Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
@berkeleyjr.bsky.social
💊🏛️ NBC News Medical Reporter FDA • Drug Pricing • Health Care Costs
An FDA advisory committee narrowly voted in favor of loosening restrictions on peptides over strong objections from agency career scientists. with @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
FDA panel recommends easing restrictions on several peptides, including BPC-157
The panel went against the conclusions of the agency’s career scientists, who said there was not enough evidence to support the move.
nbcnews.com
The draft agenda for this week’s FDA peptide meeting is up. Votes are scheduled on two peptides in the morning and two in the afternoon during the first day. One peptide on the final afternoon. www.fda.gov/media/193711...
fda.gov
Taylor Farms continues to be the subject of a Food and Drug Administration investigation into the growing cyclosporiasis outbreak, despite a false-positive test result, the agency said Monday. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
FDA says it’s still investigating Taylor Farms in cyclosporiasis outbreak
A false-positive test result doesn’t change the “overwhelming epidemiological data” linking Taylor Farms to the outbreak, the FDA said.
nbcnews.com
BREAKING: The FDA is investigating iceberg lettuce supplied to Taco Bell by Taylor Farms as a possible source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands.
Iceberg lettuce supplier investigated as possible source in cyclosporiasis outbreak
Nearly 7,000 cases nationwide are confirmed or under investigation, according to the CDC. Michigan has accounted for the bulk of cases so far.
nbcnews.to
As ACA Marketplace premiums continue to rise, more people are struggling to afford health coverage after enhanced premium tax credits expired. Watch @nbcnews.com @berkeleyjr.bsky.social explain the growing affordability challenges, featuring CBPP data: youtu.be/KthkxUfhW-c?...
Meet the Press NOW — July 9
YouTube video by NBC News
youtu.be
NEW: Montana began implementing Medicaid work requirements this month. Cancer advocacy groups say concerns have been building for months as they’ve sought clear answers from officials about how the state would ensure vulnerable patients keep coverage. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
As Montana’s Medicaid work requirements roll out, cancer patients fear they’ll lose coverage
Cancer advocacy groups say concerns have been building for months as they’ve sought clear answers from officials about how the state would ensure vulnerable patients keep coverage.
nbcnews.com
I chatted with @berkeleyjr.bsky.social for this piece on Montana's decision to start Medicaid work reqs early, despite HR1 not requiring this until Jan 1. The CMS rule (you can comment until 7/31!) goes farther than HR1 and will prove harmful to those w/ illnesses. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
As Montana’s Medicaid work requirements roll out, cancer patients fear they’ll lose coverage
Cancer advocacy groups say concerns have been building for months as they’ve sought clear answers from officials about how the state would ensure vulnerable patients keep coverage.
nbcnews.com
NEW: Montana began implementing Medicaid work requirements this month. Cancer advocacy groups say concerns have been building for months as they’ve sought clear answers from officials about how the state would ensure vulnerable patients keep coverage. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
As Montana’s Medicaid work requirements roll out, cancer patients fear they’ll lose coverage
Cancer advocacy groups say concerns have been building for months as they’ve sought clear answers from officials about how the state would ensure vulnerable patients keep coverage.
nbcnews.com
I talked with @berkeleyjr.bsky.social of @nbcnews.com about the new report that ACA marketplace plans will increase premiums another 14% in 2027 (after a ~20% increase this year). This will increase uninsurance and underinsurance, avoidable with better policy choices. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
ACA premiums likely set for another double-digit rise next year
Insurers are proposing a rate hike of about 14%, driven by rising healthcare costs, inflation and the loss of enhanced tax subsidies.
nbcnews.com
NEW - Starting Wednesday, people on Medicare will be able to get weight loss drugs, including Wegovy and Zepbound, for $50 a month. But patients hoping for quick or permanent access to the drugs may be disappointed. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Medicare will begin covering weight loss drugs Wednesday. There’s a catch.
The program, which will make weight loss drugs eligible for people on Medicare for $50 a month, is only set to run for 18 months.
nbcnews.com
New: The number of people enrolled in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act plans fell by more than 5 million in the last 12 months, according to a new report from the advocacy group Protect Our Care. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Medicaid and ACA enrollment falls by more than 5 million, new report finds
The decline over the last 12 months stems in part from President Donald Trump’s Medicaid cuts and the expired enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies.
nbcnews.com
NEW: ARMR Sciences’ experimental vaccine aimed at preventing fentanyl overdoses showed promise in an early-stage clinical trial. It’s the first fentanyl vaccine to be tested in humans. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
An experimental fentanyl vaccine showed promise in an early-stage trial
The vaccine could one day be used to help prevent overdoses and treat addiction.
nbcnews.com
NEW: As nicotine pouches like Zyn surge in popularity, manufacturers are introducing increasingly potent products, raising concerns among some public health experts and anti-tobacco advocates about addiction and other health risks. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Nicotine pouches are becoming more potent. Experts are worried.
