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What We're Reading: Ryan's Legacy on Healthcare; FDA Investigates University; NIH Probes Alcohol Research
House Speaker Paul Ryan is leaving Congress at the end of the year without success on spending cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security; the FDA is conducting a criminal investigation into research by a Southern Illinois University professor who injected people with his unauthorized herpes vaccine; the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is "aggressively" looking into reports that it solicited funding from the alcohol industry for a study on the benefits of moderate drinking.
Ryan Leaving Congress Without Success on Spending Cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security
With House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, leaving Congress at the end of the year, the Republican party will lose its most influential champion for spending curbs to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, The Wall Street Journal notes. Ryan saw his party fail to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act even though Republicans gained control of the House, Senate, and White House for the first time in a decade in 2016. Social Security and healthcare programs are popular with voters and few lawmakers are interested in tackling the issue.
FDA Conducting Criminal Probe into University, Firm Over Unauthorized Vaccines
The FDA is conducting a criminal investigation into research by a Southern Illinois University (SIU) professor who injected people with his unauthorized herpes vaccine, Kaiser Health News has learned. SIU professor William Halford injected participants with his experimental herpes vaccine without routine safety oversight, typically performed by the FDA or an institutional review board. Halford died in June. The probe is looking into whether anyone from SIU or Halford’s former company, Rational Vaccines, violated FDA regulations.
NIH Investigating Alcohol Research Funding Requests
The NIH is "aggressively" looking into reports that it solicited funding from the alcohol industry for a study on the benefits of moderate drinking, The Hill reported.
The New York Times has reported that NIH officials solicited donations from alcoholic beverage manufacturers to fund a $100 million study on the health effects of moderate alcohol consumption. NIH Director Francis Collins told lawmakers on Capitol Hill he has convened a “working group” and will turn anything that seems “inappropriate” over to authorities.
What's at Stake as Oral Arguments Are Presented in the Braidwood Case? Q&A With Richard Hughes IV
April 21st 2025Richard Hughes IV, JD, MPH, spoke about the upcoming oral arguments to be presented to the Supreme Court regarding the Braidwood case, which would determine how preventive services are guaranteed insurance coverage.
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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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Varied Access: The Pharmacogenetic Testing Coverage Divide
February 18th 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the author of a study published in the February 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® to uncover significant differences in coverage decisions for pharmacogenetic tests across major US health insurers.
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Comparing Breast Cancer Treatment Outcomes Between Fee-for-Service and Medicare Advantage
April 4th 2025This study examined postdiagnosis breast cancer treatment outcomes for Medicare Advantage vs fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare in Ohio and found no significant differences overall but disparities for Black patients with FFS Medicare.
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