AJMC Staff

The Center on Health Equity and Access spotlights the latest health equity news, research, and initiatives to reduce health care disparities and improve access to care.

CMS releases its 2024 Physician Fee Schedule, including a conversion factor cut, and proposes behavioral health efforts; a World Health Organization (WHO) agency says that aspartame may cause cancer, but another one maintains that it remains generally safe; HHS calls for COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to ensure reasonable pricing for their upcoming fall shots.

The FDA has approved the first over the counter (OTC) birth control pill Thursday; the US Chamber of Commerce has filed a motion for preliminary injunction on the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation program; individuals living in historically redlined areas are likely to have worse heart health.

Racist assumptions identified in medical education impact maternal outcomes; excessive drinking during the pandemic responsible for increased alcoholic liver disease deaths; Iowa ban will restrict abortions after about 6 weeks of pregnancy.

FDA to import cancer drugs from China; respite programs offer a safe environment for people who experience mental health crisis; White House officials call for more xylazine testing.

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer asks the FDA to investigate Prime energy drink; Washington state sees hefty fine for failing to provide mental health resources to incarcerated individuals; a new rule would require companies to disclose use of certain “forever” chemicals.

A new proposal from the Biden administration would place more restrictions on certain health insurance plans as part of an initiative to cut costs; Eli Lilly’s obesity treatment retatrutide appears to help lessen liver fat content; Earth’s hottest day on record calls into question what temperatures humans can safely tolerate.

Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are struggling to find psychiatrists; the CDC plans to cut state funding for child vaccination programs; almost 50% of American faucets could contain forever chemicals.

Lifesaving organ supply disruption avoided for now; approximately a quarter of the US population had not been exposed to COVID-19 by the end of 2022; Gavi will offer developing countries a new polio vaccine.

The Center on Health Equity and Access spotlights the latest health equity news, research, and initiatives to reduce health care disparities and improve access to care.

Medicare will negotiate drug prices directly with companies; medical leaders react to the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action; the European Commission (EC) announces deals with Pfizer and select European companies to reserve space to manufacture vaccines for future health emergencies.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the health care and mainstream press.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) charged almost 80 people in $2.5B health care fraud ruse; nearly 50% of US adults would spend $100/month on Wegovy, other weight loss medications; Australia is the first country to offer 3,4-methyl​enedioxy​methamphetamine, commonly known as ecstasy or MDMA, for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Approximately 2 in 5 health care workers said they have thought of leaving their job in the past year, with half of those affected by shortages; thousands of unauthorized vapes are streaming into the US despite FDA clampdown; Eli Lilly is catching up in the weight loss market.

Four people in Florida and 1 person in Texas were exposed to malaria; late revisions could counter a pending lawsuit to end abortion restrictions; about 2000 nurses in Texas and Kansas plan to strike.

Black veterans continue to encounter benefits disparities; health workers feel capable of handling future surges after the pandemic; the COVAX initiative aims to redirect remaining vaccine spending

E-cigarette sales dropped in 2022 following a spike; President Joe Biden will sign an executive order designed to guard and expand contraception access; Ochsner Health and MD Anderson Cancer Center are partnering to serve patients in Louisiana with cancer.

PhRMA files a lawsuit against the Inflation Reduction Act; a CDC advisory panel recommends that older adults receive Pfizer and GSK RSV vaccines; a federal program to improve rural maternal care has missed Black women.

White House executives met with opioid overdose reversal drug company representatives Tuesday in an attempt to resolve concerns around the drugs’ costs; a national panel of officials recommends that most adults be screened for depression and anxiety, but not suicide; New York passed a law to protect abortion providers who send abortion pills to states with bans.

Eli Lilly will gain Dice Therapeutics’ experimental psoriasis drug; about 1.5 million people dropped from Medicaid since April and May; families are uprooting their lives due to transgender care restrictions

Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH, will take over the CDC; abortion activists acknowledge 1 year without Roe v Wade; Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) challenges Medicare’s drug price negotiation program.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the health care and mainstream press.

Independent FDA panel advises that the next round of COVID-19 vaccines only target XBB strains; the American Medical Association (AMA) says that only using body mass index (BMI) is not enough to evaluate health; teens with severe obesity look to controversial surgery and weight-loss drugs.

Most people with health insurance coverage experienced health coverage problems in the past 12 months; oncologists are pressing lawmakers to implement long-term solutions to chemotherapy shortages; the nonprofit Human Rights Watch is calling out US hospitals for forcing people into debt.

HHS and CMS extended postpartum coverage in New York through Medicaid and CHIP for an entire year; a minimum of 1.7 million Americans use health sharing plans, even though they lack protections; Pfizer expects pediatric syphilis drug Bicillin L-A to experience a shortage.

Biden administration finalizes a deal on covering preventive care despite legal battle; CMS prepares safety net hospital reimbursement plans; over 1 million Americans have been dropped from Medicaid coverage

The Biden administration will impose drug price inflation penalties on drugmakers; a study reveals massive amounts of COVID-19 relief funds were stolen; experimental vaccine nearly doubles survival in patients in a trial.