US Congress Roundup: Senators Reject COVID-19 Relief Plan; Lawmakers Fault Verma Promos
House Energy and Commerce Committee also passes bill that increases oxygen equipment payments, as Congress gets back to work
• By Sue Darcey
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Upon US lawmakers’ return from an August recess, senators wrangle over an acceptable coronavirus relief package, while the House finalizes medtech bills and probes Medicare chief Seema Verma’s expenses.
In their first week back on the job, senators – led by a unanimous coalition of Democrats, plus iconoclast Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky – stopped a scaled-back COVID-19 relief bill introduced by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) from moving forward.
Children with biliary atresia (BA) exhibited neurodevelopmental deficits and increased autism traits, with earlier surgery linked to better general neurodevelopment.
Multi-cancer diagnostics can help get oncology patients the treatment they need more quickly, but lack of reimbursement has kept such tests out of reach for many patients. Bills providing coverage have passed or are under consideration in more than half of the states and have been introduced in both houses of US Congress.
A government report requested by US lawmakers Debbie Dingell and Anna Eshoo to review the FDA’s postmarket surveillance of medical devices stresses that strengthening the system is critical to addressing adverse events linked to devices after they hit the market.
A bipartisan bill now in the US Senate seeks to change the classification of implantable hearing aid devices to allow Medicare to reimburse for the devices, potentially expanding access for many Americans who require them.
This week, Establishment Labs Holdings announced the FDA gave it premarket approval for Motiva breast implant, Cologuard lands FDA approval for Cologuard Plus and GE HealthCare gets FDA nod for a new imaging agent. The FDA announces another expansion for TAP into ophthalmology and radiology. The AAMI and CTA will join forces to develop standards for AI and ML-enabled health care products.
Children with biliary atresia (BA) exhibited neurodevelopmental deficits and increased autism traits, with earlier surgery linked to better general neurodevelopment.