As the popularity of nicotine pouches grows, companies are beginning to increase the strength of the products.
nbcnews.com
I talked with @berkeleyjr.bsky.social this week about new reports on sky-high denial & reversal rates in Medicare Advantage plans' coverage of long-term care & skilled nursing care. For more on this subject, read my book Coverage Denied: www.amazon.com/Coverage-Den... www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Medicare Advantage plans denied prior authorization requests at unusually high rates, HHS report finds
UnitedHealthcare, CVS Health and Humana had the highest denial rates for long-term care requests, according to a report from the agency’s inspector general.
nbcnews.com
After reviewing the cases, the FDA reported that no cases were “certain” to be linked to Covid vaccination. The conclusions differ from Prasad’s characterization of the deaths, who said in a November memo that the children died “after and because of receiving” the vaccine. @berkeleyjr.bsky.social
No child deaths definitively linked to Covid shots, FDA says
The agency’s analysis contradicts claims made by former vaccine chief Dr. Vinay Prasad.
nbcnews.com
He pitched military service with a promise of lifetime healthcare. When he needed it, the system failed. really proud of this one. @berkeleyjr.bsky.social @nbcnews.com
He pitched military service with a promise of lifetime healthcare. When he needed it, the system failed.
More than a year after the military’s health insurance program transitioned millions of people to TriWest, problems continue to plague the program, leaving patients in limbo.
nbcnews.com
Most Alzheimer’s blood tests work by measuring levels of proteins that build up in the brain and are thought to play key roles in the disease. But it’s still an ongoing debate how well the tests can predict who will go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease, doctors say.
Patients say they want Alzheimer’s blood tests. Doctors aren’t sure they help.
A survey of nearly 600 adults found that 85% would get an Alzheimer's blood test if their doctor recommended it.
nbcnews.to
NEW - The FDA approved Regeneron’s Otarmeni, the first gene therapy for genetic hearing loss. The drugmaker said it will offer the drug for **free** to U.S. patients. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
FDA approves first gene therapy for genetic hearing loss
In an unusual move, the drugmaker Regeneron is making the treatment available for free to patients in the United States.
nbcnews.com
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., clashed with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a Senate hearing Wednesday afternoon, criticizing the secretary over his vaccine policy and abortion medications and debunking a scientific study. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Cassidy clashes with RFK Jr. on vaccines and abortion medicine
Kennedy said the new CDC director would be allowed to operate independently, a departure from his remarks at a separate hearing yesterday.
nbcnews.com
NEW - New rules approved by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could blunt the impact of a federal judge’s order freezing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee and putting many of its decisions on hold, experts say. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
RFK Jr.’s new vaccine panel rules may help sidestep court order, experts say
Kennedy signed a new charter for the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee, adding more focus on vaccine injuries.
nbcnews.com
Exclusive: The White House said it’s adding three drugs for diabetes and lung disease to the self-pay platform TrumpRx, as the administration works to expand the site as part of its push to lower drug prices. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
White House expands TrumpRx with three new drugs
The platform offers discounts on more than 50 brand-name prescription drugs, though many of them have cheaper generic equivalents available.
nbcnews.com
Reliable sources within HHS and CDC tell us this tweet is inaccurate and no decision has been made.
NEW: 💊TrumpRx isn't doing much for drug prices. What would it take to change that? www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
TrumpRx isn't doing much for drug prices. What would it take to change that?
So far, IVF drugs and GLP-1s have been the site's most commonly searched medications, representing a tiny fraction of the prescription drugs Americans take.
nbcnews.com
NEW: In a phone interview, Dr. Mehmet Oz told me Obamacare enrollment may be “too high” and predicts it could fall to around 19 million, arguing some people in ACA plans shouldn’t be enrolled. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Dr. Oz says Obamacare enrollment may be ‘too high’
Even as the top official for Medicaid and Medicare claims millions may be falsely enrolled, the Trump administration is urging younger people to sign up for high-deductible ACA plans.
nbcnews.com
HHS confirms the March USPSTF meeting has been postponed and says “will be rescheduled in the coming months.”
NBC News@nbcnews.com · 5mo agoThe federal task force that shapes recommendations for cancer screenings, heart disease prevention and other preventive services has not convened in almost a year — and it’s unclear whether the panel will convene again.
The federal task force that shapes recommendations for cancer screenings, heart disease prevention and other preventive services has not convened in almost a year — and it’s unclear whether the panel will convene again.
Federal panel behind cancer screening recommendations hasn’t met in nearly a year
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's meetings have stalled as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has reshaped other federal advisory committees.
nbcnews.to
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which crafts evidence-based recommendations for cancer screenings and other preventive care hasn't met for almost a year under RFK Jr. by @berkeleyjr.bsky.social @nbcnews.com
Federal panel behind cancer screening recommendations hasn’t met in nearly a year
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's meetings have stalled as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has reshaped other federal advisory committees.
nbcnews.com
The independent panel that guides no-cost cancer screenings and other preventive care hasn’t met in nearly a year. What’s going on with the USPSTF? www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Federal panel behind cancer screening recommendations hasn’t met in nearly a year
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's meetings have stalled as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has reshaped other federal advisory committees.
nbcnews.com
FDA grants full approval to Pfizer’s Braftovi combo therapy as a first-line treatment for advanced colon cancer. In trials, patients lived about 30 months on average — vs. 15 months with standard care. investors.pfizer.com/Investors/Ne...
U.S. FDA Grants Full Approval to Pfizer’s BRAFTOVI Combination Regimen in First-Line Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
The BRAFTOVI combination regimen is the only approved targeted regimen for first-line BRAF-V600E mutant metastatic colorectal cancer Pivotal results from the Phase 3 portion with mFOLFOX6 of the BREAK...
investors.pfizer.com
Hospital-insurer contract fights are increasingly going public nationwide, and patients are feeling the fallout.
Hospitals and insurers are fighting over money, leaving patients in the lurch
The disputes stem from rising health care costs, with insurers and hospitals fighting more aggressively over the price of care.
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