- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
What We're Reading: The ACA Fails the Working Poor
What we're reading, January 5, 2016: A special report highlights how the working poor slip through the cracks of the Affordable Care Act; the FDA approved 51 drugs in 2015 with nearly half being first-in-class; and the Senate is expected to vote on President Obama's nomination for FDA commissioner next Tuesday.
Millions of Americans, the working poor, remain uninsured, especially if they live in one of the 20 states that hasn’t expanded Medicaid. A special report from USA Today examined how the Affordable Care Act affects these individuals and found that companies are getting around paying for insurance for workers by hiring contract workers. In addition, up to 20% of businesses have cut or plan to cut workers’ hours in order to avoid paying for their health benefits.
In 2015, the FDA approved 51 new drugs, which is the largest number since 1950. Notably, among those drugs approved were 20 first-in-class drugs. However, Forbes points out that this number from the FDA may be conservative, as 4 other drugs should merit first-in-class recognition. Including those drugs—Farydak, Unituxin, Kybella, and Natpara—would mean 47% of the drugs the FDA approved in 2015 were first-in-class.
On Tuesday, January 12, the Senate health committee will vote on President Obama’s nominee, Robert Califf, MD, to be the commissioner of the FDA. During hearings, some voiced concerns about his connections with drug companies. In particular, Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) said he would oppose the nomination. However, for the most part, Dr Califf’s nomination is expected to easily be approved, reported The Hill.
Elevated Inflammatory Marker Levels Associated With Increased Overactive Bladder Risk
April 15th 2025Systemic immune inflammation index, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and systemic inflammation response index levels may offer a noninvasive method to identify individuals at increased risk of developing overactive bladder.
Read More
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.
Listen
Significant Disease Burden and Management Issues in Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria
April 15th 2025Patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria experienced a long delay in diagnosis, a substantial impact on their quality of life, and often received inadequate treatment, highlighting the need for better management and understanding of the condition.
Read More
Lifestyle Interventions, Statins, Among Keys to Mitigating CVD Risk in MASLD/MASH
April 15th 2025A recent review highlights the gaps in clinical guidelines and treatment approaches for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and looks ahead to the future promise of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for liver conditions.
Read More
