Trimming Red Tape Isn't Just for Health Emergencies
Newsmax | Sally Pipes
March 18, 2022
For example, about half the states impose some restriction on nurse practitioners’ authority to practice. That effectively reduces the supply of primary care, as NPs aren’t allowed to handle basic healthcare needs without the oversight of a physician. It’s an inefficient use of labor.
A more liberal healthcare labor market is one of the few silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last two years, we’ve learned that trimming red tape can significantly boost access to care. If policymakers re-impose pre-pandemic restrictions on the healthcare labor market, we could soon find ourselves facing a different kind of public-health emergency.
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Biden's 'Test to Treat' COVID Plan: Good Sound Bite, Bad Policy
Issues and Insights | Henry Miller
March 17, 2022
As someone who has closely followed and written extensively about the development of COVID-19 vaccines and drug treatments since the beginning of the pandemic, one pronouncement in President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech raised red flags: “We’re also ready with antiviral treatments. If you get COVID-19, the Pfizer pill reduces your chances of ending up in the hospital by 90% … And we’re launching the ‘Test to Treat’ initiative so people can get tested at a pharmacy, and if they’re positive, receive antiviral pills on the spot at no cost.”
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Government red tape would strangle patient access to medication
Washington Examiner | Sally Pipes
March 21, 2022
Under the accelerated approval process, the FDA conditionally approves medications targeting serious or life-threatening diseases. The pathway allows patients to begin taking a medication as soon as it’s proven safe and reasonably likely to improve health outcomes — rather than making patients wait until years of clinical trials definitively demonstrate the anticipated benefit. The process shaves more than three years , on average, off the FDA’s traditional approval process, which typically takes eight years. Some cancer drugs that receive accelerated approval reach patients even quicker — roughly five years sooner than those in the traditional pathway.
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Henry Miller quoted in the Hill on Fourth Covid Shot
The Hill | Henry Miller
March 22, 2022
Former FDA official Henry Miller said he was “bullish” to the idea of another booster dose.
“I would love to see the summary that Pfizer presents to FDA,” said Miller. “But I don’t anticipate anything surprising. I mean we’ve been through this now with three doses. That is an extremely safe and very effective vaccine.”
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