June 14, 2023: Obesity affects nearly half of US adults (42%) and is extremely costly to the US healthcare system, costing $173 billion in 2019. We responded to USPSTF’s request for public comments regarding their research plan, which is aimed at evaluating which pharmaceutical and behavioral treatments for obesity are proven to improve the health of adults, as well as any risks associated with those interventions.
Read More »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 Comment to CMS on CT Quality Measures Included in the Proposed Rule for the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program
June 9, 2023: We support this CT quality measure because it establishes a floor and a ceiling to provide an optimal level of radiation exposure for imaging for numerous different conditions, without reducing the diagnostic benefits of those scans.
Read More »NCHR Comments on EPA Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances National Primary Drinking Water Regulation
May 30, 2023: We agree that this proposed rule will improve public health, reducing cancer, heart disease, stroke, low birth weight, and other harms to adults and children. However, we have several recommendations to improve the proposed rule. The PFAS limit should be changed to 2 parts per trillion (ppt) and the EPA needs more explicit limits to prevent a weakening of these regulations. Finally, companies that produce PFAS should bear the financial burden.
Read More »NCHR Comments on the FDA Draft Guidance on Clinical Trial Considerations to Support Accelerated Approval of Oncology Therapeutics
May 26, 2023: FDA draft guidance contained numerous recommendations that would improve the quality of research submitted in support of accelerated approval for oncology drugs. However, we recommended the FDA explicitly specify that studies need to have a majority of patients enrolled prior to receiving accelerated approval and that they advise against the use of single-armed trials.
Read More »Under pressure from patients, FDA faces tough choices on experimental gene therapy
Boston Globe, May 22, 2023: Boston Globe quotes NCHR and other experts explaining why we are concerned that Sarepta’s gene therapy for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy isn’t proven to work and has substantial risks. If it doesn’t work, patients who use it will not be able to try other, potentially better gene therapies in the future.
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