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.

EPA Public Meeting on Proposed Rule to Reduce PFAS in Water

May 4, 2023: We provided a public comment at an EPA public meeting to support their proposed rule to reduce PFAS in water and suggested ways to strengthen the rule to save more lives by reducing limits on these carcinogenic chemicals.

NCHR Testimony at the FDA Advisory Committee Hearing on OTC Access to Norgestrel (OPill)

May 9, 2023: NCHR testified on the proposed first-in-class prescription-to-nonprescription switch of OPill (norgestrel) tablet, a progestin-only oral contraceptive pill (POP), and expressed concerns that the data demonstrated that a substantial minority of consumers did not understand written information about how to use the pill safely if they were not instructed by their physician.

NCHR comments on the FDA Considerations for the Design and Conduct of Externally Controlled Trials for Drug and Biological Products Draft Guidance

May 2, 2022: NCHR supports FDA’s draft guidance’s research design considerations to reduce bias in externally controlled trials. However, FDA should be much more explicit about the criteria that must be met to ensure that externally controlled trials are only used when absolutely necessary.

Public Comment of Dr. Diana Zuckerman, President National Center for Health Research At the FDA Advisory Committee meeting on Rexulti for Alzheimer’s patients April 14, 2023

April 14, 2023: Rexulti is already FDA approved as an atypical antipsychotic and FDA held an Advisory Committee meeting in April 2023 to consider approving it for agitation in dementia patients, many of whom are in nursing homes. We expressed concerns about Rexulti’s well-known risks of death for dementia patients. Why isn’t FDA more concerned about safety?

NCHR’s Comments on AHRQ’s Draft Systematic Review on Cannabis and Other Plant-Based Treatments for Chronic Pain and Subacute Pain

April 20, 2023: NCHR supports the goals of the review and agrees that there is a need for a systematic review of the effects of cannabis and other plant-based treatments for chronic pain. However, there are several important limitations of the report that were either not adequately addressed.