Policy & Regulations

This channel includes news coverage of healthcare policy and regulations set by Congress, the states, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and medical associations and societies. 

Search engines unequally inhospitable to antivaxxers

Privacy-first search engines brought back numerous sites when researchers entered the words vaccine and autism. Google turned up zero. Is that impressive—or glaring?

Debate over hybrid classrooms a signpost of back-to-school health troubles ahead

On its face, hybrid schooling appears a prudent compromise during the COVID-19 crisis. However, it’s awfully easy to find health and education experts crying Stop the madness.

Teladoc agrees to buy chronic care company Livongo in $18.5B deal

Both organizations have seen their stock prices skyrocket during the pandemic, with the new organization on track to tally nearly $1.3 billion in revenue this year.

Notes from China: 3 of the most important—and scariest—things you’ll read about AI all month

In the late 1700s the English social theorist Jeremy Bentham sketched out a prison in which a single guard could control hundreds of inmates. The trick was to let the men know they could be seen 24/7 while the guard on duty was hidden from their view.  

Thumbnail

Healthcare coalition cheers House vote overturning ‘archaic’ ban on unique patient identifiers

Approved by voice, the move eliminates Section 510 of the Labor-HHS bill and reverses the ban on using federal funding to create unique patient identifiers.

AI’s black box could help or hinder the anti-COVID cause

A generation gap may be emerging within the gold rush of computer scientists and software developers racing to weaponize AI for the fight against COVID-19.

Esteemed epidemiologist: ‘We must start treating immediately’ with hydroxychloroquine

Contrary to popular politicized opinion, hydroxychloroquine can be highly effective against COVID-19, according to a seasoned epidemiology professor at the Yale School of Public Health.

Provider orgs holding off on consolidation during the pandemic

The COVID crisis is affecting U.S. healthcare even at the level of high finance, suppressing merger and acquisition activity in the provider sector by almost 20% in 2020’s second quarter versus its first.

Around the web

The tirzepatide shortage that first began in 2022 has been resolved. Drug companies distributing compounded versions of the popular drug now have two to three more months to distribute their remaining supply.

The 24 members of the House Task Force on AI—12 reps from each party—have posted a 253-page report detailing their bipartisan vision for encouraging innovation while minimizing risks. 

Merck sent Hansoh Pharma, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, an upfront payment of $112 million to license a new investigational GLP-1 receptor agonist. There could be many more payments to come if certain milestones are met.