Providers

The Senate passed a continuing resolution bill that would temporarily extend two Medicare programs. The measure would extend the Medicare Dependent Hospital program to boost financial support for rural hospitals with at least 60 percent of their patients covered by...

Tuesday, September 27, 2022: D.C. News

The White House is scheduled on Wednesday to host the first nutrition summit in a half century. A White House document calls for school meals for all; nutrition and obesity counseling for Medicare beneficiaries; a permanent extension of the child tax credit; and...

Tuesday, September 27, 2022: D.C. News

House and Senate health leaders reached a deal to advance a bill that would renew FDA user fees. The “clean” extension does not contain additional reforms to increase oversight of dietary supplements, lab-developed tests, and other areas. However, the bill...

Tuesday, September 27, 2022: Life Sciences

Pfizer announced it asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve its omicron-specific COVID-19 booster shot for children between the ages of 5 and 11. Pfizer asked the FDA to authorize a 10-microgram dose for children, one-third of the 30 microgram dose...

Tuesday, September 27, 2022: Mental Health

A Bloomberg article explores how the mental health crisis has led hospitals to create a new kind of emergency unit. Developed at the University of California in Riverside, the Empath (emergency psychiatric assessment, treatment, and healing) centers improve care by...