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September 30, 2021 Policy Proposals

For weeks, congressional Democrats have been pushing to lower Medicare's eligibility age from 65 to 60 as part of their $3.5 trillion spending bill. A new paper from the American Action Forum (AAF) by Christopher Holt and Stephen Parente reveals just how radical that change would be. Such an expansion of Medicare would cost taxpayers a minimum of $380 billion over the next decade — and possibly more than $1 trillion. The belief that Medicare ought to be available to all Americans 60 and over has become...

September 30, 2021 Innovation

Dr. Henry Miller talks to the nationally-syndicated Lars Larson Show based out of Oregon about innovations in artificially constructed organs and tissue that could be used to make up for the shortage of organ transplants. Miller also talks about the use of genetically-engineered animals, and the regulatory issues with the FDA, to develop organs for transplant into humans. Lars Larson National Podcast · Lars Larson National Podcast 09-28-21...

September 30, 2021 Coronavirus - Alternate

This week, Pfizer-BioNTech submitted data to the Food and Drug Administration demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine in children ages 5 to 11. The duo is expected to apply for emergency-use authorization in the coming weeks. Federal regulators have promised they'll "urgently" review the data. The FDA's Dr. Peter Marks told  USA Today the data would be "looked at if not within hours, certainly within the day." Speed is of the utmost importance. The FDA has already slowed the...

September 27, 2021 Policy Proposals

It's no secret that H.R. 3 -- the Democrats' plan to impose price controls on prescription drugs -- would have devastating consequences for our healthcare sector. After all, artificially restricting the price of any product invariably leads to shortages, rationing, and a slowdown in both investment and innovation. A new study from University of Chicago economist Tomas Philipson shows H.R. 3 would not just slow down drug development but essentially stop it altogether. Yet Democrat leaders are continuing their push to include H.R....

September 27, 2021 Innovation

Modern medicine has produced many kinds of high-tech miracles, among them gene therapy to correct malfunctioning genes, electrical stimulation devices to restore significant function after traumatic spinal cord injury, and surgery performed by robots. Another medical area that desperately needs breakthroughs is transplantation of solid organs. We are making progress but are not quite there. Currently, donor organs — from a living donor or cadaver — must match the recipient's tissue type and size, and often, they are not perfect. By one estimate, approximately half of...

September 27, 2021 Coronavirus

As the Food and Drug Administration contemplates booster shots and a myriad of other regulatory issues related to the COVID-19 vaccine, it is essential to reiterate the importance of a vaccine that is available and recommended for every age group at no cost to the patient — the influenza vaccine. Throughout history, influenza has been responsible for far more mortality than any other individual ailment. And in the 2018-2019 flu season, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease...

September 27, 2021 Industry Trends

A record 5.6 million patients in the United Kingdom are currently on waiting lists for hospital care. That's equivalent to nearly one in 10 Britons. Of that group, about 300,000 have been waiting at least one year for treatment. Those who can afford to are increasingly paying out of pocket for private care. More than 20% of British residents are doing so, according to recent polling. Britain's National Health Service has long been a source of pride for the country. The organizers of the 2012 London Olympics made the NHS...

September 23, 2021 CoronaVirusSlide3

Dr. Henry Miller joined the John Batchelor show to talk about new study out of Israel analyzing the efficacy and infection rate of new booster shots for COVID-19. Miller breaks down the findings, noting that the booster group fared better than a control group who didn't receive the booster, the latest on mask mandates, and also looks at the data around the performance of the various vaccines against COVID variants. Miller is a senior fellow with PRI and former FDA...

September 21, 2021 Policy Proposals

By Henry Miller, M.S., M.D. and John J. Cohrssen President Joe Biden’s recent Executive Order 14036 contains initiatives intended to lower drug prices for patients, create more competition to increase wages for workers, promote innovation, and foster economic growth. As part of it, on Sept. 9 Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra proposed additional legislative and administrative actions. The drug price-reduction legislative proposals are perennials; their inclusion reflects both their popularity and the difficulty in attaining them. Two executive order proposals – one to import cheaper...

September 20, 2021 Industry Trends

The delta variant has wreaked havoc. This week, the U.S. reported a seven-day average of more than 146,000 daily cases . In total, COVID-19 has killed more than 660,000 Americans since the start of the pandemic. Thankfully, the rate of increase appears to be falling in many areas, compared to the surges in July and August. But significant damage has already been done. Much of this carnage could have been avoided if the Food and Drug Administration had accelerated approvals of...

September 16, 2021 Policy Proposals

The Biden administration's "Comprehensive Plan for Addressing High Drug Prices," released last week, paints a vivid picture of the difficulties patients face affording their medicines. "Americans pay too much for prescription drugs," the report notes. "Many Americans do not take medications as prescribed because of their cost." How does the administration intend to ease their financial burden? By calling on Congress to give the federal government the ability to essentially dictate drug prices. Lowering drug prices by fiat may be popular. But it would represent...

September 14, 2021 Coronavirus - Alternate

There is continuing confusion, and even consternation, over what seem to be disparate policies, recommendations and mandates emerging in response to the Delta-driven surge of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations in much of the country. Masks or no masks? Vaccine mandates versus voluntary vaccination? Proof of vaccination for admission to bars and entertainment venues? The Zeitgeist is nicely captured by this Saturday Night Live sketch earlier this summer on the CDC’s seemingly ever-changing mask policy: In fact, the patchwork of policies and what some have derided as “moving the...

September 14, 2021 Coronavirus-Alternate2

Given the abundance of readily available, free, effective (albeit imperfect) vaccines for many months, why are we seeing a surge in COVID cases and hospitalizations? Let's examine the three primary factors that dictate the severity of an outbreak of a viral illness. The United States is in the throes of a surge of serious infections with the COVID-19 Delta variant. The seven-day average of COVID-19 new admissions to hospitals nationwide has exceeded 11,000 for the past few weeks, overwhelming healthcare capacity...

September 13, 2021 Policy Proposals

As part of their $3.5 trillion budget plan, Democrats hope to expand Medicare to include, among other additions, coverage for dental benefits by 2028. It's a dream progressives have been pursuing for years. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called for the changes in his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaign platforms. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., recently said she's "all for" expansion. But adding dental coverage to traditional Medicare is imprudent and unnecessary. In the long run, it could even reduce seniors' ability to access quality dental care—if...

September 10, 2021 Coronavirus - Alternate

Biden Plan May Require 2/3 of American Workforce to Either Get Vaccinated or Weekly COVID-19 Tests President Biden laid out a six-step plan to control the spread of the highly infectious coronavirus Delta variant and get more Americans vaccinated against COVID-19. “We have the tools to combat the virus,” he said during a press conference today at the White House. “If we can come together as a country and use those tools… we can, and we will, turn the tide on COVID-19.” ....

September 7, 2021 Coronavirus

This crisis was avoidable. By showing no sense of urgency to approve COVID-19 shots for children under 12, the Food and Drug Administration has left children vulnerable — not just to the virus but to the emotional and social harm caused by missing in-person interactions with their teachers and peers. The shots could have been approved by now if not for the FDA's decision last month to require six months of clinical trial data on the effect of Pfizer-BioNTech's and Moderna's COVID-19 shots...

September 2, 2021 Coronavirus

The United States is not coping well with the current surge of COVID-19 infections. Coronavirus-related hospitalizations nationwide surpassed 100,000 last week for only the second time in the pandemic, overwhelming caregiver capacity in several states. The worst situation is in intensive care units , which care for the sickest patients with highly specialized medical staff who are in short supply and are becoming progressively burned out as the pandemic drags on. The result is that in many parts of the country, patients needing to be...