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What We're Reading: Fees for e-Cigarette Industry; Printing Skin; Medieval Diseases on the Rise
Trump administration proposes fees on e-cigarette industry to fund FDA regulatory oversight; Scientists create bioprinter that allows creation of new skin to treat wounds; Medieval era diseases reappear in unsanitary locations among homeless populations and others.
Trump Proposes $100 Million in Fees for e-Cigarette Industry
The e-cigarette industry would face $100 million in annual user fees resulting from the Trump administration’s new budget proposal, The Washington Post reported. Accrued funds would be used to pay for regulatory oversight by the FDA. The measure must first be approved by Congress. Fees would be imposed upon manufacturers and importers of e-cigarette devices and e-liquids. Advocates for the industry have criticized the proposal, calling it a tax, as they continue to market e-cigarettes as a safe alternative to traditional smoking.
Scientists Unveil Technology for Printing Skin
A new bioprinter that uses an individual’s own skin cells to produce new layers of skin has been created by scientists at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Medical News Today reported. The new skin would be used to treat wounds without requiring donor skin grafts. The procedure collects major skin cells, expands them, and mixes them into a hydrogel which is placed into a bioprinter. The technique aspires to replicate the natural function of skin and speed up the healing process.
Medieval Diseases Appear in California Among Homeless Population
Infectious diseases that were prevalent in the medieval era have reappeared within homeless populations in California and other unsanitary locations nationwide, Kaiser Health News reported. These dangerous diseases including typhus, hepatitis A, and shigellosis have spread widely and quickly in contaminated areas. Risk of contagion is not limited to the homeless population, creating the possibility for a public health crisis.
Urticaria Diagnosis Challenged by Overlapping Pruritic Skin Conditions
April 23rd 2025Urticaria is complicated to diagnose by its symptomatic overlap with other skin conditions and the frequent misclassification in literature of distinct pathologies like vasculitic urticaria and bullous pemphigus.
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New Research Challenges Assumptions About Hospital-Physician Integration, Medicare Patient Mix
April 22nd 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Brady Post, PhD, lead author of a study published in the April 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, challenges the claim that hospital-employed physicians serve a more complex patient mix.
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Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
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ACOs’ Focus on Rooting Out Fraud Aligns With CMS Vision Under Oz
April 23rd 2025Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are increasingly playing the role of data sleuths as they identify and report trends of anomalous billing in hopes of salvaging their shared savings. This mission dovetails with that of CMS, which under the new administration plans to prioritize rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.
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