Some chemicals in cosmetics and other personal products (shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc.) have been linked to a variety of serious health effects in women, men, and children. Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has very limited authority and resources to regulate cosmetics, so the agency is not screening for chemicals that could be...
On September 17 the Endocrine Society helped sponsor the 3rd annual “Rally for Medical Research Hill Day” in Washington, D.C. The event proved to be an extraordinary day on Capitol Hill with nearly 300 people from more than 120 different organizations coming together, from 40 states, plus Washington D.C. to visit House and Senate offices...
The Endocrine Society supports the U.S. National Bone Health Alliance (NBHA) response to the May 26 British Medical Journal paper, “Overdiagnosis of bone fragility in the quest to prevent hip fracture,” disputing the paper’s authors’ argument “that evidence for stratifying risk of fracture and subsequent drug therapy to prevent hip fracture is insufficient to warrant...
Brat Amendment Defeated, House Passes 21st Century Cures Legislation
The Society’s grassroots advocacy helped defeat an amendment that would have made a new funding stream for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) discretionary rather than mandatory and clear the way for passage of the 21st Century Cures Act. After a year and a half of consideration, the U.S. House of Representatives was ready to...
On June 1, R. Thomas Zoeller, PhD, co-chair of the Society’s EU and Global EDC Task Forces presented during the European Commission (EC) Conference on Endocrine Disruptors: Criteria for Identification and Related Impacts and told the European Commission that current approaches to identify EDCs are not effective because they do not take into account critical...
Meaningful Use Rules Outline Changes to the Program for 2015 and Beyond
The CMS released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on March 20, which outlines the requirements for Stage 3 Meaningful Use for eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals, and critical access hospitals in the EHR Incentive Programs. The CMS believes that the provisions in the rule will provide more flexibility to EPs by: Establishing a...
The spring is always hectic in Washington, D.C. It is the time of year when tourists flock to D.C. for cherry blossoms, school trips take in the historic sites, and Congress is hard at work on several legislative deadlines, including the federal budget, appropriations, and repeal of Medicare’s flawed physician payment system. On March 25,...
In addition to funding for the NDPP, the SDP funding is scheduled to expire on September 30, 2015, if Congress fails to act. The SDP was created in 1997 to advance research for type 1 diabetes and to address the disproportionate burden of type 2 diabetes on American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIAN). Through this...
