Support for Medicare coverage of the anti-Alzheimer's drug Leqembi is growing on Capitol Hill, but estimates of the drug's cost may prove to be prohibitive for the Medicare program.
Coverage of the drug through the Medicare program would raise costs for the program by $2 billion to $5 billion per year, according to a new study by...National News
As pressure mounts from stakeholders and lawmakers, Eli Lilly, producer of the experimental Alzheimer's antibody drug donanemab, is saying that it expects the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to reverse its prohibition of anti-amyloids.
A bipartisan group of nearly half of U.S. state attorneys general sent a letter to...National News
A single shot of the bivalent booster will become the standard vaccination regimen for people seeking their first COVID-19 vaccination.
Only a single dose will be needed for most people, instead of the currently-recommended two doses. According to the Wall Street Journal, a second booster will be authorized for groups that are high...National News
Late last Friday, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a ruling that invalidated the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's authorization of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in combination to induce abortion. The Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson then attempted to intervene...National News
District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk is taking his time returning a verdict on a case that could set a major precedent for the courts to intervene in regulatory authority. Wyoming passed a bill banning all forms of abortion, but the law was swiftly cut down by a District Court judge.
Judge Kacsmaryk of the Western District of Texas wanted...
Last Saturday marked the third anniversary of COVID-19 being declared a worldwide pandemic.
As the Arizona Republic points out in a retrospective, since that declaration, COVID-19 has killed more than 1.1 million Americans and 33,000 Arizonans.
There were 4,262 new cases of COVID-19 in Arizona this week with 56 new deaths related...
Arizona lawmakers made progress on several bills related to healthcare and COVID-19 this week.
Last Tuesday, the Arizona Senate Health and Human Services Committee approved HB 2474, which would prohibit schools from requiring immunizations issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under emergency use authorization for...
This week in reproductive health care news, anti-abortion activists ask the Arizona Supreme Court to reinstitute the Territorial-era total ban on abortion.
Attorneys for the Alliance Defending Freedom contend that the state appellate court was incorrect when it said the law did not apply to abortion providers. The Capitol Times...
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will allow Arizona to continue operating its own state plan for worker safety and health. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) offer insight into life without the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE).
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an...
A group of 12 Democratic State Attorneys including Arizona's Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a lawsuit last Thursday asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove prescription and dispensation restrictions on mifepristone.
The attorneys general argue that removing the FDA restrictions would increase access to...
On Monday, the Biden administration announced that it would end the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) declaration. The announcement came as the U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills that would curb federal authority in pandemic response. In Arizona, legislators are pushing bills that would ban schools from requiring...
This week, a federal judge ruled that an Arizona abortion restriction will stand, and anti-abortion advocates file a lawsuit that would challenge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) authority to authorize mifepristone.
Late last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a report that details the...National News
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the drug Leqembi (lecanemab) for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, but patients will have a difficult time accessing the treatment due to Medicare rules and a hefty price tag.
Leqembi, developed by the Japanese pharmaceutical manufacturer Eisai and its stateside partner...
COVID-19 cases across the state are down this week, but are expected to rise following the winter holidays. The Supreme Court ruled that a Trump-era border restriction enacted due to the COVID-19 pandemic will remain in effect while the court settles the issue.
The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the controversial Title 42 to remain in...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has signaled that it will delay the end of the public health emergency (PHE) related to the COVID-19 pandemic until April, quelling fears from stakeholders that not enough time was given to review Medicaid eligibility for everyone enrolled since the pandemic began.
In Arizona,...
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Director Dr. Anthony Fauci announced on Tuesday that there is a possibility of a new COVID-19 variant emerging this winter.
Over the past two winters, the U.S. has experienced drastic surges in cases, most recently due to the outbreak of the Omicron variant BA.1. Fauci said in his...
The FDA panel originally rejected approval of the drug due to insufficient data in March. In a rare move, the panel reversed its decision in a 7 to 2 vote after Amylyx provided more data, estimating Relyvrio could extend life expectancy by nearly 10 months compared with placebo.
The FDA approved Relyvrio for the treatment of ALS on...
In a 60 Minutes interview on Sunday, President Joe Biden announced that the COVID-19 pandemic is over, but many disagree. The Moderna Omicron-specific booster has resumed production and distribution.
The president puzzled epidemiologists, the public and members of his own administration with his remarks in an interview Sunday in which...
With more than 7,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox across the country, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra announced a public health emergency (PHE) for the monkeypox epidemic. The PHE declaration may help to streamline vaccination efforts, but stockpiles of vaccine are low and a drug that could...National News
Children between six months and five years old are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccines offered by Pfizer and Moderna. In Arizona, that's nearly 400,000 additional eligibilities.
According to the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), the vaccine was made available on Monday, June 20. To find locations where a child under 5...
