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What We're Reading: Gottlieb Has "Right-to-Try" Concerns; Trump and Abortion Restrictions; NIH Halts Alcohol Study
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, expressed concerns about a version of a "right-to-try” bill in the House of Representatives; the Trump administration Friday is set to reinstate rules prohibiting clinics that receive federal funding from providing abortions or referring patients to places that do; the National Institutes of Health has frozen a highly criticized, $100 million, 10-year study of moderate drinking backed by the alcoholic beverage industry.
Gottlieb Says Latest Version of "Right-To-Try" Bill Does Not Contain Much FDA Input
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, expressed concerns about a version of a “right-to-try” bill the House of Representatives might pass next week, STAT reported. The bill, from Senator Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, didn’t include as much of the FDA’s input as an earlier version, which passed the House in March before stalling in the Senate. Gottlieb later said that the FDA’s concerns could be addressed through the administrative process if the bill becomes law.
Trump Administration Takes Abortion Fight to Health Clinics
The Trump administration is set to reinstate rules prohibiting clinics that receive federal funding from providing abortions or referring patients to places that do, in a move targeted at Planned Parenthood, The New York Times reported. The rule change is a top priority of social conservatives. Officials from the American College of Physicians and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have said the policy would harm women’s health.
NIH Halts Controversial Moderate Drinking Study Funded by Industry
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has frozen a highly criticized $100 million, 10-year study of moderate drinking backed by the alcoholic beverage industry, The Washington Post reported. The research was to be funded via a private foundation that supports the NIH. While some studies have suggested 1 drink a day may provide a health benefit, the conclusion remains controversial, and the guidelines recommend that people who don’t drink alcohol shouldn’t start.
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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