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Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs
This report looks at ways that prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs), which maintain statewide electronic databases of prescriptions dispensed for controlled substances, can help to deter prescription drug misuse.
Heroin: Legalization for Medical Use
This report discusses the limited legalization of diacetylmorphine (heroin) for use in the medical treatment of intractable pain. The report attempts to present pros and cons on the issue as well as information on pending legislation. The report also provides a comparison of heroin's analgesic qualities to those of currently available and equivalent pharmaceutical alternatives.
Veterans Medical Care: FY2011 Appropriations
This report discusses the FY2011 appropriations process for funding the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provides benefits to veterans through three major operating units, including the VHA.
Veterans Affairs: Presumptive Service Connection and Disability Compensation
The purpose of this report is to examine the very complex and sometimes controversial policy issue of establishing presumptive service connection. The material in it is based in large part on VA’s “Analysis of Presumptions of Service Connection,” and IOM’s “Improving the Presumptive Disability Decision-Making Process for Veterans” reports.
Regulation of Clinical Tests: In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) Devices, Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs), and Genetic Tests
In vitro diagnostic (IVD) devices are used in the analysis of human samples, such as blood or tissue, to provide information in making health care decisions. Examples of IVDs include pregnancy test kits or blood glucose tests for home use; laboratory tests for infectious disease, such as HIV or hepatitis, and routine blood tests, such as cholesterol and anemia; and tests for various genetic diseases or conditions. More recently, a specific type of diagnostic test--called a companion diagnostic--has been developed that may be used to select the best therapy, at the right dose, at the correct time for a particular patient; this is often referred to as personalized or precision medicine. This report provides an overview of federal regulation of IVDs by FDA, through the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act (FFDCA) and the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), and by CMS, through the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) of 1988.
Prescription Drug Coverage Under Medicaid
Medicaid is a joint federal-state entitlement program that pays for medical services on behalf of certain groups of low-income persons. It is the third largest social program in the federal budget, exceeded only by Social Security and Medicare and is typically the second largest spending item for states. This report discusses prescription drug policies under the program.
Federal Taxation of the Drug Industry and Its Effects on New Drug Development
This report examines the impact of federal taxation on the incentive to invest in new drug development. More specifically, it looks at the provisions in current tax law that affect the performance of the drug industry, compares the industry's federal tax burden with that of other major industries, and assesses the effect of federal taxation on the incentive to invest in new drug development.
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell:" The Law and Military Policy on Same-Sex Behavior
This report describes the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" military policy. Under this policy, but not the law, service members are not to be asked about nor allowed to discuss their "same-sex orientation." This report also describes recent efforts by certain Members of Congress to amending this policy.
Medical Records Privacy: Questions and Answers on the HIPAA Final Rule
This report discusses the issue facing Congress on whether to continue to support the executive branch’s prosecution of medical marijuana patients and their providers, in accordance with marijuana’s status as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, or whether to relax federal marijuana prohibition enough to permit the medical use of botanical cannabis products by seriously ill persons, especially in states that have created medical marijuana programs under state law.
Title X (Public Health Service Act) Family Planning Program
This report discusses various issues regarding the Family Planning Program, Title X of the Public Health Service Act. Enacted in 1970, it is the only domestic federal program devoted solely to family planning and related preventive health services.
Title X (Public Health Service Act) Family Planning Program
This report discusses the Family Planning Program, Title X of the Public Health Service Act, through which the federal government provides grants for voluntary family planning services.
Mandatory Vaccinations: Precedent and Current Laws
This report provides an overview of the legal precedent for mandatory vaccination laws, and of state laws that require certain individuals or populations, including school-aged children and health care workers, to be vaccinated against various communicable diseases. Also discussed are state laws providing for mandatory vaccinations during a public health emergency or outbreak of a communicable disease.
Medical Marijuana: Review and Analysis of Federal and State Policies
This report discusses the issue before Congress of whether to continue the federal prosecution of medical marijuana patients and their providers, in accordance with the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), or whether to relax federal marijuana prohibition enough to permit the medicinal use of botanical cannabis products when recommended by a physician, especially where permitted under state law.
Family Planning: Title X of the Public Health Service Act
This report discusses Title X of the Public Health Service Act provides support for family planning clinics, research related to family planning and population, training of family planning personnel, and development and dissemination of family planning information.
Legal Implications of the Contagious Disease or Infections Amendment to the Civil Rights Restoration Act, S.557
This report discusses the civil rights restoration act, S. 557, as it passed the House and Senate. This provision would most likely be interpreted as codifying the existing standards relating to section 504 interpretation concerning discrimination against individuals with handicaps.
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