We’re Speaking Out on Health Issues

NCHR scientists and health policy experts provide written and oral statements on a wide range of topics.

Here are many of the ways we have been Speaking Out on Health Policy Issues for the last few years. Whether the topic is legislation intended to cure diseases, proposed bans on BPA or other chemicals that disrupt your hormones, the importance of including women, people of color, and patients over 65 in clinical trials, or many other topics, you’ll gain a better understanding of our evidence-based analyses by reading these letters, statements, and testimony.

Here are the ways we have been Speaking out on Medical Treatments and Products, such as prescription drugs and medical devices that the FDA is considering approving, or is considering taking off the market because of serious risks. Whether the topic is Chantix, Addyi, Yaz, Essure, or medical products you’ve never heard of, you can find out more about what is known and not known about the safety and effectiveness of a wide range of products by looking through this section of our website.

Patient, Consumer, and Public Health Coalition Letter to Senators Opposing the “Right to Try” Law

July 31, 2017. Sen. Johnson’s proposal would remove FDA from the process, allow companies to charge whatever they want, not allow FDA to consider any harm that the experimental drug causes when used under the Right To Try auspices, and thus eliminate the safeguards and monitoring that otherwise are done to determine whether the patient has been helped or harmed by the experimental drug.

NCHR Response to Senate Health bill

July 28, 2017. All three versions of the so-called Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 would have resulted in much worse, not better, health care for Americans than our current healthcare program.

NCHR Comments on Approval of Abuse-Deterrent Labeling for Oxycodone Hydrochloride

July 26, 2017. To reduce the opioid epidemic, the FDA must hold pharmaceutical companies to a high standard with clear evidence. We do not believe IPC Oxy should be designated as abuse-deterrent unless that is clearly proven as we are concerned about unexpected impacts of the formulation without pharmacokinetic and clinical abuse potential studies. We urge the Committee to vote that there is not sufficient data for this product to support inclusion of language regarding abuse-deterrent properties in the product label for the IV route of administration.

NCHR Comments on CPSC Agenda and Priorities for FY2018-2019

July 26, 2017. We are very concerned about exposures to phthalates in children’s toys and other products as well as endocrine-disrupting chemicals and other safety concerns related to recycled tire crumb rubber and other artificial turf (including “poured in place” surfaces).

NCHR Comment on the USPSTF’s Draft Recommendations for Tobacco and Nicotine Use Prevention in Children and Adolescents: Primary Care Interventions

July 21, 2017. We support many of the methodological proposals included in USPSTF’s draft research plan to study the impact of interventions to prevent and reduce tobacco and nicotine use in children and adolescents. However, the draft approach would not evaluate the effectiveness of specific types of interventions on subgroups of children and adolescents. We strongly recommend making the above changes to strengthen the utility of the research findings that USPSTF will rely on for its recommendations.