Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter {beacon} Health Care Health Care The Big Story GOP trying to resurrect abortion bans in Nebraska, South Carolina Lawmakers in South Carolina and Nebraska are attempting to resurrect abortion ban bills less than two weeks after initial versions were defeated. © Associated Press In Nebraska, Republican Sen….
Author: Nathaniel Weixel
FDA revises blood donation policy
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter {beacon} Health Care Health Care The Big Story FDA changes blood donation rules for gay, bisexual men The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday loosened restrictions on blood donations by men who have sex with men, a change that could ease blood shortages by allowing more…
COVID’s public health emergency is ending. What does that mean for you?
Thursday marks the formal end of the federal government’s COVID-19 public health emergency, three years after it was first declared. The novel coronavirus started a pandemic that killed 1.1 million Americans and sickened millions more. Today, deaths and hospitalizations are at record lows, and much of the public has moved on. But the virus is…
FDA updates blood donation policy to include gay, bisexual men
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday loosened restrictions on blood donations by men who have sex with men, a change that could ease blood shortages by allowing more people to donate. The agency said it will recommend a series of “individual risk-based questions” that will be the same for every donor, regardless of…
FDA advisers endorse over-the-counter birth control pill
A panel of outside advisors to the Food and Drug Administration unanimously voted Wednesday that the benefits of making a birth control pill available over the counter outweigh the potential risks. The vote represents a major step forward in the decades-long push to make birth control pills available without a prescription for the first time…
White House looks to move past COVID emergency
The White House is signaling that it wants to close the book on the COVID-19 pandemic once the public health emergency expires Thursday. But even as the administration and the public look to move on, experts say the virus won’t go away. Hundreds of people still die every day from COVID-19, and more are being…
Feds weigh over-the-counter birth control pill
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter {beacon} Health Care Health Care The Big Story A birth control pill could be available soon with no prescription A daily birth control pill could be available over-the-counter for the first time ever. © Perrigo via AP A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel is meeting…
COVID emergency era nears end
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter {beacon} Health Care Health Care The Big Story US, global health officials signal changes as COVID emergency ends Top health leaders on Friday came out with news of significant changes having to do with the COVID-19 outbreak as the end of the emergency era approaches, both in…
Medicare faces pressure to cover Alzheimer’s drugs
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter {beacon} Health Care Health Care The Big Story Medicare faces pressure to cover Alzheimer’s drugs Promising data from Eli Lilly is adding to pressure on the Biden administration to allow Medicare to fully cover Alzheimer’s drugs without restrictions. © Getty The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services…
DEA extends pandemic-era prescribing measure
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter {beacon} Health Care Health Care The Big Story DEA temporarily extends virtual prescribing for controlled substances The Biden administration is temporarily extending flexibilities for prescribing controlled substances via telehealth that were adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. © AP The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said Wednesday that the…