Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich this week published an editorial with StatNews urging members of Congress to repeal the medical device tax. In the opinion piece, Gingrich calls the tax “misguided” and “job-killing” and suggested that the 2.3% tax, which was levied on medical devices as part of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, […]
Healthcare Reform
Medtech reporting would change under new opioid law
A section of the recently-passed bill to address the opioid crisis could have implications for medtech. The 250-page Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act) contains a provision that would require manufacturers of certain medical devices, drugs and biologics covered by Medicare, Medicaid, […]
Report: Trump to sign controversial law granting patients access to experimental drugs
President Donald Trump is slated to approve legislation this week that will give terminally-ill patients access to experimental drugs that haven’t yet been cleared by the FDA. The “right-to-try” bill has sparked a great deal of controversy among policymakers and patient groups. While some, including the president, describe the effort as offering hope to patients […]
HHS secretary calls on drug companies to ‘stop the price hikes’
After President Donald Trump’s drug pricing speech last week was deemed a “non-event” by analysts, all eyes turned to the secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, Alex Azar, to see what the former pharma executive viewed as the administration’s top concerns. Azar called on the industry to “stop the price hikes” […]
Trump’s drug pricing plan called ‘non-event’ by analysts
President Donald Trump last week unveiled his administration’s plan to lower drug prices. But investors seemed relieved after the president made his highly anticipated announcement – stocks for large pharmaceutical companies and middlemen, like pharmacy benefit managers, were up on Friday. Trump did not commit to follow through with promises he made while campaigning for […]
CMS administrator Verma calls on insurers, providers to give patients their data
For the millions covered by Medicare, accessing their healthcare data ought to be simple – after all, the data belongs to them, according to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services administrator Seema Verma. Earlier this year, CMS launched the latest version of the Blue Button initiative, a program designed to allow Medicare beneficiaries to collect […]
Senators urge HHS to seek lower price for naloxone
U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Gary Peters (D-MI) penned a letter to the Dept. of Health and Human Services, urging the agency to demand that manufacturers lower the price of the opioid overdose reversal drug, naloxone. The lawmakers wrote that the price of naloxone has climbed dramatically since it was first approved by the […]
House passes “right to try” bill allowing use of experimental drugs for terminally ill patients
The US House of Representatives yesterday passed a bill aiming to expand the “right to try” experimental drugs, sending the bill, which is backed by President Trump, to the Senate. The bill would allow terminally ill patients access to investigational drugs drugs that haven’t been approved by the FDA, according to a report from The […]
8 women medtech innovators you need to know
As we celebrate more women becoming medtech leaders and paving the way for innovation, it’s important to remember the many accomplishments women have already made when it comes to the advancement of health and medicine. X-rays on the battlefield, the American Red Cross, leprosy treatment and more — these advances happened because of women. As […]
Controversial “right to try” bill fails in the House
A controversial bill that would grant terminal patients access to experimental therapies failed yesterday in the House. Although the “right to try” effort didn’t muster up enough votes to send it to the Senate, majority leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said in a statement that the fight wasn’t over. “We will try again, pass legislation, […]
Medtech’s existential crisis and how it can survive
Executives in medtech and other life sciences companies view digital health startups and high tech giants as an existential threat. To compete, they’re going to have to invest in or acquire customer engagement and personalization skills usually associated with online retailers and social networking sites, according to a new report out today from EY. The […]
