August 22, 2022: We urge you to act quickly to introduce and advance your telehealth legislation building on the strengths of H.R. 4040. We strongly urge that your legislation increase coverage and access to telehealth for the Medicare population, while continuing to address the underlying barriers faced by rural and underserved communities.
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.
NCHR Comments on Broadening Coverage for Cochlear Implants
August 4, 2022. We agree that cochlear implants have been shown to improve sentence recognition, thus helping affected adults communicate better and reducing feelings of isolation. However, there are several issues that we strongly urge CMS to consider before deciding whether to broaden the national coverage.
Read More »NCHR Public Comment on AHRQ Draft Review on Partial Breast Irradiation and Whole Breast Irradiation for Breast Cancer
The National Center for Health Research supports AHRQ's draft review finding that partial breast irradiation (PBI) is effective for select early-stage breast cancer patients, with most outcomes comparable to whole breast irradiation (WBI) at 5-10 years. NCHR emphasizes the need for additional research on different PBI types and long-term outcomes at 15-20 years, particularly across diverse patient populations.
Read More »NCHR’s Testimony on the FDA’s Proposed Reclassification of Computer-Aided Devices which Provide Adjunctive Diagnostic Information about Lesions Suspicious for Melanoma from Class III Devices to Class II Devices
July 29, 2022. We do not support the proposed reclassification of the two skin lesion analyzers, MelaFind and Nevisense, from Class III to Class II. We have 2 major concerns: There is no guarantee that newly developed devices cleared through the 510(k) process would be as accurate as those currently on the market. For that reason, newly developed devices should be reviewed through the PMA process and there is a clear risk of false positive and false negative results, misuse, and device failure, and the FDA has not provided adequate evidence that these risks can be adequately mitigated with the Class II special and general controls listed in the executive summary. As described, FDA cannot ensure that there will be reasonable assurance of safety or effectiveness over the lifespan of the newly submitted devices.
Read More »NCHR Letter to Democratic Congressional Leadership on Drug Pricing Reform
July 26, 2022: We write to urge you to quickly pass a budget reconciliation bill that includes meaningful drug pricing reforms. The provisions included in the reconciliation bill to combat high drug prices are a step in the right direction and we applaud all of your hard work. There is still much to be done to lower the launch prices of new drugs, promote pricing that accurately reflects the value of a prescription, and to instill competition into a highly controlled drug market.
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