Congress

More than 100 House Democrats are asking FDA to lift restrictions on abortion drug mifepristone so that, at a minimum, doctors can mail the medication to patients’ homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The House’s select subcommittee on coronavirus on Tuesday (June 16) launched a probe into CMS’ response to and prevention of COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes following agency reports earlier this month that 32,000 nursing home residents have died.

The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a non-profit think tank that focuses on public policy and innovation, is concerned the Trump administration’s latest push to “Buy American” could have unintended consequences on the medical product supply chain, despite the administration’s assertions that it could help ease American reliance on foreign drug production.

Stakeholders continue to call for some of the relaxed telehealth requirements to be continued after the pandemic, with some turning their focus towards Congress, while beneficiary advocates caution against moving too quickly to make certain telehealth aspects permanent.

House lawmakers and public health experts on Tuesday (June 9) called for FDA to quickly remove unauthorized COVID-19 serology tests from the market pending agency review to prevent so-called junk tests from being marketed and sold to doctors and consumers.

As nationwide protests spark concerns about a second wave of COVID-19, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield avoided directly answering lawmakers’ questions about whether he has advised President Donald Trump, police agencies and the military against using tear gas on protesters because of concerns it causes coughing, which helps spread the disease. He responded that CDC has “advocated strongly” for face masks and coverings to be made available to protesters and that lawmakers raised a good point.

The Congressional Research Service says Congress could rein in FDA’s broad discretionary authority over vaccine clinical trial policies by legislating how the agency and Institutional Review Boards approach clinical trial designs and reviews for the current COVID-19 pandemic, as well as for future emergencies.

Democrats continued to emphasize a need for the federal government to take the lead on the COVID-19 testing supply at a House Energy & Commerce subcommittee hearing where three governors, including two Democrats and one Republican, testified Tuesday (June 2) on their states’ responses to the pandemic.

The Federation of American Hospitals is urging the Senate to quickly pass another COVID-19 response bill, saying some providers will soon see their Medicare pay garnished to pay back loans unless Congress makes CMS’ programs more flexible.