Biotech’s new chief lobbyist says she’s a social justice advocate. Will the industry walk the walk?
WASHINGTON — Michelle McMurry-Heath doesn’t talk about biotech the way her peers do. Where other…
Category: Congress
6 takeaways from the Senate’s surreal virtual hearing on the U.S. coronavirus response
WASHINGTON — The Senate’s first major hearing on the Covid-19 pandemic began with the sounds…
14 questions for Fauci, Redfield, and the other Trump officials testifying on the U.S. coronavirus response
The Trump administration figures who’ve led the federal government’s coronavirus response have escaped the wrath…
STAT Plus: Telehealth rules have shifted rapidly during the pandemic. Are the changes here to stay?
The Trump administration appears to be leaning in favor of permanently expanding telemedicine coverage as…
A bipartisan group of former health officials seeks to sell a $46.5 billion coronavirus plan to the White House
WASHINGTON — In the past month, President Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner has…
General Motors, 3M, and pharma companies beef up lobbying firepower amid coronavirus pandemic
WASHINGTON — General Motors and 3M, two major corporations that have feuded publicly with President…
This tiny federal agency was built to respond to a crisis like coronavirus. Now that it’s here, is BARDA ready?
WASHINGTON — It seems like an agency tailor-made for a crisis like the coronavirus pandemic….
STAT Plus: Lawmakers’ coronavirus response means delays for drug pricing legislation
WASHINGTON — Before the coronavirus pandemic became Congress’ sole focus, late May was widely viewed…
STAT Plus: Congress set to overhaul the way the U.S. regulates over-the-counter drugs
WASHINGTON — The over-the-counter drug industry is about to get overhauled. Congressional lawmakers tucked a…
STAT Plus: Preventing other Shkreli-like debacles may not save the government much money
After Martin Shkreli took a 5,000% price hike on a decades-old medicine and thwarted rivals,…
A quarantined Ted Cruz proposes to speed approvals for coronavirus drugs and vaccines
Although Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas.) is quarantined at home after coming into contact with someone…
Washington, the world’s handshake capital, adjusts to life in the coronavirus era
WASHINGTON — When Vice President Mike Pence reached for a handshake on Thursday, Jan Malcolm,…
STAT Plus: Private equity firms are increasingly buying up doctors’ offices. What does that mean for doctors — or for patients?
WASHINGTON — Can private equity firms provide quality health care? It’s the question that patients,…
STAT Plus: Congress asked the FDA to explain its rules on CBD — but its new report offers little clarity
WASHINGTON — A new report on cannabidiol, or CBD, from the Food and Drug Administration,…
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Progressives push Trump administration to ensure a future coronavirus vaccine is affordable
WASHINGTON — Progressive Democrats are pushing to constrain how much drug makers can charge for…
Partisan bickering delayed Zika funding for months. With coronavirus, experts worry history will repeat itself
WASHINGTON — Public health experts have a warning for Congress: don’t treat emergency coronavirus aid…
Azar hits a sour note on pricing for a potential coronavirus vaccine
Let them eat cake. This is effectively what Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar…
STAT Plus: Senators threaten to subpoena Express Scripts for failing to produce insulin documents
The ranking members of the Senate Finance Committee are threatening to issue a subpoena to…
STAT Plus: Sen. Chuck Grassley takes your questions on drug prices, insulin, and innovation
WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Grassley has a clear position on this Congress’s priority list. “You…
Trump doesn’t want the FDA to regulate tobacco
The Trump administration is proposing to strip the Food and Drug Administration of all authority…
Juul and other e-cig makers to Congress: FDA, not you, should regulate us
WASHINGTON — When the CEOs from Juul and four other leading e-cigarette makers came before…
Democrats interrupted Trump’s State of the Union to chant about their drug pricing bill
WASHINGTON — President Trump’s brief remarks on drug pricing during Tuesday’s State of the Union…
A bright spot amid the Iowa chaos: People with disabilities get an accessible caucus location
DES MOINES, Iowa — For a small handful of Iowans, simply participating in Monday’s caucuses…
More than a dozen Democrats are bringing people with sky-high insulin bills to the State of the Union
WASHINGTON — From the farmlands of Illinois to Florida’s Gulf Coast, insulin affordability advocates have…
Sensing an advantage, Democrats dare Trump to talk drug prices during State of the Union
WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers aren’t likely to cheer for many lines in President Trump’s State…
STAT Plus: Employers shoulder plenty of drug costs, but haven’t lobbied much to lower them — until now
WASHINGTON — Companies like Pepsi, Walmart, and Jack in the Box foot the bill for…
Want to know how contentious drug pricing is in Washington? Check the receipts
WASHINGTON — Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and the 31 other major drug makers that…
Congress calls JUUL, four other vape companies to testify about youth vaping
WASHINGTON — Five leading e-cigarette companies will be dragged before Congress early next month, according…
Former Rep. Chris Collins sentenced to 26 months in prison in biotech insider trading scheme
Chris Collins, a former Republican lawmaker and longtime ally of President Trump, was sentenced Friday…
STAT Plus: Airing frustrations with pharma, a Republican FTC commissioner just endorsed Medicare negotiation
WASHINGTON — A Republican member of the Federal Trade Commission on Thursday expressed support for…
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STAT Plus: Pharmalittle: Execs vow to place patients ahead of profits; conservatives like Republican drug pricing bill
Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the middle of the week. Congratulations on making it…
Opinion: Medicare policy on antirejection drugs imperils kidney transplants
For people with failing kidneys — and there are thousands of them in the United…
Conservative group with pharma ties makes clear there are drug pricing reforms they can support
WASHINGTON — The conservative American Action Network launched a $4 million advertising campaign Tuesday to…
STAT Plus: It’s ‘business as usual’ as many drug makers boost prices for the new year
A new year often means higher prices for prescription medicines and 2020 is no exception….
3 congressional races to watch in 2020
WASHINGTON — Drug prices are on the ballot once again in 2020. It’s already evident…
2019 was supposed to be the year Washington lowered drug prices. What happened?
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers of all stripes made an agreement the day following the midterm elections…
Top Republican blasts McConnell for derailing bipartisan drug pricing bill
WASHINGTON — Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the bipartisan duo behind the…
Opinion: Deadline looms to stop the Health Insurance Tax — but Congress has been there before
It has become something of an unintentional tradition in Congress to allow key votes to…
Opinion: Congress: Don’t eliminate funding for the diversity creating Health Career Opportunity Program
The Senate is preparing to make a big mistake with a small budget item. On…
It’s a bonanza: With drug pricing bill up for a vote, D.C. news outlets are drowning in advocacy ads
WASHINGTON — Pick up this morning’s print edition of Politico and you’ll be hard-pressed to…
Democrats’ drug pricing bill is a sneak peek at the party’s 2020 campaign message
WASHINGTON — If Democrats are spoiling for a 2020 fight focused on anything besides impeaching…
STAT Plus: With new trade deal, Trump deals a blow to drug makers
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s Tuesday agreement on a new trade deal with Canada and…
Opinion: H.R. 3 is the wrong path to lower drug costs
Americans want health care to be less expensive. We also want our health care to…
STAT Plus: House Republicans fuel Capitol Hill chaos with competing drug pricing bill
WASHINGTON — Republicans on Monday are set to accelerate Capitol Hill’s drug pricing chaos with…
STAT Plus: Lawmakers ask HHS for greater oversight of patient assistance programs
Amid ongoing concern about the use of patient assistance programs by the pharmaceutical industry, two…
Revamped, bipartisan Senate package takes aim at drug prices — and props up other health programs, too
WASHINGTON — Leaders of a key Senate committee unveiled a new version of a sweeping,…
STAT Plus: More than 100 small biotech CEOs sound off against Pelosi’s signature drug pricing bill
WASHINGTON — Nearly 150 CEOs of emerging biotech companies are sending a unified, stark message…
How a billionaire couple greased the skids for Nancy Pelosi’s drug pricing bill
WASHINGTON — When House Democrats pass legislation next month that would slash prescription drug spending…
STAT Plus: Pharma execs tell researchers that multiple sclerosis drug pricing is based on competition, not R&D costs
Despite claims that prices for new medicines are generally shaped by R&D costs, initial pricing…
Listen: Warren’s awkward home front, the ethics of treating dwarfism, and the sound of STAT Summit
Can Sen. Elizabeth Warren ever go home again? Is it ethical to make little people…